I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input compatible
with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF output to this device,
the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's no output. I verified that
the sound card's S/PDIF output works by hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics
digital speaker system. Is the DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken,
or is this a protocol issue of some sort?

--
Mark

MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF. Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving
SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part
of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF. Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving
SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part
of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF. Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving
SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part
of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF. Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving
SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part
of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF. Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible with S/PDIF". When hooking up my sound card's S/PDIF
output to this device, the DAC's lights start going crazy and there's
no output. I verified that the sound card's S/PDIF output works by
hooking it up to a Boston Acoustics digital speaker system. Is the
DAC (that was supposedly brand new) broken, or is this a protocol
issue of some sort?

It might be a protocol issue, but it also might be signal voltage issue.
SP/DIF is a 0.4 to 1 volt p-p signal. AES/EBU is more like a TTL signal,
voltages from 3 to 10 volt are more common. Then the impedances are
different, SP/DIF is 75 ohms, AES/EBU is 110 ohms. SP/DIF is unbalanced,
while AES/EBU is balanced.

Bottom line, its a lot more common to see AES/EBU successfully driving
SPDIF
than vice-versa. There are matching transformers that work at least part
of
the time.

Here's a summary of the topic:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

"MZ" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF.
Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would
be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

Conversion seems easier/cheaper than acquiring a new sound card.
At least to me.

"MZ" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF.
Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would
be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

Conversion seems easier/cheaper than acquiring a new sound card.
At least to me.

"MZ" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF.
Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would
be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

Conversion seems easier/cheaper than acquiring a new sound card.
At least to me.

"MZ" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF.
Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would
be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

Conversion seems easier/cheaper than acquiring a new sound card.
At least to me.

"MZ" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What puzzles
me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with S/PDIF.
Also,
I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't generally found in
consumer grade audio gear.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route would
be
to just get a sound card with a toslink output? If so, do you know of any
cheap solutions? Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the
voltage conversion?

Conversion seems easier/cheaper than acquiring a new sound card.
At least to me.

In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input compatible
with S/PDIF".

....model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input compatible
with S/PDIF".

....model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input compatible
with S/PDIF".

....model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input compatible
with S/PDIF".

....model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input compatible
with S/PDIF".

....model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

MZ wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What
puzzles me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with
S/PDIF.

Wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer's claim was err, optimistic,
right?

Also, I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't
generally found in consumer grade audio gear.

Agreed.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route
would be to just get a sound card with a toslink output?

That can work.

If so, do you know of any cheap solutions?

Yes.

Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the voltage conversion?

When faced with the problem, I've gone both ways. Another approach is to get
a SP/DIF to Toslink converter.

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html

MZ wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What
puzzles me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with
S/PDIF.

Wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer's claim was err, optimistic,
right?

Also, I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't
generally found in consumer grade audio gear.

Agreed.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route
would be to just get a sound card with a toslink output?

That can work.

If so, do you know of any cheap solutions?

Yes.

Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the voltage conversion?

When faced with the problem, I've gone both ways. Another approach is to get
a SP/DIF to Toslink converter.

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html

MZ wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What
puzzles me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with
S/PDIF.

Wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer's claim was err, optimistic,
right?

Also, I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't
generally found in consumer grade audio gear.

Agreed.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route
would be to just get a sound card with a toslink output?

That can work.

If so, do you know of any cheap solutions?

Yes.

Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the voltage conversion?

When faced with the problem, I've gone both ways. Another approach is to get
a SP/DIF to Toslink converter.

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html

MZ wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What
puzzles me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with
S/PDIF.

Wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer's claim was err, optimistic,
right?

Also, I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't
generally found in consumer grade audio gear.

Agreed.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route
would be to just get a sound card with a toslink output?

That can work.

If so, do you know of any cheap solutions?

Yes.

Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the voltage conversion?

When faced with the problem, I've gone both ways. Another approach is to get
a SP/DIF to Toslink converter.

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html

MZ wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I actually read that site last night. What
puzzles me though is that the manual states that it's compatible with
S/PDIF.

Wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer's claim was err, optimistic,
right?

Also, I believe I read that the high voltage protocol wasn't
generally found in consumer grade audio gear.

Agreed.

Anyways, the DAC also has a toslink input. Maybe the easiest route
would be to just get a sound card with a toslink output?

That can work.

If so, do you know of any cheap solutions?

Yes.

Or do you think I should go ahead and try to make the voltage conversion?

When faced with the problem, I've gone both ways. Another approach is to get
a SP/DIF to Toslink converter.

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html


I can't imagine there's a disadvantage in using a converter versus using a
card with toslink. Is there?

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html


I can't imagine there's a disadvantage in using a converter versus using a
card with toslink. Is there?

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html


I can't imagine there's a disadvantage in using a converter versus using a
card with toslink. Is there?

Here's some examples:

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a..._adapters.html

http://www.svideo.com/coaxtoslink1.html


I can't imagine there's a disadvantage in using a converter versus using a
card with toslink. Is there?

It's an older car unit made by Coustic. The DA-55. I found out yesterday
that it was first produced in '96, which could help to explain why it's
using the high voltage protocol instead of the "newer" one.

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Monte P McGuire" wrote in message
...
In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible
with S/PDIF".

...model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

It's an older car unit made by Coustic. The DA-55. I found out yesterday
that it was first produced in '96, which could help to explain why it's
using the high voltage protocol instead of the "newer" one.

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Monte P McGuire" wrote in message
...
In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible
with S/PDIF".

...model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

It's an older car unit made by Coustic. The DA-55. I found out yesterday
that it was first produced in '96, which could help to explain why it's
using the high voltage protocol instead of the "newer" one.

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Monte P McGuire" wrote in message
...
In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible
with S/PDIF".

...model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire

It's an older car unit made by Coustic. The DA-55. I found out yesterday
that it was first produced in '96, which could help to explain why it's
using the high voltage protocol instead of the "newer" one.

--
Mark
remove "remove" and "spam" to reply

"Monte P McGuire" wrote in message
...
In article ,
MZ wrote:
I recently bought a DAC unit that claims it has an "AES/EBU input
compatible
with S/PDIF".

...model number please? It's hard to debug without some information.


Regards,

Monte McGuire