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Hey, all..

I was a constant member here about 15-20 years ago.. don't know if any of the regulars from way back then are still around.. Fletcher.. Hank Alrich.. Lyle Caldwell .. Eva Manley.. If so.. rehowdy.

I'm sure I'm about to ask a stupid question as my reintroduction, but hey.. everyone needs a hobby.

I've got good equipment, but would like to be able to get the digital output of my main location recording gear (Great River pres, Apogee A/D converter) INTO my laptop. There's a ton of usb-to-spdif or usb-to-analog equipment out there for listening to stuff that's already on the computer, but is there a way to get the digital audio output of my apogee, unmolested, INTO a usb port on my laptop?

I've seen a bunch of interfaces by all the usual suspects (Roland, Mackie, Tascam, Focuswrong, etc.) that have digital I/O, but they all also include stuff I have no use for; mic pres/phantom, mixing, processing, etc. I haven't been able to find any info on how they deal w/ the digital input signal; would my apogee still clock everything, or would the digital input be converted to analog, then back again, thereby negating any real benefit of using the apogee in the first place?

Anyone have any ideas? Ideally, the device I'm looking for would have either a coax or toslink s/pdif input on one end, a usb plug on the other; no need for other inputs or processing. Does it exist? Is it possible?

Thanks...

Best to all.

Barry

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 12/6/2015 1:13 PM, wrote:
is there a way to get the digital audio output of my apogee,
unmolested, INTO a usb port on my laptop?

Yes, but

I've seen a bunch of interfaces by all the usual suspects (Roland,
Mackie, Tascam, Focuswrong, etc.) that have digital I/O, but they all
also include stuff I have no use for; mic pres/phantom, mixing,
processing, etc.

Welcome to the world of "let's make what we think most people want."
Plain, simple S/PDIF to USB I/O devices (of which there were only a
couple) have been discontinued for a long time. By throwing a couple of
mic preamps into the box, they can sell a single product to more people,
which is better for a manufacturer than carrying two separate products.
But the usual design philosophy is to make an analog I/O box and toss
stereo digital I/O into all but the bottom products in the line.

Grin and bear it. You really aren't paying a whole lot more for the
whole shebang as you would for just a digital I/O interface because they
make so many of these that the cost of the electronics is negligible -
the most expensive parts are the box and connectors.

I haven't been able to find any info on how they
deal w/ the digital input signal; would my apogee still clock
everything

If you get an interface with an ASIO driver (most have one), there's
almost always a setup menu that allows you to select the computer's data
I/O clock source. It can be the computer's clock, or derive a clock from
the digital input stream (which will be clocked by your A/D converter,
which is the important part). At the higher end of the product line,
you'll find interfaces that have an external word clock input (and
sometimes an output, too), which can also be selected as the computer's
clock source.

Clocking, particularly when you're dealing with stereo rather than
multi-channel audio, isn't a big worry these days for anyone but
audiophiles (who like to have something to worry about).

--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[[email protected]]

On Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 2:11:21 PM UTC-5, Mike Rivers wrote:
On 12/6/2015 1:13 PM, Barry wrote:
is there a way to get the digital audio output of my apogee,
unmolested, INTO a usb port on my laptop?

Yes, but

I've seen a bunch of interfaces by all the usual suspects (Roland,
Mackie, Tascam, Focuswrong, etc.) that have digital I/O, but they all
also include stuff I have no use for; mic pres/phantom, mixing,
processing, etc.

Welcome to the world of "let's make what we think most people want."
Plain, simple S/PDIF to USB I/O devices (of which there were only a
couple) have been discontinued for a long time. By throwing a couple of
mic preamps into the box, they can sell a single product to more people,
which is better for a manufacturer than carrying two separate products.
But the usual design philosophy is to make an analog I/O box and toss
stereo digital I/O into all but the bottom products in the line.

Grin and bear it. You really aren't paying a whole lot more for the
whole shebang as you would for just a digital I/O interface because they
make so many of these that the cost of the electronics is negligible -
the most expensive parts are the box and connectors.

I haven't been able to find any info on how they
deal w/ the digital input signal; would my apogee still clock
everything

If you get an interface with an ASIO driver (most have one), there's
almost always a setup menu that allows you to select the computer's data
I/O clock source. It can be the computer's clock, or derive a clock from
the digital input stream (which will be clocked by your A/D converter,
which is the important part). At the higher end of the product line,
you'll find interfaces that have an external word clock input (and
sometimes an output, too), which can also be selected as the computer's
clock source.

Clocking, particularly when you're dealing with stereo rather than
multi-channel audio, isn't a big worry these days for anyone but
audiophiles (who like to have something to worry about).

--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com


Mike! Thank you, and nice to see you're still here. So, as long as the interface I purchase has digital I/O, it's safe to assume that the device will pass along the digital signal without passing it through any other processing or degrading the output of my apogee, and, if it has an ASIO driver, I can specify that the computer be clocked by the apogee. I have that right? If so, I can live with having to purchase additional features I don't need, I guess.

Any recommendations? The Tascam UH-7000 has AES/EBU I/O. Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 has coax spdif I/O and optical input. Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 has coax spdif I/O and is cheap. Roland Quad Capture is only a couple bucks more and supports 24/192. These are all in the $200 - $500 price range. I could go lower happily, but would hate to go higher since all I really want is the digital I/O.

Right now, the Roland seems the most appropriate. Ideas?

Thanks again... good to hear from you, Mike. I'll have to check out your website and see what's happened over the years.

Best..

Barry

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 12/6/2015 2:51 PM, wrote:

Mike! Thank you, and nice to see you're still here. So, as long as
the interface I purchase has digital I/O, it's safe to assume that
the device will pass along the digital signal without passing it
through any other processing or degrading the output of my apogee,
and, if it has an ASIO driver, I can specify that the computer be
clocked by the apogee. I have that right?

The digital input to USB output path is purely digital. The most
important clocking job is clocking the A/D converter, and your Apogee
converters do that before it hits the interface to the computer. A
properly designed interface shouldn't introduce jitter in the digital
path. An improperly designed on can introduce jitter no matter what the
clock source. Most interfaces allow you to select the clock source, but
probably not all of them. Where that might make a difference is when
listening to analog playback through the interface.

Any recommendations? The Tascam UH-7000 has AES/EBU I/O. Focusrite
Scarlett 18i8 has coax spdif I/O and optical input. Native
Instruments Komplete Audio 6 has coax spdif I/O and is cheap. Roland
Quad Capture is only a couple bucks more and supports 24/192.

I don't have experience with any of those. I reviewed the Focusrite 18i6
a few years ago and I didn't have any trouble with that one. On the
cheap, you might look at the TASCAM US-366. It's only $200 and supports
196 kHz sample rate. If the analog playback from its output sounds as
good as whatever D/A converter you're using, you might find it
convenient for certain workflows. If you do that, it's worth
experimenting to see if using the Apogee clock (physically, this would
be the digital input coming from the Apogee A/D converter) sounds better
than using the computer's clock. You could be surprised - or not. It's
an experiment worth conducting.

Right now, the Roland seems the most appropriate. Ideas?

Edirol, which is the division of Roland that makes the digital
interfaces (and used to make an inexpensive digital-only to USB
interface) doesn't have a lot of market penetration but they've always
had pretty good performance when you hear about it. I wouldn't be
hesitant to try one of those. If you don't like it, you can always send
it back.


--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[[email protected]]

Mike,

Thanks again; very helpful. I'll take a look at the Tascam you mentioned, too.

Best..

Barry