Recording via Coaxial, does anyone here do it?

[mercury_in_flames]

I bought a one metre belkin coaxial cable at £25 and have only used it once to record a dvd to md, as my dvd player doesnt have a digital out, only coaxial. Do those of you with md decks ever use the coaxial capability? What cables do you have, what other uses for coaxial are there, maybe im just not aware of them?

[akijikan]

Is the coaxial output on DVD players not digital? I though it was because that's how I link it to my surround sound system and I get true surround.

However, what connection are you making between the MD and DVD player? Coax to line in? That would certainly say my original thinking is wrong!

[mercury_in_flames]

you dont get track marks on coaxial, so i'm not sure. The quality is meant to be as good as optical signal.

[greenmachine]

I guess a £1 RCA / c(h?)inch cable would've done the job equally well.

[KrazyIvan]

I guess a £1 RCA / c(h?)inch cable would've done the job equally well.

True. I use coax but not for MD recording. I think you are not getting track marks because you are using a DVD player as a source.

[zerodB]

True. I use coax but not for MD recording. I think you are not getting track marks because you are using a DVD player as a source.

Quite likely Ivan. It really depends on the equipment you use.

On that note, does anyone know how to convert a coax signal to an optical one? (Excuse the blatant ignorance here!)

[garyc]

I record via coax from my Marantz CD67 (digital out) to my MDS-JE530 always have...

[KJ_Palmer]

I use the coax output from my DAB radio to feed into my JB980. Just using a cheap 75 ohm cable, I doubt spending a lot on expensive cable will improve things.

[greenmachine]

Quite likely Ivan. It really depends on the equipment you use.

On that note, does anyone know how to convert a coax signal to an optical one? (Excuse the blatant ignorance here!)

There are special purpose converters. Just do a google / ebay search for coax / coaxial / optical converter.

[mercury_in_flames]

lol,oh well. I doubt i would get even 15 pounds for it if i tried to sell it (its worth 25).

i dont think a converter would really be worth it, they arent exactly cheap, unless of course you had a dab and you could connect it using the adapter and split the tracks, that would be cool.

Edited December 7, 2005 by GregTheRotter

[Richard]

lol,oh well. I doubt i would get even 15 pounds for it if i tried to sell it (its worth 25).

i dont think a converter would really be worth it, they arent exactly cheap, unless of course you had a dab and you could connect it using the adapter and split the tracks, that would be cool.

What's the sound quality like though? I have a few dvd's I wouldn't mind recording to PCM via coaxial.

[mercury_in_flames]

I cant really compare as I dont think my headphones are detailed enough, I only have one phono to phono cable, the one that came with my jb980, well you can imagine the quality of that cable. It sounds exactly the same as watching the dvd. As I say, the only reason why i bought it was so that i could record my 2 disc led zeppelin dvd to md. this is the coaxial cable i have:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=87533

Edited December 7, 2005 by GregTheRotter

[zerodB]

I was just thinking the other day Greg, if you want to get a digital copy of a dvd to MD, you could do it via the PC.

I've done it before to record the audio of a live music dvd to cd and then on to md.

Used DVD Decrypter to extract the AC3 stream from the approriate parts of the DVD, and then used the AC3 plugin with Nero to burn to a CD.

Alternativley, convert to AC3 to WAV with Nero, and then use SonicStage. Or do the simple burner trick.

But if you want to go straight from DVD to MD I guess this kinda defeats the purpose. Unless you have a digital out on your PC soundcard.

[Mr_Bass_Man]

I use the coax output from my DAB radio to feed into my JB980. Just using a cheap 75 ohm cable, I doubt spending a lot on expensive cable will improve things.

I reckon you are dead right, KJ

Providing the cable is reasonably short, and providing there is a reasonable electrical connection at each end, I can't imagine ther being a problem.

My set-up is practically the same as yours, I have a short coax lead from my DAB tuner which connects to one of my decks (the JB980 - LP2 is an ideal format as DAB quality is so poor that there really isn't much point going to SP ) and I also have a coax from my CD player to my other deck (the JE530) for great quality SP rips.

The cables are cheap and cheerful, in fact one is home made!

[cambridgeman]

Unfortunately, I do not have a COAX input into my MD deck. I do, however, have the option of coax AND TOSLink(optical) as inputs to feed my outboard digital to analogue converter. I also have an older top of the line Denon CD player with both COAX and TOSLink output. Theoretically, COAX is superior in audio quality.In actuality, it really depends on the strength of the rest of your system; a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. TOSLink was designed and specified to be a cheap, yet effective, low-cost alternative to COAX. Considering you want to record from a high quality source 24 bit/96kHz or DVD, it would be nice to keep that signal as clean and unadulterated as possible. There are differences in cables, alot to do with ends and being properly terminated.

Will you hear a difference? At the very least, you would need to have good headphones. Everything is pure speculation until you try it out. If YOU don't hear a difference, maybe the least expensive is the way to go. When I bought my interconnects, the store I purchased them from permitted me to take them home and try them out. Or, to take my equipment to the store, and subject it to controlled listening test. This is really the only way to tell if there is a difference.

A good COAX cable is also the same for a good video cable. It makes the picture clearer, more focused, less distortion, and more vibrant colors. How good of a cable one needs here too matters upon what kind of DVD and TV one is using in their system. First rule of audio, how does it SOUND? Does it SOUND any differently? The only way one may discover how something sounds is to listen to it, side-by-side, in controlled listenong tests. Unless you have purchased the absolute worst quality, without directly comparing it, you probably won't notice a difference. The same can largely be said about anything else: CDs, amps, pre-amps, speakers.

Hope this helps

Cheers

[dex Otaku]

Both coax and optical [toslink] carry the same signal. Coax S/PDIF is the consumer version of the balanced ASE/EBU digital interface; toslink is the same thing only done with fiber rather than coax. The data in both instances should be identical, and is a subset of the AES/EBU standard. Look up SP/DIF on wikipedia for more complete info.

Given the short cable runs that most people have with home equipment, the difference between them should be nil. I have had friends claim that optical is vastly superior, so much so that they could actually hear the difference [with ordinary consumer stereo equipment] which is highly unlikely. If you are able to discern any difference between the two from the same source, it would usually [i would assert almost always, actually] indicate faulty equipment, not the inherent superiority of one over the other.

Coax technically should be less prone to timing errors, as I understand it, because of the nature of optical cable. From what I recall, it can build interference patterns like standing waves when the fiber is curved too much or at specific angles. The main advantage usually touted with optical cabling is isolation from electromagnetic interference.

Really though, with most people's cabling being no more than a metre in length, there should be no practical difference between coax and optical unless you're trying to bend that fiber around loops and sharp corners.

[cambridgeman]

I think you are mostly right in your statements, but I believe one could take out rather different messages from the same words, without an added benefit of emphasis.

"With ordinary consumer stereo equipment" the difference would indeed be "highly unlikely." But much could be said with almost anything in life. If you refer to my post you will see that I have reiterated the fact that one ought to listen for themselves to discern if there are any differences. Actually using one's own set of finely tuned analytical equipment (one's ears) is the very best way to discern what works the best. One might postulate what "should" sound better, or what "ought" to be negligible differences; but, when subjected to controlled listening tests, on one's own equipment, with one's own ears, different colorations of the sound are often heard. This is, of course, highly dependent on the quality of all the other contributing factors in the system as a whole. From the head unit or source, to the pre-amp, to the amp, to the speakers; and all the interconnects between them.

If by consumer equipment you mean equipment with wide variances and tolerances, then tightening-up just one part of that system may or may not make much of a difference.

It was my postulation that since the recording chain was to be directly from a DVD player to the MD deck, and quite a good one at that, that whether or not differences would be heard would be largely dependant on what happens after the MD was recorded. I do believe that differences would be detectable between a recording made via COAX and via TOSLink, As well as the variances in qualities of those cables in their different format. How much of a difference? It is this that we do not know,

I have no doubt, that were an individual to take the best cables on the market, and compare them to what is readily available from China, Inc., the differences would be clear. Would it be worth the difference in expenditure? There are just too many variables involved to give a pat answer. That is why one must listen to their own systems, with their own components, in their own unique listening set-up, and judge for themselves if their is a discernable difference.

A pat brief answer might be something along the lines that if one isn't having a problem with interference, both will probably do the job adequately. the 980 is a nice piece of kit, and I myself would be rather interested in hearing about the results of a battery of tests as I have suggested. Unfortunately, I have only passed messages along to a couple of individuals who were making use of an outboard Digital to analogue converter in their systems. This is one place that Sony often cheapens out on. Or, no one is going to ever treat a minidisc with the respect is does deserve, to some extent. Once HiMD decks with a digital out enter the market, it is quite concievable that they could challenge the CD.