anearfull Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 I'm a total Newbie to MD who just bought a Sony MZ-R50 on eBay. The seller informs me that there's no optical cable with it (he always recorded analog) and I want to get set for digital recording when it arrives. I have an Audigy 2 soundcard that has a "digital out" jack so I assume I'll be able to record digitally once I get the right cable. The "optical in" on the Sony and the "digital out" on the Audigy both appear to be standard 1/8" stereo plugs so the "TOSlink" cables I see at RadioShack won't work. Is the TOSlink plug standard or are there also "mini-plug" style optical cables? Can anyone tell me where to get what I need at a good price?? Thanx Peter Ottawa, Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 ok which Audigy 2 card are we talking about? just the base card itself or does it have a breakout box??? (i.e. Platinum series) because if you only have the card itself you cannot use the optic output jack on the back of the card since it is Creative's own proprietary jack that they use for their speakers and not anything else...if you do own a Platinum then u use the OPTICAL OUT square connector on the breakout to connect the sqaure -> circle TOSLink cable...otherwise you're basically stuck with recording with analogue cables... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 Thanks Majestic: I only have the base Audigy 2 card so I guess I'm slightly screwed :-( I'll start off just doing analog recordings but I'm pretty sure I'll want to upgrade soon (I listen through a headphone amp and Grado cans). Is it possible to get the breakout box to upgrade my base card or do I have to get a whole new product? What's the cheapest way to get digital signal out of my computer? Thanx Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anearfull Posted November 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 Is it possible to get the breakout box to upgrade my base card or do I have to get a whole new product? What's the cheapest way to get digital signal out of my computer? I guess this is one answer to my question: http://us.creative.com/products/product.as...y=16&product=30 Any other solutions? Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 i don't think that I/O card would work with the Audigy 2...i own an Audigy Platinum and use to own an Audigy 2 Platinum before swapping it for a Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro...from what i'v encountered Creative don't sell the breakout box..i think your best bet for a cheap optic out is to buy one of those USB PC Links from XiTel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anearfull Posted November 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 i don't think that I/O card would work with the Audigy 2...i own an Audigy Platinum and use to own an Audigy 2 Platinum before swapping it for a Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro...from what i'v encountered Creative don't sell the breakout box..i think your best bet for a cheap optic out is to buy one of those USB PC Links from XiTel...Thanks ... you're a fountain of good info! I've just ordered this: http://www.xitel.com/product_mdpio.htm :-) Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anearfull Posted November 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 Thanks ... you're a fountain of good info! I've just ordered this: http://www.xitel.com/product_mdpio.htm :-) PeterCorrection: I was really "just about to order" a Xitel MDport I/O however I haven’t actually pulled the trigger yet. Before I spend the cash, perhaps you can give me some further guidance: On eBay, I can get a new but discontinued MD-Port DG2 for $25. If the DG2 does what I need then it’s a much better deal than the latest and greatest “MD-Port I/O” version (which costs $70). Questions: 1) The product literature seems to indicate that the Xitel products are for transferring MP3 files to the MD. I don’t have any MP3s and all I want to do is make very exact copies from my CD collection onto MD. I gather that MP3 has less fidelity than the “Atrac” files that get created when dubbing straight from my PC’s CD drive onto the MD. Does the Xitel product also enable me to do that? Is that what they mean by “streaming audio”? 2) The latest “MD-Port I/O” version permits files on the MD to be digitized back into the PC from whence they came. For me that’s not a highly desirable feature … are there any other features that would make buying the latest version worthwhile? 3) The Xitel site describes the older MD-Port DG2 as being compatible with operating systems up to Windows 2000. Is it safe to assume it will also work fine with my new XP computer? Thanks! Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAjEsTiC Posted November 10, 2003 Report Share Posted November 10, 2003 Questions: 1) The product literature seems to indicate that the Xitel products are for transferring MP3 files to the MD. I don’t have any MP3s and all I want to do is make very exact copies from my CD collection onto MD. I gather that MP3 has less fidelity than the “Atrac” files that get created when dubbing straight from my PC’s CD drive onto the MD. Does the Xitel product also enable me to do that? Is that what they mean by “streaming audio”? not entirely sure about what you mean by streaming audio but what these devices do is just create a simple TOSLink output from a spare USB port that you have...you basically record from an Optic source so you don't have to worry about encoding anything in mp3/ATRAC3 format since it just bypasses the PC and the MD does all the ATRAC conversions on the fly from the signal... 2) The latest “MD-Port I/O” version permits files on the MD to be digitized back into the PC from whence they came. For me that’s not a highly desirable feature … are there any other features that would make buying the latest version worthwhile?well this "feature" is basically not really a Digital output from the MD, rather it uses the MD's headphone/Line output and records it to the computer...it is still analogue though but since it's on the PC they call it "digitised"...it's kind of misleading in a way but thought you should know...and this also is done in real-time, just like the recording from PC -> MD on this device... 3) The Xitel site describes the older MD-Port DG2 as being compatible with operating systems up to Windows 2000. Is it safe to assume it will also work fine with my new XP computer?i would assume so...i think by now they would have released drivers on their site if it didn't work on XP based machines...most older computer peripherals (like my old printer) works in XP with the Win2k drivers so i would say that it's safe to assume so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anearfull Posted November 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2003 what these devices do is just create a simple TOSLink output from a space USB port that you have...you basically record from an Optic source so you don't have to worry about encoding anything in mp3/ATRAC3 format since it just bypasses the PC and the MD does all the ATRAC conversions on the fly from the signal...That's all I really need or want ... eBay, here I come :-) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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