Message 13/16
Date: 26-Jul-98 @ 10:05 AM -
Maxi's S/PDiF
Thank you Clemens for your advice. I have disabled the volume control on the desktop, I am using sndvol64.exe switched to Digital in, but the problem remains. It depends a lot on a recording you try to put into a card's IN, which suggests that it is a synchro problem. I mean every DAT recorder which was used during recording has a slightly different sampling frequency than ideal 44100 Hz or 48000 Hz etc., these discrepancies are the cause why there must be only one "master" during transfer from one digital device to another - and that is the elementt of a S/PDiF standard (IEC958). DAT recorders do it automatically: when you push a record button - they go into a "slave" mode, when you push play, they are in "master". At first, when I didn't find any such switch on my Maxi I thought the Guillemot engineers are ingenious and they solved it also "automatically" unlike any other pro- card that normally you must switch into digi- or internal- clock (I don't think it's a feature you must specially pay for, since it's rather inconvenient and you must remember about it each time you record or play). I found in the net a very interesting review (http://perso.club-internet.fr/tpuisseg/machines/hsp64.htm). The author quotes Guillemot engineers: "We have chosen a FIXED 44100Hz technology for our S/PDIF interface. If the inputing unit is not EXACTLY at 44100Hz, a few samples may be left over due to reclocking problems. These MAY induce some sound artefacts in no way audible by a human ear." Unfortunately these "artefacts" are VERY audible in a vast majority of recordings. And this "FIXED 44100 Hz technology" suggests it is 100% exact what it virtually impossible in any electronical device.
By the way, this discussion beginns to be very interesing!
Bye,
Maciej