Post your questions, opinions and reviews of the MPC1000. This forum is for discussion of the OFFICIAL Akai OS (2.1). If you wish to discuss the JJ OS, please use the dedicated JJ OS forum
By geeklapeeno Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:52 pm
Just connect the MPC Stereo OUT to an analog Saffire line input pair (1&2 or 3&4), that's it!

MIDI is only for DATA communication, not Audio. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midi )

Here ( http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.htm ) you can find some resources about SPDIF signal manipulation.

Basically you want to get the SPDIF signal (from the MPC SPDIF OUT) and convert it to a TTL signal, then you convert it from TTL to SPDIF again (with an higher level). SPDIF>TTL>COAX SPDIF

You can also convert the TTL signal to an Optical SPDIF signal using a Toslink transmitter. SPDIF>TTL>OPTICAL SPDIF

This is good fo you (us) because we can use the optical input of the Saffire leaving the Coaxial input free for other devices.
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By fallenpurpose Sun Aug 28, 2011 5:24 pm
Thanks so much for the help man, really appreciate it.

Apologies for hijacking the thread to but im gonna bookmark it and try that conversion out once im up and running. Surprisingly it all makes sense and doesnt actually sound as taxing as i thought it would.
By newtron Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:02 pm
Hi there,

I have exactly the same problem - I have an Echo AudioFire with S/P DIF in, and did not get the MPC digital out to run with it... I get some signal through though, but there are intermittent clicks and pops and other digital artifacts... to make sure it wasnt a problem with the AudioFire, I also hooked the MPC up to my home theater amp who has a consumer S/P DIF in, and it displayed "data error". Other S/P DIF devices work fine with both the AudioFire and the HT amp... I also tried various combinations of internal and external clock settings, and the AudioFire also allows to switch between consumer and professional S/P DIF format, which did not resolve the issue...

So I guess the MPC digital out is faulty altogether... I thought my MPC was broken, but due to the fact that you also have these problems I guess it's a design flaw... has anybody got into touch with AKAI yet? I bought my MPC in 2008 and have seldomly used it, but want to integrate it now into my production workflow where a digital link is vital, as I don't want to degrade audio by using the analog connections (even that the AudioFire got some good symmetric inputs with great ADCs, the DA-AD conversion is nasty in various regards...)

Maybe we can find other users who are affected and contact AKAI together? My main problem is that due to the age of my MPC it's out of warranty.

P.S.: To make sure it was not the cable, I used a professional S/P DIF cable (similar to video cables) for the connection, so it really should be a problem with the MPC... another user here seems to have the same problem: http://forums.planetz.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23165&p=188647

I'm wondering with which soundcard/input device the MPC works out of the box... AKAI sells this as a feature, which might be very important for some users, but practically it seems not to be working...

Best,

Alex
By geeklapeeno Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:27 pm
Hi Newtron,
your problem is slightly different, you can hear something....
from your description it seems a sync issue. I did not hear anything from the MPC.

I solved the problem changing the audio interface, I was in need of more I/O's.

Examining the mpc scheme I noticed they used some resistors at the output of the spdif chip, with a different value from the one specified in the chip producer datasheet. This results in a low output level of the mpc spdif interface, slightly under the spdif standard specs (about 500mV VS the 400mV of the mpc, if I remember well...).

So, while it should be not a problem with most devices, if you find a spdif input requiring standard or higher input level (like my first focusrite) and you have a mpc with a low output level, they cannot work together.

If your problem is the low output of the mpc, the workaround should be to use an external spdif converter, or you can transform the spdif in an optical spdif if you have this kind of input in your audio board or, you can replace the resistors at the spdif chip output (R601 & R602) with lower values to have an higher output.... some electronic skill is required here :)

Anyway first try to put the digital output at maximum in the mpc (gain level or something similar), set the clock, etc. Also try to output the mpc digital out to other devices.

Cheers!
By r233 Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:39 pm
I have the same problem with Mpc 2500 Spdif out ---> e-mu 0404 Spdif in. Nothing happens. I tried every possible master/slave setting etc. This is really annoying because the Spdif I/O out was one of the main reasons I chose the 2500 over some of the older models.
By Machine Life Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:35 pm
I just bought a new MPC1000 (BK model with new pad type) and tried the spdif out with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6--there was NO signal (spdif in from the Scarlett is fine). Given that many have had this problem with Focusrite interfaces, I'm not sure whether it's an MPC1000 problem or my particular Focusrite or a combination of both.

As a first step I'm going to test the MPC1000 spdif output with a spdif-->RCA converter I use for my TV. If that works, then it may be as someone previously mentioned the case of a weak MPC1000 spdif output coupled with the Focusrite which requires a higher input signal than normal.
By JeriKo Jackson Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:21 pm
ok so i was having the same problem. using the mpc1k with an echo audiofire 4. yesterday running s/pdif out from the MPC to the interface produced nothing. i tried changing settings and nothing. I knew my mpc was working cuz i had used tried it previously with an M audio project mix (those results were garbage though because of clicks and pops)

so today after rereading this thread i tried again. and for whatever reason it worked... but with clicks and pops... so i was thinking it could very well be as someone mentioned something to do with the chips used in the MPC.

then i changed the clock from internal to s/pdif and poof the clicks went away!

i say in my case the level of the mpc output mattered not at all i set it as far as -24 and still got signal in my s/pdif input meters.

still puzzled as to why i got no signal at all when i tried yesterday and today all of a sudden it was working. strange business indeed. anyway another +1 for my new audiofire!

***EDIT: so it seems i was wrong and still get intermittent clicks and pops, still alot less than when clock sync is set to internal. but any noise like this makes it useless, so back to the drawing board. also forgot to mention that there im getting no signal at my MPC s/pdif in.
Last edited by JeriKo Jackson on Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Lampdog Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:39 pm
SPDIF? Try 48K.

Click and pops, try higher buffer settings in your mac/pc program, updating your audio interface driver, closing unsued programs while recording.