SPDIF is the only way to use the 1000!!!!!

I followed Antonym's advice and went out and got a couple digital audio cables. For those that don't have them, if your setup supports it, this is the only way to use the 1000. The sound difference is so much better than using the 1/4 mono jacks I can't explain it. It is definetly worth the extra money. I havent sampled using it yet, but just playing a song back through the monitors, there is a huge difference! You will instantly hear the difference gauranteed.

right on. sampling via the spdif is nice with stuff like reason, otherwise you'll just have to use your analog inputs via record. this isn't really a problem though.

I find that sampling through digi in gives a very low signal. It needs normalisation systematically, which I dislike. I prefer sampling through my mixing desk, this gives me more control over the rec level and added advantage of eq'ing be4 sampling.

freezerman wrote:I find that sampling through digi in gives a very low signal. It needs normalisation systematically, which I dislike. I prefer sampling through my mixing desk, this gives me more control over the rec level and added advantage of eq'ing be4 sampling.

I do must aggree wit this. Having 4 separated chans that go throught my mixer where i can manage levels, panning and EQ before recording is priceless.

Emakulate Conception wrote:I followed Antonym's advice and went out and got a couple digital audio cables. For those that don't have them, if your setup supports it, this is the only way to use the 1000. The sound difference is so much better than using the 1/4 mono jacks I can't explain it. It is definetly worth the extra money. I havent sampled using it yet, but just playing a song back through the monitors, there is a huge difference! You will instantly hear the difference gauranteed.

The question would be: How do you monitor your sound?

What soundcard do you have?

If it's a cheap one, you definitely will hear a difference - because of an inferior conversion.

If you go from mpc to pc in digital form, you avoid the conversion, thus better sound-quality.

So if your limited in equipment - go for it.

But I wouldn't go so far to say it's only way to go.

If you have nice outboard and good converters - then the sound-quality should be no problem.

But it's always good to check the different options you have - just to get the idea what happens to your sound.

you should (just for the fun of it) sometimes try to run your instruments (mpc, synths) directly to your monitors - then you will see how much better they sound when it's only analog to analog (apart from the first conversion that happens inside your instrument to the analog output).

I run a Lexicon Omega

normalizing a low digital signal isn't like normalizing a low analog signal. theres MUUUUCH less quality loss involved, to the point where to me it's worth it every time even if i have to normalize (which isn't often since reason has volume controls)

Antonym wrote:normalizing a low digital signal isn't like normalizing a low analog signal.

And what is the difference?

(I assume by "low analog signal" you mean an analog signal digitized a low level)

recording a cold signal from turtnables, say (so you have to normalize it)

you're normalizing alll the noise from record, cables, everything. when you're normalizing a cold digital signal, there's absolutely no noise. the only quality degradation you might be dealing with is a loss of resolution from normalizing a quiet signal. and i'm not even positive about this, i'd have to compare 2 copies on sound forge - one post recording digital and normalizing, and one recorded hot

Hey guys -- I'm trying to figure out if I can use spdif.. I have a firebox, with an out in the back that says "MIDI/Spdif, but I'm not sure how I would make this work with my system..

Here's an image of the outs, so you can see what I'm talking about
http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html#diagrams

Based on my system, which is now the

Stereo 1/4 inch outs in MPC1000 ->
Stereo 1/4 inch ins in the firebox ->
firewire to my powerbook

how would I set up an spdif chain like yall are talking about?

Any help is greatly appreciated.. Thanks! J.

Antonym wrote:recording a cold signal from turtnables, say (so you have to normalize it)

you're normalizing alll the noise from record, cables, everything. when you're normalizing a cold digital signal, there's absolutely no noise. the only quality degradation you might be dealing with is a loss of resolution from normalizing a quiet signal. and i'm not even positive about this, i'd have to compare 2 copies on sound forge - one post recording digital and normalizing, and one recorded hot

OK, I see your point. If there are seperate sources it goes without saying that the artifacts will be more visible if it comes from a dirty source (turntable) than from a sterile source (digitally generated in example a soft synth). But that has actually nothing to do with the problem of normalising. A weak digital signal sampled in the MPC will get the same inferior bit resolution as a analog source sampled, as clean or dirty as they may be.

mctravel wrote:Hey guys -- I'm trying to figure out if I can use spdif.. I have a firebox, with an out in the back that says "MIDI/Spdif, but I'm not sure how I would make this work with my system..

Here's an image of the outs, so you can see what I'm talking about
http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html#diagrams

Based on my system, which is now the

Stereo 1/4 inch outs in MPC1000 ->
Stereo 1/4 inch ins in the firebox ->
firewire to my powerbook

how would I set up an spdif chain like yall are talking about?

Any help is greatly appreciated.. Thanks! J.

it looks like it must have an extra cable that attaches to that 9-pin plug marked midi/spdif.

mctravel wrote:Hey guys -- I'm trying to figure out if I can use spdif.. I have a firebox, with an out in the back that says "MIDI/Spdif, but I'm not sure how I would make this work with my system..

Here's an image of the outs, so you can see what I'm talking about
http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html#diagrams

Based on my system, which is now the

Stereo 1/4 inch outs in MPC1000 ->
Stereo 1/4 inch ins in the firebox ->
firewire to my powerbook

how would I set up an spdif chain like yall are talking about?

Any help is greatly appreciated.. Thanks! J.

There's a pic of the cable you need here



Then you'd just need a couple of SPDIF cables to hook up to your input and output

Edit: Spirez made it better and faster.

yo if your digital signal is too quiet, just adjust whatever you're playing it from in your pc, even if it's lke winamp or w/e.

spdif is a lifesaver for me becasue it bypasses the mpc1000's main outs, which don't impress me a whole lot. they're fine for live use, but not good for in studio work.

however, that really doesn't matter either, because while it is good to hear the best possible sound at all times, work done within the mpc is first and formost orchestration and arrangement, not mastering or sonic tweaking.

i get my sounds in an acceptible ballpark when i'm working in the mpc and then just fix em later if/when i need to, in the process of tracking my beats out.