digital out ?

Ok i've never used the mpc 2500 digital out before. I have a presonus firebox that has a s/pdif in out. I'm wondering what would be the right way to hook up the digital i/o on the mpc??

go to best buy and get a spdif cable. It looks just like an rca cable. Just plug it in. one cable transmits both left and right channels for stereo. You may have to set the sample rate on your interface to match that of the MPC. 44.1 is the rate out of the MPC. Works great because this allows you to bypass D/A conversion, which retains audio fidelity.

I got the cable and now i can record in to the mpc through the digital in but i can't seem to get the digital out to work. I don't know if there's a setting on the mpc, I've looked and can find nothing. I checked the sample rate in logic and it's set to 44.1. I think that its strange when i select the tracks input it does not give the option spdif or digital. Help if you can

justkause wrote:I got the cable and now i can record in to the mpc through the digital in but i can't seem to get the digital out to work. I don't know if there's a setting on the mpc, I've looked and can find nothing. I checked the sample rate in logic and it's set to 44.1. I think that its strange when i select the tracks input it does not give the option spdif or digital. Help if you can

Did you get your cable at BEST BUY if so, how much was it.

turntablewillie wrote:Works great because this allows you to bypass D/A conversion, which retains audio fidelity.

thats a massive debate - personally i think digital is not as rounded as analogue....

no i got them at guitar center. I needed 9 ft cables so there 15 each. I just found out i can use a pair of RCA cables i had laying around that i used to use for my TV. So i'm returning the other cables.

I got something working last night but it's still not right. It has to do with the way my interface is receiving the spdif input. I'm using a presonus firebox W/logic pro and Mac OSX Leopard. Let me know if anyone has an idea how to route this properly.

thats a massive debate - personally i think digital is not as rounded as analogue....
digital wave has square points like steps. Analog is rounded at the points like rolling hills.

It has to do with the way my interface is receiving the spdif input.
Set your interface/recording program to receive at 48khz.

if you use standard rca cables it might work or not, because some devices are acting strange if not used with the proper cables. rca may look the same and also tv cables look the same but they are slightly different.
then hook up the mpc digital out to your firebox spdif in and the other cable to the firebox spdif out and the mpc digital in. spdif is transmitting a stereo signal over one cable. then you want to set the sample rate to 44.1khz in logic, because spdif is only 44.1 khz and 16bit. then you want to set the tempo to the same value in logic and on the mpc if you are not using midi sync or mtc to control and sync the devices. to record to the mpc from logic go to the record page and select digital as your input. the output from the mpc should be working right from the start, because on the standard settings the spdif mirrors the main outs.

the analog vs. digital debate is more complicated, because if you burn your wave file directly in the mpc the resulting cd should contain the exact same wave as if you transfered the track via usb or via spdif to your computer and burned the cd from there. if you use the analog outs of the mpc and record with the analog ins of your firebox then there are TWO digital/analog conversions of the signal on that way - this is something that can lead to more "fatness" in the sound but it can also weaken out the sound depending on your tracking settings and levels and also depending on the convertor quality in both the mpc and the firebox.

peace jo

Wav vs. Digital... I don't see much of a debate. Because everything you put into the MPC gets converted to digital anyways. Then converted back to analog on the way out(if you output through the 1/4"s). It all boils down to the quality of your D/A conversion. If you run spdif to a professional D/A converter you might be able to tell the difference. Depends on your ears. But unless you have a pro converter, I hear great stuff about rosetta, or apogee, or whatever, but they are in the thousands of dollars!!! Maybe next year!!! I think the difference is going to be very subtle.

On another note, which is it, 44.1 or 48? I ask because of this. I have a dvd player hooked up to my digital in. But, when i switch to digital in as the record source, I get a very loud nasty pop. I mean very loud and nasty. Not the "oops i switched my mixer off before my monitors" pop, but **** evil high pitch pop!

Also I agree with SELECTA. You got a $1500 instrument... GET THE **** $15 CABLE TO GO WITH IT!!! Don't skimp!

I still can't seem to get logic to except the spdif input from the MPC. I'll have to do som,e more reading

Ok i've got it but now i have a question that might not be the most challenging to most of you. Am i able to use spdif in and a analog out ? For some reason i thought i could use my digital and analog in's and out's simultaneously. I want to use spdif input while monitoring from my analog out. It doesn't want to let me.

You should be able to do that. Mode+pad 5 select your input source as digital or analog for sampling. Press Input Thru, select source as either digital or analog, make sure input thru field is switched to on. Input thru should work in any screen after it is switched on. But record mode will only be audible in the record screen. To hear both simultaneous, setup the input thru, then go to the record page and make sure the monitor field is switched to on.
The outputs should both work without any configuration. Spdif out will mirror the output from the master out, you can't change this.

Thank you. That helps out