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Is anybody out there recording straight into their Macbook Pro's optical SPDIF?

Is it possible to hook up a system that goes: preamp ---> A/D/A ---> Macbook Pro optical SPDIF?

If so, what are the drawbacks to this? Are there any quality issues? Would I be better off with a two-channel firewire system?

If this works, I am considering picking up a DAV BG-1 preamp and Mytek AD96 converter and running it straight into my laptop. I am just looking to set up a high quality 2-channel recording system.

Any thoughts, advice, tips, would be much appreciated.

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Comments

RemyRAD Tue, 03/20/2007 - 00:00

I actually think you have the right idea here. If you can take an optical input into your Mac book pro, you should. One of the most obvious reasons for this is because of ground loop potential that seems to be a problem with many laptops. I can tell you that length doesn't matter. The optical input will prevent an electrical connection between your preamps/converter and the computer. So you have it right, the first time. Plus there are less timing problems with modulated laser light, compared to copper. It gets to travel a little quicker.

I was thinking.......
Ms. Remy Ann David

anonymous Tue, 03/20/2007 - 02:11

RemyRAD wrote: I actually think you have the right idea here. If you can take an optical input into your Mac book pro, you should. One of the most obvious reasons for this is because of ground loop potential that seems to be a problem with many laptops. I can tell you that length doesn't matter. The optical input will prevent an electrical connection between your preamps/converter and the computer. So you have it right, the first time. Plus there are less timing problems with modulated laser light, compared to copper. It gets to travel a little quicker.

I was thinking.......
Ms. Remy Ann David

Thanks so much for the response. It seems like this might be a good solution for me since I only need to record two tracks at a time max. I'm just not sure why more people are doing the same thing. Should I be worried that the Mac's drivers won't properly capture the data through the optical port? Should I be worried about random offsets, etc... that other people have had using Apple's Firewire Audio driver?