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

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?

Some people have connected Appogee mini me's via the optical SPDIF.

I bought the fancy cable but have not experimented yet with my core duo mini.

8)