SPDIF or Master Out?

  • Hello from Norway!
    I haven tried out the S/PDIF connection method jet.
    What's the best method ? Pros and cons?

  • The biggest con is the fact that the Profiler has to be S/PDIF Master. This, as is, can be annoying (or even impossible) depending on your studio setup. Nobody wants to clock his studio to one peace of external accessory gear.
    You can avoid this by using an asynchronous sample rate converter in the middle. But this means one more piece of gear and a few extra cables ... and one more conversion on the digital audio level. The bonus of using this configuration is, you can use whatever sample rate you prefer. I for one run my setup with 48kHz sample rate all the time.

  • Another con: if you want to use the digital connection for live use your poweramp must have a digital input.


    Ultimately, the rule is: use for the D/A conversion the device which has got the best converters.
    If your audio card exhibits state-of-the-art converters, using the S/PDIF output makes definitely sense. If they're crap, better to let the Profiler make the conversion: it will sound better.