Does Kemper Spdif work with Adat?

  • I'm in the process of looking for a new audio interface and the majority do not have spdif ins and outs. I heard somewhere that you can get an adaptor to connect the spdifs to an adat optical ins and outs. I've looked into it a bit, and couldn't find a straight answer on whether this works. Has anyone here used the kemper spdifs with adat optical ins and outs? And if so, any concerns or glitchiness, or disadvantage beyond needing extra adaptors? I already own two pricey spdif cables.

  • im using converter combination 2 things , coaxial cable and rca cable, but you need junction box, the rca cable from kemper to the box and the coaxial cable is from the box to sound interface, im using this method while ago with UAD twin MK2

  • SPDIF and ADAT are complete different protocol it is not about optical or electrical cable.
    There is a pro version of SPDIF (AES/EBU) that has a different electrical specification and some differences in protocol as well.

    SPDIF is a two-channel protocol which was designed for electrical transmission (but can use optical transceivers),
    and ADAT is an 8-channel protocol intended for optical transmission.

    ADAT is fundamentally a 48Khz protocol whereas SPDIF is independent of sample rate
    the data clock is embedded in the protocol and is recovered by the receiver.
    So SPDIF could in principle be used to transmit up to 384Khz audio.


    SPDIF is a 20-bit protocol with an extension for 24 bits, but not all equipment supports the 24-bit extension.
    ADAT is a 24-bit protocol.


    Usually these protocols are not interchangeable.
    Some gear has optical connectors that can be switched between the protocols, but not all gear is this way.

    Be the force with you ;)

  • I have a rackmount Alesis unit just for this. It can convert to & from ADAT format in addition to performing hardware resampling between 44.1 & 48K IIRC. If you really need a device like this, it might be for sale!