Upgrade Focusrite 18i20 from 1st Gen to 3rd Gen, SPDIF problem and an easy fix

  • For years, I've been using my Focusrite 18i20 1st Gen, and everything was working as it should. I had Mics, Kemper, GR-55, Keyboard connected, and never had to switch anything. I also had reamping with the Kemper setup perfectly on it. I upgraded to Gen 3, and everything seemed fine, until I tried to do reamping. I was banging my head. All the routing seemed correct. It took me some time to figure out.


    No matter what I tried, the SPDIF wasn't sending any sound to the DAW. XLR was working fine. It was a SPDIF issue. I checked the routing. Figured I mismatched the SPDIF cables, so I checked that, and they were fine.


    The solution to my problem was simple. Apparently the Gen3 sets up SPDIF as SPDIF Optical, by default. That seemed correct, until I went back to the manual (yes, I broke down). SPDIF Optical is a newer feature where you can run SPDIF on any of the ADAT lines. It's a nice feature, but I'm still using SPDIF cables with the RCA type ends. The manual says to set it at SPDIF RCA if you're using SPDIF cables with the RCA jack ends.


    I set it and all was fine in the world. Reamping was once again an option.


    I just figured I'd post this, in case someone else was having a similar issue with their Gen3. Who would have thought that RTFM was the solution? 8o