Trey,

Will their drivers not support Win 8? Sheesh!

You should be able to add optical or coax SPDIF i/o to the new PCs via
expansion boards.

Or, get them to buy you a RME UFX. Fully up to date. Does USB. Or you have
the option of not connecting the audio device to a computer at all!

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_fireface_ufx.php

Can you tell I want one? I think Richard Hess can attest...

Carl

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Trey Bunn
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 11:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARSCLIST] connections question

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some pointers on the differences between
optical, S/PDIF, and AES connections.

We're upgrading the PCs in our audio studio.  Currently, each
workstation has analog equipment plugged into an Apogee Rosetta 200
A/D converter, which then connects to the PC via FireWire.  The set-up
has worked well for us over the years, but it's outdated, and our IT
people insist that we upgrade to newer machines running Windows 7
(which also means upgrading Sound Forge).

Apogee is no longer supporting their X-FireWire option, but according
to their tech support, we can continue to use the Rosetta 200s if we
ditch the FireWire route and instead connect via optical, S/PDIF, or
AES.  The Rosetta has each of these connections, and presumably, we'd
need to get our new PCs outfitted with at least one of the same.

Anyone have advice on which of these three is the best to go with?
This is for straight, no-frills analog to digital conversion for
preservation of old recordings, not anything for fancy production.
Just plain, as-close-to-the-original-as-possible transfers.


-- 
---------
Trey Bunn
Audiovisual Conservator
Emory University Libraries
Preservation Office
Atlanta, GA
404-727-4894