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Coaxial/Optical converter cables

post #1 of 11
8/13/09 at 6:41pm
Thread Starter 
I have an M-Audio C02 converter that I want to use between my Imac and my dac. I have no idea how to hook it up. I think I need 2 cables, one from my Imac into the converter, and from the converter to my Dac. Can someone tell me what cables I need, and do I need to spend a lot of money on them or not.
Thanks.
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post #2 of 11
8/14/09 at 3:46am
You are converting from optical to coaxial S/PDIF I guess.
Then you need two cables. One optical cable, terminated with a miniplug (3.5mm) in one end and a TOSLINK in the other end, connecting the iMac to the CO2. Then one coaxial (RCA to RCA), connecting the CO2 to the DAC.

A regarded cable vendor, for those on a budget, is Digital Audio Cables at Blue Jeans Cable.
Then there are of course several other vendors, depending how much $$ you want to spend.
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post #3 of 11
8/14/09 at 12:03pm
William, what DAC do you own?
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post #4 of 11
8/14/09 at 2:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrarroyo View Post
William, what DAC do you own?
Resolution Audio Opus 21
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post #5 of 11
8/14/09 at 2:08pm
this might sound rather daft, but does a optical cable with a usb head exist out there? i.e. I wanna use my usb audio to connect into the optical audio out of the PS3, or is there any other way I could overcome this issue?
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post #6 of 11
8/14/09 at 4:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cravenz View Post
this might sound rather daft, but does a optical cable with a usb head exist out there? i.e. I wanna use my usb audio to connect into the optical audio out of the PS3, or is there any other way I could overcome this issue?
Nope! USB is electrical, while optical is light = no match...
Really not sure there are any adaptors to make this work either, as it would need to have a driver to "mount" the USB DAC. Probably use a computer in between?
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post #7 of 11
8/14/09 at 4:48pm
Not sure if this is what you mean but Monoprice sells optical to coax and coax to optical converters:

Toslink / Fiber Optic Adapter

I have one for my Roku Netflix box and it seems to work well although I'm not sure if it degrades the audio quality or not.
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post #8 of 11
8/14/09 at 7:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by william campbell View Post
I have an M-Audio C02 converter that I want to use between my Imac and my dac. I have no idea how to hook it up. I think I need 2 cables, one from my Imac into the converter, and from the converter to my Dac. Can someone tell me what cables I need, and do I need to spend a lot of money on them or not.
Thanks.
Assuming this is your converter



And you want to take the optical from your imac and output coax to your DAC...?

All you need is a 3.5mm mini plug to standard Toslink cable (or standard TOSlink cable...don't know if the imac has a mini or full size) and a coax cable.








Optical from imac to converter "input"...Coax from "output" of converter to coax input of DAC....
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post #9 of 11
8/15/09 at 11:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeatFan12 View Post
Assuming this is your converter



And you want to take the optical from your imac and output coax to your DAC...?

All you need is a 3.5mm mini plug to standard Toslink cable (or standard TOSlink cable...don't know if the imac has a mini or full size) and a coax cable.








Optical from imac to converter "input"...Coax from "output" of converter to coax input of DAC....
This is what I need. Thanks.
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post #10 of 11
11/18/09 at 6:47am
Apologies for digging up a slightly musty thread, but I just wanted to see if anyone else was converting coax to Toslink using this little silver box:

Digital Audio (S/PDIF) Coaxial to Toslink Optical Digital Converter

Not sure that it was ever a good idea, and fortunately its just an experiment with some cheap kit I picked up recently, but the end result is decidedly underwhelming. Given that I wasnt getting any of the static with the source plugged straight into my integrated via RCA last night, and I know how good the Topaz is with anything else, I am pointing the finger at the little silver converter - happy to hear from anyone who has had a positive experience with it.
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post #11 of 11
11/19/09 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by william campbell View Post
Resolution Audio Opus 21
Hi William, I went to the Resolution Audio site and read on the coaxial input it has. BTW, that is one impressive unit you own.

If I was in your shoes I would buy the DIP from Monarchy Audio (Monarchy Audio) and would feed the Resolution via the coaxial out of the Monarchy.



This units come up on Audiogon for as little as $125. Cheers and good luck.
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