Quick question about connecting laptop --> matrix mini DAC --> amp --> LCD-2
Jul 26, 2011 at 5:19 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8

boirefish

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It's more focused on the laptop --> matrix
 
so, according to specs, my toshiba satellite laptop has "spdif out shared with headphone jack. And the back of my matrix mini looks like this:
http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?57408-FS-Matrix-Mini-i-24-96-usb-dac-headphone-pre-amp
 
So, are these what I need to connect the two? Or could I do with 1 component?
 
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/COAXIAL-DIGITAL-AUDIO-CABLE-75ohm-RCA-SPDIF-1-8m-/230640445077?pt=AU_Television_Accessories&hash=item35b33de695#ht_2085wt_905
 
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-5mm-Mono-Jack-Plug-Female-TV-Coaxial-Socket-/120618867844?pt=AU_Electronics_Radio_Equipment&hash=item1c1571dc84#ht_1019wt_1139
 
because apparently the matrix mini only accepts 24/192 via spdif and not usb (I don't have toslink).
 
On that note, is 24/192 neccessary, ie does it make an hearable difference?
 
thanks so much for the help guys!
 
Charles.
 
Jul 27, 2011 at 8:15 PM Post #6 of 8
I think the jack should be headphone out / coaxial S/PDIF out (as opposed to optical aka TOSLINK).  Consult the laptop manual to make sure.  In that case, you just need a mono male 3.5mm to mono male RCA cable.
 
You're transmitting a digital signal out of a noisy laptop headphone jack...but the noise on top of the signal isn't so bad that it's going to be flipping bits.  You don't need a separate S/PDIF interface for this job unless you want to be higher than 99.9999% sure that it's working properly.
 
Maybe if your laptop doesn't support 24/196 over S/PDIF or whatever, then a different interface would do that.  But good luck getting the human sensory perception system to pick up frequencies over 48 kHz, and finding recordings with frequencies that high (most studio mics don't pick up nearly that much).
 
Jul 28, 2011 at 11:25 PM Post #7 of 8
Jul 29, 2011 at 4:43 AM Post #8 of 8


Quote:
 
Hmm. I've managed to buy myself this:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220816839191&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_3076wt_1139
 
to connect my toshiba optical (which is shared as 3.5mm headphone jack) to my matrix mini. It's registering on the mini as "2-toslink 48kHz" with volume below, except I hear nothing when I plug the headphones in. the USB connect is also plugged in, and when I switch to that interface everything works. Is something wrong? Please help :frowning2:


Problem solved.
 
Thanks for all the help guys!!
 
 

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