basic digital audio ??

Moderator: James Steele

Forum rules
Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
Drumthumb
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:16 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

basic digital audio ??

Post by Drumthumb »

what route does the audio take ? For example: a MIDI controller triggers sounds in MainStage via MIDI connection through an UltraLite; the sound travels from the laptop back through the USB or FireWire connection into the MOTU where it is routed out the analogue jacks OR the SPDIF/TOSlink. From there it is inserted into the sound system/PA speakers. So my question is: why do you need a digital out if the sound is going directly into an amplifier?
User avatar
bayswater
Posts: 11923
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:06 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Vancouver

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by bayswater »

Drumthumb wrote:So my question is: why do you need a digital out if the sound is going directly into an amplifier?
In case you want to route the signal to the digital inputs of another device.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
User avatar
mikehalloran
Posts: 15134
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Sillie Con Valley

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by mikehalloran »

Bingo!
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
Drumthumb
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:16 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Drumthumb »

bayswater wrote:
Drumthumb wrote:So my question is: why do you need a digital out if the sound is going directly into an amplifier?
In case you want to route the signal to the digital inputs of another device.
bear with me - another device like a DAW, or SSD? Ultimately, though, the sound will need to be routed through an A/D converter to get it to an amplifier, right?
User avatar
mikehalloran
Posts: 15134
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Sillie Con Valley

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by mikehalloran »

Drumthumb wrote:Ultimately, though, the sound will need to be routed through an A/D converter to get it to an amplifier, right?
Yes but the goal for most these days is to keep everything in the digital domain up to that point.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
User avatar
bayswater
Posts: 11923
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:06 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Vancouver

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by bayswater »

Drumthumb wrote:
bayswater wrote:
Drumthumb wrote:So my question is: why do you need a digital out if the sound is going directly into an amplifier?
In case you want to route the signal to the digital inputs of another device.
bear with me - another device like a DAW, or SSD? Ultimately, though, the sound will need to be routed through an A/D converter to get it to an amplifier, right?
No. If you wanted to send it to a digital tape, for example, you could do it without conversion. You might send it to another audio interface that has a connection to effects you want to use. E.g., I have a second Mac with a PCI UAD card. To use it, I use digital outs on my main Mac to get to it, setting up an effects loop to and from the UAD.

Generally, you should keep your signal in digital format once it has been converted from analog until it has to be converted back to analog for monitors, vinyl, etc. So all your equipment needs to have digital inputs and outputs so you can do that.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
User avatar
Phil O
Posts: 7231
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Scituate, MA

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Phil O »

Vinyl? What's that?
DP 11.23, 2020 M1 Mac Mini [9,1] (16 Gig RAM), Mac Pro 3GHz 8 core [6,1] (16 Gig RAM), OS 14.3.1/11.6.2, Lynx Aurora (n) 8tb, MOTU 8pre-es, MOTU M6, MOTU 828, Apogee Rosetta 800, UAD-2 Satellite, a truckload of outboard gear and plug-ins, and a partridge in a pear tree.
User avatar
bayswater
Posts: 11923
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:06 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Vancouver

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by bayswater »

Phil O wrote:Vinyl? What's that?
The Beatles used it for storage or something.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
User avatar
Phil O
Posts: 7231
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Scituate, MA

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Phil O »

Kind of a not-so-floppy disk, huh?
DP 11.23, 2020 M1 Mac Mini [9,1] (16 Gig RAM), Mac Pro 3GHz 8 core [6,1] (16 Gig RAM), OS 14.3.1/11.6.2, Lynx Aurora (n) 8tb, MOTU 8pre-es, MOTU M6, MOTU 828, Apogee Rosetta 800, UAD-2 Satellite, a truckload of outboard gear and plug-ins, and a partridge in a pear tree.
User avatar
Phil O
Posts: 7231
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Scituate, MA

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Phil O »

bayswater wrote:
Drumthumb wrote:Ultimately, though, the sound will need to be routed through an A/D converter to get it to an amplifier, right?
No. If you wanted to send it to a digital tape, for example, you could do it without conversion. You might send it to another audio interface that has a connection to effects you want to use. E.g., I have a second Mac with a PCI UAD card. To use it, I use digital outs on my main Mac to get to it, setting up an effects loop to and from the UAD.
Also, some amps now have built in converters (i.e., digital ins). I don't think I'd use one, but they exist.

Phil
DP 11.23, 2020 M1 Mac Mini [9,1] (16 Gig RAM), Mac Pro 3GHz 8 core [6,1] (16 Gig RAM), OS 14.3.1/11.6.2, Lynx Aurora (n) 8tb, MOTU 8pre-es, MOTU M6, MOTU 828, Apogee Rosetta 800, UAD-2 Satellite, a truckload of outboard gear and plug-ins, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Drumthumb
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:16 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Drumthumb »

Phil O wrote:
bayswater wrote:
Drumthumb wrote:Ultimately, though, the sound will need to be routed through an A/D converter to get it to an amplifier, right?
No. If you wanted to send it to a digital tape, for example, you could do it without conversion. You might send it to another audio interface that has a connection to effects you want to use. E.g., I have a second Mac with a PCI UAD card. To use it, I use digital outs on my main Mac to get to it, setting up an effects loop to and from the UAD.
Also, some amps now have built in converters (i.e., digital ins). I don't think I'd use one, but they exist.

Phil


Can you recommend a good keyboard amp with digital inputs?
User avatar
HCMarkus
Posts: 9712
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:01 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Rancho Bohemia, California
Contact:

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by HCMarkus »

Drumthumb wrote:Can you recommend a good keyboard amp with digital inputs?
I wouldn't go there. Use the digital outputs to drive external digital devices (i.e. external digital reverb or delay or whatever box) or to transfer audio to another device that will be manipulating the audio in the digital domain. This way, you avoid multiple conversion cycles.

Connect amps to the analog outs of your interface.
Drumthumb
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:16 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Drumthumb »

HCMarkus wrote:
Drumthumb wrote:Can you recommend a good keyboard amp with digital inputs?
Connect amps to the analog outs of your interface.
ahhhh....thank you for helping to make my point; there are no keyboard amplifiers with digital inputs.
User avatar
Kurt Cowling
Posts: 384
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Milwaukee, WI

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by Kurt Cowling »

So the bottom line of this thread is... if you don’t need the digital output - don’t use it.
DP 11.1, Monterey, 2021 MacBook Pro M1-Max, 2017 iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, Omnisphere 2, Trilian, Stylus RMX, EZ Drummer 2, MachFive 3.11, Real Guitar2, Real Strat, Sample Modeling trumpet, saxes, trombone, Fr Horn/Tuba. Audio Modeling clarinets, double reeds, flutes, strings, Kontakt 6, Flux Pure Limiter 3, PSP Vintage Warmer, PSP MixPack, PSP StereoPack, PSP Impressor, Altiverb 7, Izotope RX8 Standard, Yamaha S-90ES, Yamaha MOXF-8, Yamaha MX60, Sibelius subscription, Adobe CC and Motion 5.
User avatar
bayswater
Posts: 11923
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:06 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Vancouver

Re: basic digital audio ??

Post by bayswater »

Drumthumb wrote:ahhhh....thank you for helping to make my point; there are no keyboard amplifiers with digital inputs.
There may not be any sold as keyboard amplifiers, but there are amps with digital inputs. The point being made, and the answer to your original question, is that there are a lot of audio units that have digital I/O so that once the analog/digital conversion is done, the signal path can remain digital as long as some sort of processing is to be applied.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
Post Reply