AES/SPIDF format I ran the SPIDF cable form the V3 to the Digital in on the Tascam DR680. It hooked in no problem. I did a test at home with the digital output format set to "SPIDF" and "AES". There is a huge difference in these 2 formats SPIDF is consumer grade and AES is professional grade. I ran 2 tests one with AES on then the other with SPIDF on and listened to both wav files on the computer. The SPIDF sounded nice but was thin and seemed to be missing something. Then listened to the AES file and WOW what a difference a really full sounding file with more detail and just seemed more information coming at you.
Thanks for the detailed reporting Patrick! So I didn't realize you had gotten a 680, very nice, becoming the recorder of choice for the CO Crue.
On your point above, I think this is a case of hearing what you want to hear. There is no difference whatsover in sound between a spdif bitstream and an AES bitstream. They carry exactly the same sound bits (whether 16 bit or 24 bit). The only difference in the digital "words" making up the AES and spdif bitstreams is a bit that is either flagged as consumer or professional. This bit doesn't affect the sound at all, iirc it really is used to set consumer status, where consumer status doesn't allow digital clones to be made (SCMS stuff).
Thanks Todd for the note. There was so much difference between these files that it was not what I wanted to hear. Maybe I made a mistake and did not do the test properly each time. But all I thought I changed was the Digital output from SPIDF to AES and ran the test again. I deleted all the test files I ran last week. My wife even commented on how much difference there was. I will have to run it again in the future and see if I can repeat it.
There is a difference in voltage levels that may account for what you heard but the data is the same in either format.
Remember that even though the audio data is the same between AES3 and S/PDIF, they have different subcode formats. AES3 converted to 75-ohm coax is not S/PDIF, and S/PDIF converted to XLR balanced is not AES3. Nor is AES3id 75-ohm BNC the same as 75-ohm RCA S/PDIF -- it may work, but it is not the same. They are still in their native format; just the transmission medium has changed. Going from S/PDIF to AES3 has a higher degree of success than the other way around. AES3 signals often are not recognized as valid by S/PDIF inputs. Whether they will work in your application depends on the equipment chosen.
Therefore the following passive circuits convert only the signal level and impedance, and not other protocol details (e.g., sample rate, consumer/professional status, nor correct any block errors in the data stream).
Taken from:http://www.rane.com/note149.html
Phil I'm not sure what you mean by saturation since that is really a magnetic tape term but what you record at level X should be the smae as what you record at the higher level Y. Are you referring to the digital input? In that case you would be controlling it at the preamp and could adjust you levels so that they peak higher. IE: halfway between the mid line and the top line. I think once you;ve used the deck a few times and get a feel for it you will like the way the levels are set up to read.