Does anyone use S/PDIF on their iLive? I have posted before about this, but have yet to find any suitable solution. I’ve found numerous threads on other, non-related forums about volume levels coming from S/PDIF, which all mimic the problem I’m having, but they do not have any solutions.

I am trying to use a digital output from my T-112 surface. Here’s the problems, and what I’ve done to check it:

1. When I connect any of my equipment to the output, the volume level received is very low. I have no way of boosting it much, although my CD-recorder does have a means of increasing the recorded volume by up to 18 dB, which seems to help quite a bit. My computer has no such adjustments, so it’s useless. I get enough volume to hear, but not much to be useful for my streaming application.

2. To test the output(s), I simply loop them back to the S/PDIF input on the board, and send pink noise through. It works fine in this case.

3. To test my outboard equipment, I repeat the process with a Pink Noise CD, recorded at 0 dB (on the scale of the CD recorder), and send it to my computer (works fine), and to the iLive (way too loud, but I can turn the gain all the way down and it is usable).

So the only problems seem to lie in the interaction between the iLive and the other components. It doesn’t seem defective, just that it is not the same signal specs on the wire. Does this make sense?

I’ve been told not to try to interpret dB scales, and I’m trying to ignore the fact that O dB pink noise on the board won’t produce a 0 dB scale reading on any other equipment (it’s more like -40 dB), but even the perceived volume and adjustability is just totally off.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Or does anyone have time to try with some other piece of hardware?

I’ve tried with a couple of consumer CD recorders, a Tascam professional model, and an M-Audio USB interface, all with the same results.

I’d love to hear if there are any similar stories, or equipment combinations that will work.

I’ve thought about adapting to AES/EBU to check that out, but I don’t know if that would make any difference, since they’re supposed to be almost identical standards.

Thanks!

Brandon