AKAI Professional MIDI STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER S2000

[raggie]

Hi. I was wondering... what kind of cable is needed/the best for recording through the digital out (the back) of the AKAI Professional MIDI STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER S2000?

It looks like a 1/4" jack to me, but I didn't know that would work when recording digitally?

Do I need an adapter for this? I already have toslink cables... but will it stay digital all the way, then?

I've asked before in here about that MIDI sampler in another context and then I got the answer that it only supported TRS in some cases and then TS in the remaining cases. If I go use the digital out port, what would be the better option then?

It's for a project where I need to go record some gaming footage at another place in my country. I don't have this MIDI sampler at home. I see there are different variants of this one (digital out).

The only picture I have of the MIDI sampler I'm gonna use is this... this is from a test visit. It seems like it's more of a jack solution in this case... or whatever it might actually be.

THE SYSTEM I'M GONNA USE:


Thanks in advance...





https://www.platinumaudiolab.com/free_s ... manual.PDF

[Hugh Robjohns]

As far as I can remember, the digital I/O was only available if the optional multi-IB-208P output board was installed. If it was, the digital I/O was in the stereo coax SPDIF format with two RCA-phono sockets, a red one for the input, and a yellow one for the output.

[raggie]

So what you're saying is, that it's not available (digital) if the one being installed is actually the optional multi board without the red and white/(yellow?) outputs at the digital i/o... and instead the ones looking like 1/4" jack i/o?

[jaminem]

What Hugh is saying is that digital I/O was only available with the optional multi output board. You need one with the red and white RCA’s to transfer digitally.

But fear not, you still have the stereo analog I/O which will work.

I say fear not since I would imagine you are sentencing yourself to using this thing to impart some sort of mojo on the signal, and since it’s 16bit you’re not going to get the desireable(!) crunchy 8 or 12bit distortion of the earlier akai samplers, at which point the poor D/A may give you something…..

If you want to transfer some old samples I’d try and do it inside a PC. I had one of these samplers back in the day and they were a nightmare to program- like trying to decorate the hallway through the letter box. It’s just not worth the aggro these days….

[raggie]

Sure. I just thought it was weird why at least one variant has jack i/o also at the digital i/o on the optional board. That looked like a mistake to me...

I already know how to record using the analog output, I asked about that in here about a week ago. I was just thinking... maybe going digital was better, but it doesn't seem to be possible without making some changes to the MIDI sampler I'm going to use.

It's part of an old Amiga 4000 setup that was used for broadcasters/TV shows. So I only need to record the game audio coming through the MIDI sampler. They used this method back in the day to get better audio quality than what a typical computer was able to deliver back in the early 90's.

[Hugh Robjohns]

So what you're saying is, that it's not available (digital) if the one being installed is actually the optional multi board without the red and white/(yellow?) outputs at the digital i/o... and instead the ones looking like 1/4" jack i/o?

I've never seen digital I/O on 1/4-inch jacks. The optional I/O expansion board for the Akai S2000 had rca-phono sockets as far as I/m aware.

If the Akai you want to use really does have quarter-inch jacks for the digital I/O then I'd assume they are wired TS... but I'd be most surprised.

[raggie]

I found this image on the internet. That's why I was talking about a digital i/o that are not RCA's...



I don't know if it's a mod or whatever...

[Hugh Robjohns]

I've googled it for you!

MUTEC in Germany apparently made alternatives to the Akai IB-208P expansion board. It was called the ADO (in version 1 and II) and they basically replaced the rca-phono sockets with TRS quarter-inch sockets to provided AES3 formatted digital audio instead of S/PDIF formatted digital audio.

I found a ADO II model on Ebay:

And an ADO I model:



The wiring is AES+ on the tip, AES- on the ring, and screen on the sleeve.

[jaminem]

Looks like a mod. For something? No idea what tho. The S2000’s with the optional board should have RCA’s for the digi I/O

Regardless, given what you’ve said I’d still be inclined to find a software sample converter convert your akai samples to WAV and then trigger them inside your DAW.

The S2000 is a nightmare to use…..

[raggie]

Hugh Robjohns:

Thank you. It's not that I'm lazy, and don't want to do a Google Search myself, it's just that I'm new into all this and I found out the last time, when I asked about how to record an output of an analog signal, that it's not just as easy as it sounds if I also want a good result.

I only have one chance at doing this right, so...
But thanks for solving the mystery!

jaminem:

The tracks are being played by instructions of the games (the Amiga inside) when needed, like sound effects and such inside a game, so it's not that I need to copy over all the tracks.

I already have a PreSonus Studio 68c and it worked as intended the last time at the test visit. But now I figured out the MIDI sampler might also have a digital out, so that's what got me interested instead.