Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Hello list,

I've connected my XL-7 to a FireWire Audiophile external audio/midi 
card. Now I have two problems.

1) Connecting via S/PDIF:
The signal is weak. It's about half the volume of when using analog 
connection. Besides that I am restricted to using 44.1kHz (the cards 
max is 96kHz) because I have to set the clock to external. When using 
internal on the Audiophile, the signal gets disturbed (clicks and 
plops). The trick of grounding the S/PDIF output didn't fix it. Am I 
doing something wrong?

2) Connecting analog (main or sub):
A humming sound is added to the signal. When I close to software 
mixer of the Audiophile the humming stops, but still leaves a lot of 
noise en crackles. Totally not acceptable.

Are both problems recognized by anyone? Do the seem to be related?

I also checked the XL-7 on a simple home stereo. It also produces 
noise, but it's only noticeable on high volume.

Regards,
Maik


--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, "Alan Wrightson" <sapalan@h...> wrote:
> I am having the same SPDIF problems as described in this thread 
with 
> my PX-7. I have it going into an alesis masterlink via a tc 
finalizer 
> express, alesis deq320d and m audio c03. Whichever combination of 
re-
> routing, and whichever settings on the px-7 I use (aes / spdif) the 
> masterlink loses sync with the px-7 every 20 seconds or so. Most of 
> the gear has status lights and I have narrowed it down to the px-7 
> only (or the one cable) but I only just unpackaged the cable today 
> from new, and it is a proel top of the line spdif.
> 
> What proves it to me is that the exact same setup has worked 
without 
> a single glitch for 6 months when mastering from a d8b and mx2424.
> 
> No, it's definitely the emu hardware.
> 
> So how do I go about earthing the cable? Just a couple of crocodile 
> clips and some solder!??
> 
> Alan
> 
> --- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, "glennjamison" <glennjamison@h...> 
wrote:
> > I have had problems with the s/pdif output on two separate MP-
7s.  
> I 
> > haven't been able to get either to work and I also have no 
problems 
> > with any of my other s/pdif gear. I've tried plugging the MP-7 
into 
> > various s/pdif ports with various cables, and since I've had the 
> > problem with 2 separate MP-7's, I'm assuming it's not a problem 
> with 
> > the unit.  I have set it to s/pdif and not aes/ebu in the 
settings 
> in 
> > the MP-7.  What I do get when I hook it up is a whole lot of 
> digital 
> > noise.  I've tried synching word clock to the s/pdif port on the 
MP-
> 7 
> > and I've also tried using a sample rate converter so that I don't 
> > have to sync to the MP-7's s/pdif port, but nothing seems to 
work.  
> > If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
> > 
> > Glenn
> > 
> > --- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, "clintfisher" <clint@f...> wrote:
> > > --- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, aeon <aeonlux@c...> wrote:
> > > --snip---
> > > > I am not experiencing it, nor are others on this list, so I'm 
> > > thinking
> > > > something is wrong with your cable, clock sync or method.
> > > 
> > > Actually, others on this list *are* experiencing this, which is 
> why 
> > I 
> > > decided to chime in.  I'm connecting the XL-7 to an Aardvark 
Q10 
> > and 
> > > have tried all clock sync methods available in the driver.
> > > 
> > > It's important to note that no other SPDIF gear I have has a 
> > problem 
> > > connecting through my Hosa "digital" (SPDIF) cable to the Q10.  
> > Units 
> > > tried:  Apogee Mini-Me, CO2 (optical-spdif converter), C03 
> (higher-
> > > quality optical-spdif converter).  All perform flawlessly.
> > > 
> > > Oh yes, I have tried different (and shorter) cables with the 
same 
> > > results.
> > > 
> > > Others here have indicated a weak signal coming from the XL-7.  
> > > Granted, I have not done anything *myself* to measure the 
actual 
> > > SPDIF signal strength coming from the XL-7 versus my other 
> devices, 
> > > but this does concur with the behavior I am experiencing.
> > > 
> > > My next test will be to use a *very* short cable out to the CO-
2 
> > and 
> > > hopefully use it as an amplifer in between my Q10 and the XL-7.
> > > 
> > > The bottom line is that other equipment works fine while the XL-
7 
> > > suffers.  I believe it to be a defective design or output 
> circut.  
> > > Others on this list have corroborated this.
> > > 
> > > The biggest reason for me wanting to use the SPDIF out, aside 
> from 
> > > the panacea of "perfect digital quality" is that the Q10 has 
ten 
> > > input channels, 8 analog, and 2 digital via SPDIF.  This 
> > effectively 
> > > frees up two analog channels for me, which is invaluable.
> > > 
> > > Any information anyone can offer on a way to *resolve* this 
issue 
> > > would be most appreciated.  I'll try hardwiring the cable 
ground 
> > too.
> > > 
> > > -Clint