Kolpak DA-98 manual Digital recording, Routing digital inputs, Selecting word length

DIGITAL I/O

DIGITAL I/O

Section 8 – Advanced operations

8.10 Digital recording

The DA-98 is able to accept (and output) digital signals at the DIGITAL I/O connector [45] in TDIF-

1format. The IF-88AE and IF-88SD interface units provide conversion to and from AES/EBU (and SP-DIF) and SDIF-2 formats.

The DA-98 should be connected to other TDIF-1 equipment using a PW-88D or PW-88DL connec- tor cable.

WARNING

Only use a TASCAM digital cable when making digital audio connections to the DA-98. Other types of cable may cause damage to the system, and the warranty will be voided if such damage is caused by use of the wrong cables.

The DA-98 should be set to be either a word clock master or a word clock slave when connected to other digital equipment. There can only be one word clock master in a setup.

Since the TDIF-1 format carries a word clock as part of the interface, there is no need to make a word clock connection when recording through

theconnector.

8.10.1Changing between digital and analog inputs

To change between digital and analog inputs, sim- ply press the DIGITAL IN switch [15]. The DIGITAL IN indicator will light.

NOTE

If you attempt to record digitally from a digital source which has a different frequency from that previously recorded as the DA-98’s tape format, the Fs indicator corresponding to the tapes sampling frequency will start to flash. This indicates a frequency mismatch.

Recording with different sampling frequencies is not recommended – problems will certainly occur on replay of such a recording.

8.10.2 Selecting word length

When data is accepted through the

connector, the word length of the incoming data must be set. This can be selected from between

16-bit, 20-bit or 24-bit. To set the word length:

1)SelectTDmenuIFW2,omoverdL16theebcursornigtthto WordLen, and press ENTER:

2)Use the UP and DOWN keys to change the value between 16, 20and 24bits.

We suggest that you experiment with the dither settings (see 8.13, “Dither”) if you find you are recording quantization noise at low levels when the input word length is set to 20 or 24 bits. Though you will lose a little in the signal-to-noise ratio, total harmonic distortion figures will be improved.

NOTE

If you are dubbing tracks from a DA-88, this value must always be set to 16 bits.

8.11 Routing digital inputs

When recording analog signals, it’s usual to route them through a console’s sub-grouping system or if the number of groups is not sufficient, through an external patchbay.

Neither of these is an easy option with digital sig- nals, and so the DA-98 provides a kind of internal patchbay in the form of the Track Copy function (see 8.11.1, “Track Copy (channel-to-track rout- ing)”).

The default setting for this feature is “straight through”, as shown below.

11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 Inputs

11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 Tapetracks

Track Copy

Input 12345678 (Dig)

Tape

Track 12345678 on

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