Operation And Usage; Connections - RME Audio Hammerfall DIGI9636 User Manual

8. Operation and Usage

8.1 Connections

The main board's bracket has two ADAT optical inputs and two ADAT optical outputs, as well
as a 9-pin D-type socket. Coaxial S/PDIF input and output requires plugging in the adapter
cable, whereby the red phono socket is the output. The ADAT1 I/O next to the D-type socket
can also be used for optical S/PDIF, if this mode is selected in the Settings dialog.
An input is selected via the RME DIGI Settings dialog. Hammerfall Light accepts the
commonly used digital audio formats, S/PDIF as well as AES/EBU. Channel status and copy
protection are ignored.
In S/PDIF mode, identical signals are available at both the optical and the coaxial outputs. An
obvious use for this would be simply connecting two devices, i.e. using the DIGI9636 as a
splitter.
To receive signals in AES/EBU format, a cable adapter is required. Pins 2 and 3 of a female
XLR plug are connected individually to the two pins of a phono plug. The cable shielding is only
connected to pin 1 of the XLR - not to the phono plug. The ground-free design using
transformers for digital inputs and outputs enables trouble-free connection to all devices, and
perfect hum rejection.
The internal digital input (connector ST3 on the circuit board, CD IN) can be connected to the
digital output of an internal CD-ROM drive (advantage: direct transfer of data within the
computer). It also allows to use an AEBx-I, when a 3-wire cable connects ST7 on AEB and
Hammerfall.
Additionally the card offers two internal outputs, labeled ADAT1OUT (ST5) und ADAT2OUT
(ST9). These can be used to operate one AEBx-O each, for a maximum of 16 analog outputs.
The audio data are the same as on the corresponding optical output.
DIGI9636 User's Guide © RME
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