Backup; Digital Cables; Aes/Ebu - TerraTec EWS88 MT Manual

The digital interfaces on the EWS88 all transmit bit resolutions between 8 and 24 bit, as well
as all sample rates between 8kHz and 96kHz. Driver 4.02.16.98 and later allows you to use
optical interfaces independent from the ADAT-standard and, for example, to the S/PDIF-
standard. Some manufacturers of software-DVD-players (i.e. Power DVD, Version 5.55)
support playback of DVD audio material through the EWS88. This allows you to split the
signals ( 5.1 or 7.1) and playback AC3 or DTS material. You can find more information on the
Power DVD on: http://www.cyberlink.com.tw.

Backup.

The digital interface and its software is not designed to back-up straight to DAT tape. Though
technically possible, cheaper ways of backing up (to CD for example) are very common these
days and less time consuming.

Digital cables.

Transmitting audio data through copper (co-axial) or lightpipes (optical) can result in tiny,
though generally inaudible, errors. As a result, you should ensure, that you are using short
high-quality cables:
Co-axial: 75 Ohm-cable up to 5m
Optical: plastic up to 1,5 m and glass fiber up to 5m
When using digital cables, differences in sound quality may seem exaggerated, but may occur
nevertheless. This can be traced to the use of error correction algorithms in the DACs which are
obviously more frequently used with lower quality cables. However, these differences are
extremely minimal and one can get easily carried away in this matter. In case you are
interested: The internet hosts a number of quite entertaining newsgroups on this subject ;-).

AES/EBU.

Instruments equipped with AES/EBU interfaces cannot be driven by S/PDIF interfaces – no
ambitious DIY adapters are going to change this. However, the AES/EBU standard is nearly
identical to S/PDIF and the main difference lies with the strength of the signal. A little
soldering and you could build you own converter.
40 AudioSystem EWS88