> I live in Europe, can anybody give me a hint where I am able to
> buy (online
> or shop, doesn't matter) the MX25, the Addon Card to my Diamond Monster
> Sound MX300, which features Optical Out?
>
> If you can't tell me a place where to buy (cuz perhaps Diamond stopped to
> manufacture them etc...) it, can you recommend me any cheap (but
> hi-quality
> digi-out!!) sound card w/ digital out?
First off, the MX25 adds an electrical (coax) digital output, not optical
(not a problem for recording to a JB930, it will be if you want to record to
a portable as well).
I used to have an MX300, bought on the assumption that I could upgrade with
the MX25 when I needed the digital out. I gave up looking for it here in the
UK, and translating the US price (which was about $60, I think), it didn't
seem worth it anyway; especially if I'd need a converter to record to my
R55.
I sold my MX300 for 25UKP, and bought a secondhand Videologic SonicVortex2
for 30UKP to replace it. Same chipset, drivers, etc - different manufacturer
(Xitel cards are the same). Cheaper way to do it, and it's neater too
because the optical out is on the same card rather than needing an extra
slot.
You can find SonicVortex2 cards from the usual online computer vendors for
about 50UKP. However as Aureal, who make the chipsets, have folded (thus no
more driver updates) I can't really recommend them. I've been happy with the
cards I've had, the current drivers work fine (the beta Windows 2000 ones
are pretty good), but I'm worried about what it'll be like 6 months from
now..
The other option is the Creative SBLive! Value (and variants) cards with a
Hoontech bracket (www.hoontech.com), costing about 55UKP for the card and
20UKP for the bracket. It's a nicer option as you'll have digital in as well
as out.
> Btw, can I record digitally on my MDS-JB930 with an S/PDIF
> digital out on a
> sound card, i mean,
> is the S/PDIF signal sent by the card compatible with the coaxial
> in of the
> 930 compatible?
Yes, but bear in mind that it won't send trackmarks - just a continuous
stream. If you're recording tracks of music, they'll need to have gaps
between them for the auto-marking on the deck to work (see one of thousands
of posts on recording MP3s). :-)
hth,
--
Simon
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