1/8" to coax adapter? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Morales]

I need to connect a sound blaster audigy 2's digital-out 1/8" jack to the digital-in coax input on a receiver. I can't find an adapter or cable for this. Anyone know where to get one?

 

[dougW]

So, your saying male 1/8" phono, to male RCA? I know you can go the other way. "Male RCA to 1/8" phono adapter that has a female RCA input, and a 1/8" male output, but I am not certain about the other way. Check the Shack, that's your best bet.

So, you may have to change cables, or cut off the end and replace with a standard RCA.

Lex

 

[Chu Gai]

If the Shack doesn't have it you can see if your local Guitar Center carries them or try http://www.audiogear.com/AudioAdaptersIM.html (give them a call) or http://www.connectworld.net/cgi-bin/iec/PH35M-RCAF
In either case, they've got toll free #'s that you can call. S/H should be more than the part, so if you go that route, you might want to add a few more things to your order like bananas or whatever else you might need.

 

[Shane Morales]

Did a bit more research and it turns out what I really need is a TOSLINK/MINIPLUG optical cable. I'm pretty sure anyway - it would go from the audigy 2 digitil-out 1/8" jack to an optical jack on the receiver. Make sense?

Any suggestions on where to get one? Trusty partsexpress.com doesn't seem to carry any.

 

[Evan Hartnett]

Are you sure you can't use a 1/8" to rca adapter? I have an sb live! card and that's what I'm using to listen to music - through my receiver - right now . I have a 1/8" mono connection going out from the digital out on the sound card to a coax cable and then to an rca connection into the digital in on the receiver.

 

[Shane Morales]

no, actually, I'm not sure at all. I guess I should try it before buying some uppity toslink cable. Just gotta get the receiver to hook it up to.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Shane,

The signal coming off this card is not optical, it is electrical, and carried on a 1/8th inch jack. If you wanna go from 1/8th to Optical, you will need to do two steps: the first step would be to adapt that cable coming off the card from 1/8th to RCA (your current card is carrying digital coax type signal, just carrying on a mini 1/8th instead of a rca-- you need only adapt the connector type to get coax on an RCA).


After you have it as rca connector, you need an optical converter box if you want to plug it into the optical jack on your receiver (this is not just a change in cable and jack type, it is a change in the TYPE of signal, from electrical to optical and will requite a powered converter box).


The 1/8th to RCA should be simple, ANY 1/8th mono to RCA plug willl work. Radio Shack does carry this, I've bought them.

- Try cat number 274-897, this will work fine on the end of a normal RCA cable. If you wanted the opposite (you have a mono 1/8th to 1/8th cable you wanna slap and RCA on), try the 274-871.

- You could also do it by using a 1/8th to 1/4, then to rca:
The 274-885 or 274-047 are 1/8 to 1/4 adapters accepting a male 1/4, then go from 1/4 to rca with an adpater like 274-320 or 274-884.

- in a pinch number 274-889 might work, although i would only connect one RCA cable to it for fear of dropping signal below tolerance on your receiver or optical conversion box). But the 1/8th side is mono tip/sleeve sent to both jacks, so it might work.

At that point you would have an RCA digital coax signal compatible with a receiver, or with an optical conversion box if your receiver is out of coax inputs.

You can buy coax to optical boxes in several places, but they are no overly cheap- because remember this is not just "adapting"- it's changing the signal type entirely!

Radioshack has one, 15-1228.
Audio Authority has one, the 977R ot 977T.
Midiman has one, the CO3.
Dayton Audio (Parts Express) has one, the 180-960


-vince

PS: Why does radio shack's site suck so bad? For a major corporation they have the worst design, the absolute worst search engine, and the server power they have seems to be on par with a mouse in a wheel. It took me 40 minutes to write this just because I was waiting for pages to load!

 

[Shane Morales]

Would a 1/8" stereo cable work? I have lots of those.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Don't know for sure- it might, depends on how the jack is wired, and I don't own one.

But when the "right" adapter costs $3-5, I can't see why you'd dick with it.

-Vince