I want to update my "mix-down" setup for audio recording, and I'm unclear what equipment I need.
I currently have a Roland VS-1880 multitrack recorder. It offers an RCA SPDIF digital out. I ran the digital out into a Turtle Beach Montego II sound card on a Windows 98 box. The Turtle Beach card had RCA SPDIF digial ins. I used Sound Forge on the computer to record the input coming in from the VS-1880 and mixed down songs in real time.
Secondary, I would also convert audio cassettes to digital form using a Midiman Flying Calf A/D converter. ( Midiman is now M-Audio ). The converter accepted the analog RCA outs from a tape deck and gave me an RCA SPDIF Digital Out, which I ran into the Montego II Sound Card.
This setup worked great for many years; but the Windows 98 machine has outgrown it's usefulness. The Turtle Beach Sound card is long since discontinued and drivers do not exist for current operating systems. After a half day trying to get it working i a Windows 2003 box, I gave up.
It would be my preference not to have to replace the VS-1880, or the Flying Calf. I'd like to replace the Win98 computer with an old HP Laptop running Windows XP. This laptop has both Firewire and USB.
How do I get the RCA SPDIF Outs from my two devices into a laptop?
It appears that the Edirol UA-1D is exactly what I need, however the unit seems to be no longer available.
Most other units appear to offer digital inputs use Mini-Toslink. Two units I found were the M-Audio Transit and Edirol UA-1Ex.
So, onto the questions:
What equipment do I need to get the RCA SPDIF Digital out of my units into a laptop? Is it possible to get a cable from my RCA SPDIF outs to a MiniToslink in?
Reviews seem mixed as to whether USB devices like this are worthwhile. Are there alternative devices I should be exploring?
I'd prefer not to have to spend $5K on a high end recording / conversion unit.
Thanks; and I hope this question is deemed appropriate for this site. :-)
