I?m considering buying an external analog/digital converter to upload from minidisc to my Mac. Has anyone here had experience with the ART DIO?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh6.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___220757___ARDIO___REG___CatID=0___SID=F4C81 654CF0

I?ve read nothing but good things about the unit, but it just seems too good to be true at this price -- it has an actual tube inside it! Also, what is the cheapest way to add S/PDIF connectors to my G4? If I end up getting an external converter, I?d rather not also have to buy a sound card. There must be some kind of simpler USB or firewire device out there offering digital inputs and outputs. What about the iMic? Is that analog only?

yo marco -

i own a nice piece of ART gear, but i've never used this one. be aware that this piece of gear is designed and aimed solidly for the audio studio market. i think you may be trying to stretch the design of it in your head to fit your need. i'm not sure it's even necessary for you to use a converter like this. consider these variables: your mac (correct me if i'm wrong) has an 1/8th inch audio in jack, right? there's already some analog to digital converters right there, as you go in to the computer. are they as nice as the ones on that ART? NO. but they're free since you already own them and they're not that bad, really. the simplest way to do what you want is just to plug the analog outputs of the minidisc into the 1/8th inch audio in on the mac. it should sound pretty good. so here's the bad news: i don't think you're going to find a cheap spdif in for the mac. to get into that, you're going to be looking at a pci sound card, and there's way less to choose from for the mac. (again, i could be wrong, but i'm fairly up on computer audio) i think iomega makes a handy little interface but it's probably just usb and/or firewire.

to make a long story short, i don't think you're going to be able to use that ART product without having to drop more money on a soundcard that can handle a spdif in...
maybe somebody will come in and school me on this, who knows. but if you can find a way to use that ART product to your advantage, feel confident that most of their stuff sounds great for the money. not the "cleanest" sounding gear in the world, but their low end tube stuff does have a certain smoothness... i like my ART tube compressor a lot.

hope some of my rambling helps -

-martino

Thanks a lot. I was aware that most people just plug into the audio in jack, but I'm still exploring whether there's a way to get significantly better results without spending a whole lot of money. The nice thing about converters is that they can also be used to replace the front end on other digital gear. I figured the DIO might be a good investment in preparation for when I upgrade to DAT or harddisk.

marco -

you're definately right about it being a handy front end for other digital gear. although, honestly, i wouldn't place a whole lot of faith in ART's ability to to a/d conversion. who knows, it may be good...? but they are definately a company who makes "lower end" processors. albeit great sounding ones, but their strength has been in making good sounding but cheap tube gear. if you're going to get serious about conversion i would look at other gear way before i look at ART. but of course, then you're talking more than $150 or so...
when i think of a digital audio recording chain, i think in terms of this heirarchy of importance regarding the pieces in the chain: 1) microphone 2) mic preamp 3) converter.

all these links are important, but if you use a fabulous mic and preamp with a mediocre converter, you're still going to get a beautiful sound. but a mediocre mic and pre with a great converter?... capturing a great sound AT THE SOURCE is always the answer.
i would spend money on a great mic and pre first if you haven't already.

there's my .02... good luck marco!

-martino

Thanks.