Ok, just got my 990/7125, really thankful for this forum. Most of the other issues I had I have good ideas how to fix through this forum. On to my problem. I know the 2nd zone only accepts analog inputs. My problem is, I have an Airport Express from Apple. The analog and digital jack are the same physical jack on the Airport. I would really prefer to use the digital (Toslink) jack. So, is there some type of outboard D>A converter I can connect between one of the digital outs and analog inputs of the 990? Is that even possible? Thanks
John

Sure, there are tons of DACs out there. Prices range from probably < $100 to $10,000+++. What's your budget?

If you buy a nice one, you may want to use it instead of the 990's DACs. I recently auditioned the Benchmark DAC1, and found it noticably better than the 990's DACs, especially in the bass and soundstage areas. Price on that unit is $1000.

I really don't need anything fancy as this is for the 2nd zone only and will usually be mp3's.

HI there,

So you said that you want to use the Toslink, but also that the digital and analog outs are on the same physical jack.

The Toslink connection is optical. If you have optical out *and* analog out, you might be OK. Guess I'm not sure how the airport works.

If the Airport thing only has one connection, and it's not optical, you can split it, go into a cheap DAC, then into the 990 with that DAC's analog outs. Since I don't know your budget, it's hard to look for a DAC.

Here's an older CAL for $150:
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1182367123

Check eBay and Google around as well for "cheap dac".

Have you run into my complaint here: http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?/ubb/get_topic/f/34/t/001291.html

I know it's described as an intentional design, but I think it's not well thought out. If you don't like it, let Outlaw know. It's a real annoyance for my wife and me. We had some complaints with our Harmony remote, and Harmony *did* address the complaints because so many people told them about it. The problem with Harmony was an "intentional design" as well, and it was ultimately changed because most users found it a bad design. Anyway, if it bugs you, let them know.

Otto, Thanks the CAL looks like it may work.

The Airport has one audio connection an 1/8 inch jack that doubles as the digital connection.

I think my last question is if the digital outs on the 990 will always be on?

thanks
john

The Airport Express's optical output is actually buried at the bottom of the analog jack (an 1/8" mini-plug), so connecting both at once doesn't appear possible. I actually started looking for some sort of break-out cable that would let both be connected at once, but didn't find anything yet. For the cost of some of the DAC's in question, it'd unfortunately be cheaper to get a second AE to get around the problem of the combined jacks.

It might be interesting to compare the analog and digital outputs when used with the main zone - MP3 is a medium that's already been a bit "squeezed" sonically so the benefits of a better DAC may not pay off as much as with other sources, and using the analog all the time might be an option.

excellent point.

agreed that it is not worth spending too much money on mp3's at this point. my thought was i may start using a lossless format in the future and would prefer a better connection at that point. i actually have a second airport now so i can a/b them and see if it is worth it.

thanks
john

The airport has a usb connection. I wonder if I can get that to work with the 990?

Sorry, trailertrash. The USB connection on the 990 doesn't accept digital audio in. It's used as an interface for Outlaw updates and stuff...

Otto, I read on other posts and on Gonk's review that the usb port can be used for digital in. Something to the effect of the 990 being a big sound card.

Either way, the Airport won't support it.

Playing arround I found that on the analog outs (tape out and aux out) there is no signal when listening to a digital in. Does this mean you can't record a digital input on an analog out?