The synth is equipped with the USB audio interface and SPDIF OUT. Would it make any difference for sound quality if I connected the synth to a computer via USB or SPDIF/an audio interface/a computer? Both connections are digital?

 

It depends; there's no single answer. In principle, both are modern and shouldn't produce any sound differences. However, sometimes there is interference from the PC affecting the USB connection. SPDIF is usually better protected, but as I said, it's impossible to give a general answer remotely. Try testing it and see if you notice a difference. I'm generally a fan of fiber optic cables because they are noise-free.

 

the reason it has a spdif output is in case you do not want to give it a usb port on your computer. Usb is better because it can be used for two way data back and forth, not just audio. With USB it can carry midi data, data from any program Novation includes like patch librarian, etc.
Spdif is one direction, audio only; and it carries its own clock.

Spdif coaxial is not much more than a convenience. Spdif Optical has the benefit of no noise because it is a lightpipe.

 

Don't really know, but it's imho spdif and usb are both digital.... Trs, rca, (mini)jacks, xlr are analog, but might be go from digital output (converted by DA, from digital to analog, so you need to capture with AD to digitize)...so slightly different vibe, such as aliasing, conversion artifacts, noise, hum, filtering, thd, imd, blah blah.....

 

It doesn't. The audio packets remain untouched data, they are just wrapped differently for the spdif output. It's 24bit 44.1khz internally, so there is no upsampling or dither. Same as the Virus TI.

 

I don’t see any practical usage of SPDIF in synths if more than one synth is used in the studio. Audio interfaces don’t have multiple SPDIF INs. And then still it will finish in the USB connection to a computer. It can useful in connecting several audio interfaces.

By the way, does SPDIF need any syncing clock or whatever?

 

Last edited: Nov 27, 2025 at 7:59 AM

S/PDIF has its own clock, so it digitally locks devices as master/slave and doesn’t need power. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s mostly there as a backup or convenience. Maybe you do not want to take up a usb port for one synth. Hubs aren’t great for audio over usb. Coax S/PDIF can go about 2x farther than usb and can also be converted to optical, AES/EBU, or DB‑25 in a bigger studio or live scenarios . It's overkill for just one synth, but handy in “pro” setups. If you want to go as far as a coaxial spdif but stay over usb, you can use a repeater cable. www.data-alliance.net is a good source. Optical can go even further with no noise, but the cables are much more expensive.

 

Simple answer: No!