Oooh interesting.
I have both cards, but i don't have an SMD soldering kit.

Maybe analyzing the circuit diagram of the Digital SPDIF chip will help? (if there is such a thing freely on the net)

[Edit]

I found info for EMU 8000 while following this discussion:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/hk.re … ual/YzW2S055B0U
http://www.google.com/patents/US5928342

Stojke wrote:

I have both cards, but i don't have an SMD soldering kit.

You wouldn't necessarily need one. A small enough iron tip, used in conjunction with either solder wick, or a sucker, should be enough to remove the zero-ohm resistor. From there, even if the "resistor" wasn't moved to the alternate location, a circuit-trace pen could be used to simply draw the new link.

Maybe analyzing the circuit diagram of the Digital SPDIF chip will help?

Datasheets would be wonderful, but alas, having spent some amount of time looking, I'm still not even sure what, exactly, the CT8907 and CT8908 chips are, or who manufactured them.

Yeah i know, but the soldering gun i have is too inaccurate for this.
I am thinking of asking one of my friends who does mobile phone service to borrow me hi SMD kit.

Maybe you could get answers from Creative 😀

It could be an alternative signal path for TOSLink instead of SPDIF - Creative just left the option there and went with the SPDIF bracket...?

j^aws wrote:

It could be an alternative signal path for TOSLink instead of SPDIF - Creative just left the option there and went with the SPDIF bracket...?

No, that wouldn't really require a second signal out of the main chip. TOSLINK refers to the optical connection type, but the data, in this case, is still S/PDIF format. (The existing 2-pin header can actually be used with a TOSLINK connector, if power to drive the optic is supplied from elsewhere.)

I may end up getting around to testing this before anyone else does, but I imagine the output of the alternate signal is likely:

- The same output as the other signal, but at a different bit-resolution or sample rate
or
- Composed of just the EMU8000 output
or
- Composed of just the "digital voice" output
or
- Something else not yet considered 😀

Its for certain its a digital signal processor.
Beacuse OPL is linked to it, allowing effects such as Reverb.

Analyze where the digital out was on AWE 32. It was on the EMU 8000 chip. Meaning this thing might be a newer version of EMU 8000 generator?

Also see on the scheme of the EMU 8000, it has 3 SPDIF outs.
But as you said, a good way to test would be to move the resistor to a new position.

[EDIT]

On the AWE64 classic version the SPDIF out is leading to CT8903-MCQ .
On AWE64 GOLD this chip is CT8903-DAQ, on the newer version its the same as classic - CT8903-MCQ .
So CT8908 has to be some sort of DSP.

I think we're getting ahead of ourselves here. 😀 The EMU8000 core is included in the larger CT8903, "AWE" chip. The CT8907 and CT8908 appear to just be some sort of general-purpose digital input chips that appear to at least be multiplexing the EMU8000 and "digital voice" output signals, and may also be providing sample-rate conversion functionality besides.

You gave me the idea to check my CT4500 card, which also has the CT8903, and it turns out that I was wrong about the "yellow dot" in the photos above. This isn't a signal going to the AWE chip, but rather, it's the S/PDIF output from the AWE chip. Using the alternate circuit on either Gold card, as suggested above, is going to result in just the EMU8000/CQM output through the S/PDIF header.

Guess that solves the mystery without having to actually do anything. 😀

What are the differences? Does it bypass the CT8908 going like that?

Stojke wrote:

On AWE64 GOLD this chip is CT8903-DAQ, on the newer version its the same as classic - CT8903-MCQ .
So CT8908 has to be some sort of DSP.

Not sure if you aren't saying the same thing, but my cards correspondingly have CT8903-DAQ and CT8903-MCQ:

Both cards compared

The newer version has MCQ while original AWE64 gold and AWE64 classic have DAQ.

i am sorry to be a little off the topic but does anyone have schematic of a circuit or a way to attach these awe's spdif output to a modern receiver.?

JaNoZ wrote on 2013-07-20, 07:48:

i am sorry to be a little off the topic but does anyone have schematic of a circuit or a way to attach these awe's spdif output to a modern receiver.?

I came here with the same question. Judging by the photos I found of the real thing, the breakout bracket is just a "dumb" cable and an RCA plug. The "ground" (shield, outer) pole of the thing goes to the pin closer to the edge of the card, designated "0".
- At least that's how I interpret the photo linked to above (thicker cable is usually the shielding) and these instructions:
https://flaterco.com/kb/audio/ISA/index.html#AWE64
If in doubt, get that HT-Omega CA-1 cable and attach it as shown. (The link is broken, but the cable can be found)
Haven't tried it out so far, don't think you can break much with a 1.5 Volt signal, but proceed on you own risk. ;)