Plombo wrote on Today, 02:15:

(If anyone's interested, I can provide the details of how I reached this conclusion.)

I'm interested) Have you tested the YMF724's SPDIF 48kHz output on other devices?

Plombo wrote on Today, 02:15:

• Could I solve this problem by upgrading to an Audigy 2 ZS? I found this from 21 years ago, where someone successfully connected the (presumably 48 KHz) S/PDIF output of a Live to the S/PDIF input of an Audigy 2 ZS. Can anyone here confirm that the Audigy 2 ZS can take 48 KHz S/PDIF input?

I have Audigy 2 ZS, but I never really thought about the S/PDIF samplerates.
As far as I recall, 44.1/48/96 kHz S/PDIF inputs are supported, but I'll double-check that.

However, if you are targeting Windows 9x and VxD drivers, the Audigy 2 ZS is not the best choice.
Audigy 2ZS VXD driver has limited capabilities compared to WDM driver (no S/PDIF inputs).
For an upgrade, I would choose the Audigy 2 (non-ZS), since it has full VxD driver.

ott wrote on Today, 07:59:

I'm interested) Have you tested the YMF724's SPDIF 48kHz output on other devices?

Yeah, what I did was send the S/PDIF output from the YMF724 and the CD drive through a coax->optical converter, and from there to the optical input of the RetroTink 4K CE. In that setup, both devices work and play audio like they're supposed to. The RetroTink 4K also has an info screen that identifies the sampling rate of the incoming audio signal, which is how I found out that the YMF724's output is 48 KHz.

I then recreated that exact setup, but with the devices connected to the S/PDIF inputs of the Live - both the CD_SPDIF header and AUD_EXT pins 15/16. For both of those headers, the 44.1 KHz CD drive plays audio while the 48 KHz YMF724 is completely silent.

ott wrote on Today, 07:59:

However, if you are targeting Windows 9x and VxD drivers, the Audigy 2 ZS is not the best choice.
Audigy 2ZS VXD driver has limited capabilities compared to WDM driver (no S/PDIF inputs).
For an upgrade, I would choose the Audigy 2 (non-ZS), since it has full VxD driver.

I didn't know that! I'm indeed targeting Win9x and VXD drivers. Thanks for letting me know, and saving me from that nasty surprise.

For a while, I was worried that all Audigy 2 non-ZS cards seemed to be missing either the front panel audio connector (which I'm also hoping to use at some point) or the SPDIF_IO/AD_EXT pins. But it seems there are some with both; they're just harder to find than similarly capable ZS cards.

ott wrote on Today, 07:59:

I have Audigy 2 ZS, but I never really thought about the S/PDIF samplerates.
As far as I recall, 44.1/48/96 kHz S/PDIF inputs are supported, but I'll double-check that.

Thanks! I appreciate it.

I would also check voltage levels of the S/PDIF signal. I vaguely remember running into this issue trying utilize the S/PDIF input header on my SB Live. IIRC, the S/PDIF input on the SB Live expects a 5V TTL signal, which was the voltage level on most optical drives. If the Yamaha card output is intended for coax S/PDIF, then the signal is about 0.5Vp-p. The optical convertor might be a little more universal on input voltage level, which could explain why it works via RetroTink in your test.

Just something to consider while troubleshooting.