OS x Utility to detect optical-in bitdepth and frequency? Options

[ElEsido]

Hi

I've got a question for the audio mac-heads here. Is there a way or a utility for a macbook pro to tell the bitrate and frequency of an audio signal that's being fed into a macbook pro through the optical in (the one in combination with the analog mic in)?

There have been speculations over here that rockbox on an iriver H120 can output an 20bit optical signal. I have a H120 and my neighbour has a Macbook Pro and I would like to test that assumption but need some advice on the tools to be used.

Thanks!
ElEsido

[Kees de Visser]

SampleRate:
As soon as you feed a valid signal to the optical in, the sample rate should be indicated in the "Audio MIDI Setup" application (located in the /Applications/Utilities folder). Select Properties for "Built-in Input".

Word Length:
I don't know any simple (and free) solution to measure the wordlength of the input signal. You could download a demo of an application with a "bitscope" feature like Spectrafoo Complete or a plug-in like Ozone4. Plug-ins require a "host application", e.g. Reaper.

Perhaps there are easier solutions, but this method should work.

[ElEsido]

Thanks, I'll try that!