reissue

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Sep 23, 2010
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Hi all! I have Boston Acoustics BA735 speakers from my old gateway (from the earlier part of the decade). After doing some research I found that these were digital speakers and require a digital out. So I tried setting it up like I used to on my old rig, and no sound. However, if I pull the cable half way out of the SPDIF out and position it just right I will get sound. Is it possible the cable I am using is the wrong size for this SPDIF out?

When I used it on my '00 gateway it was with a soundblaster which I am pretty sure did not have a digital out, it just used a regular connection and had drivers that supplied a digital signal.

What I am getting at is I think the SPDIF jack is a different size from the jack on my soundblaster card from '00 which is why the cable only works if I pull it half out. Any thoughts?
 

reissue

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Sep 23, 2010
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ok so after reading the link...it seems that my S/PDIF has a yellow connection, which I am assuming is Coax and takes an RCA cable and then I have an optical input which I am assuming is TOSLINK. The current Cable I am using I believe is an RCA cable. It's green coated and I am plugging it into the yellow S/PDIF connection. So if this is the right cable for the right connection why would I have to pull it half out for it to work? do i possibly just need a different cable? or could I buy a TOSLINK and use that (or are my speakers too old?)

Could it be I need better drivers?
 
^ Could be a lot of things: oxidation, I/O short, dust/debris.

Suggestion, since this is a non-optical - get rubbing or isopropyl alcohol and first clean the RCA {going to PC}, dip it again in alcohol and while somewhat moist insert all the way into PC coaxial S/PDIF and turn back & forth a few times and repeat. Otherwise my, best guess is that some metallic object is shorting the connection {I/O shield/etc}. Get a flashlight and look very carefully.

Otherwise, try (for now) another RCA cable. If it is shorting move away the interfering object or place tape around the outside of the "RCA" jack.

Bottom-line, since it "can" work - it is not the "PC" or MOBO or drivers - it's a connection problem/cable.

Please let me know...