RSP-1572 Optical 1 to Zone 2 #FAIL

[rarmand]

First timer here.

I have an RSP-1572 processor mated to an RMB-1506 distribution amplifier.

I'm having trouble playing OUT to Zone 2 from my Airport Express plugged into Optical 1.

Here's where I'm at:

• I know Optical 1 works — I can plug in my Airport Express and listen to FL/FR/etc OUT.
• I know Zone 2 works — I can play out to it from my phone plugged into USB.

The problem is that Optical 1 + Zone 2 won't work together!

(Note that I do have Zone 2 set to CD (Optical 1)).

Any suggestions?

[BilGe]

See page 20 in the RSP-1572 owner's manual.

The answer is simple: You can't do that. The preamp will not pass any digital input to the Zone outputs. Anything that goes to the Zone outputs must come into the preamp in analog form.

Bill Gee

[rarmand]

Bill, thx for the quick reply. How disappointing

I guess the USB input — that works fine with Zone 2 — isn't considered digital

From p20:

When using digital connections, you may also want to make the analog audio input connections. The analog connection is necessary to send an analog Video and Audio signal to Zones 2, 3 and 4.

I will try a 1/8" stereo cable from the Airport Express into the analog CD input [#29] and see how it sounds... otherwise I might be shopping for an external DAC.

[BilGe]

Hi Rarmand -

Yep, your quote from the manual is exactly what I saw.

It seems logical that the USB port would count as "digital" ... but maybe they route it differently. I have an older RSP-1068 which has neither USB nor HDMI, so I have no personal experience with it. The RSP-1572 owner's manual is not clear regarding how USB inputs are handled.

I have a Raspberry Pi with a Wolfson Audio card on it. I run Music Player daemon on it. Although the Wolfson card has a digital output, I don't use it. It is connected to one of the analog inputs on my preamp. It sounds great and works with the zone output.

Bill Gee