What is S/P-DIF? What is AES/EBU?
AES/EBU and S/P-DIF describe two similar protocols for communicating two-channel digital audio information over a serial link. They are slightly different in details, their basic format is almost identical, but there are enough differences that the two are, for all intents and purposes electrically incompatible. Both of these digital protocols are described fully in an international standard, IEC 958, available from the International Electrotechnical Commission. AES/EBU (which stands for the joint Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcasting Union standard) is the so-called “professional” protocol. It uses standard 3-pin XLR connectors and 110-ohm balanced differential cables for connection (no, standard microphone cables, not even good quality cables, won’t work, even though it seems they might) and a 5 volt, differential signal. S/P-DIF (which stands for Sony/Philips Digital InterFace, a now obsolete standard superseded by IEC 958) is the so-called “consumer” format.
