Sony MD with "Line In Optical" Input - want to

[newmember]

I bought the Sony MZ-S1 and want to connect a microphone for live recordings - but all the MZ-S1 offers is a "line in optical" input. <p>An online search using "Sony" * MD" * "microphone" yeilds Sony mikes with sub miniature stereo mikes, and advice to buy the Sony MD's with the mike input. <p>I have a good older Sony stereo mike. Is there some feasable/cost effective way to make/buy an "line in optical" adaptor?

[Mike]

I may be wrong, but I would have to say no. The best way to do this is connect a microphone to the mic in on a computer, and connect the optical out (on some higher end sound blaster cards) to the optical in. You will need a optical cable to do this. But that defeats the purpose of the small size. When a computer is brought into the picture, it doesn't allow the device to be carried around. <p>The optical input uses a fiber optic wire. The sound out from the source is ran through a chip that turns it into an encoded light beam. The beam is then sent through the fiber optic cable, and recieved by the reciever, where is it decoded. This type of connection is often used with DVD players and Surround Sound Recievers to play back the surround sound as it was recorded. Using a plain RCA cable sends all of the sound through two wires, and leaves the reciever to decode it. The results are not as good. <p>You would be spending a lot more money to build a analog to digital converter than it is worth. You would need a preamp (unless your microphone is of the dynamic type, a chip (probably expensive) all of the connectors, a PCB, a special light, and more. It could end up cheaper, and easier to just buy a small new one, or a $20 digital voice recorder.<p>-Mike