OptiCompo POFP Face Panel (2 of 3) Manufacturer: OptiCompo Category: Audio Estimated Price: $75.00 Reviewed By: Shadi Muklashy Review Date: 1/30/2001   Review Index    Go To: Introduction Features Conclusion Features First off let me state that the POFP is not simply a device that re-routes your soundcard's input and output ports to the front of your computer. In fact, it does not contain any matching ports as to those found on the card itself. The POFP provides additional (and useful) digital and analog ports, while at the same time conveniently placing them in an expansion bay. The instruction manual is very short (10 pages), but began with a surprise. The introduction seems to be written as if sent from a friend, with thanks to those purchasers supporting alternative hardware projects. The brief paragraph is concluded with "Just enjoy the world of music." Personally, this brought me peace of mind. It is evident that OptiCompo loves what they do, and the products seem to reflect devices and interfaces that they themselves would want. Installation is a snap, and went without a hitch. The panel that contains the ports fits into a 5 1/4 " bay and the rest of the wires are inside the case hidden from view. The card comes with a 14 pin cable that connects to the back of the panel and to the soundcard. The end that connects to the soundcard is attached to an adapter to make it fit each of the supported cards. This enables the digital connection for the optical input/output ports and the coaxial ports. The analog RCA ports are enabled by connecting the back of the POFP to the soundcard's AUX IN port with a standard cable. Once the audio interfaces are connected, all that is left is the power supply, and you're done. There are onboard jumpers on the POFP for specific configurations of SoundBlaster front/rear channel settings. To test the device, we chose the SoundBlaster Live mp3+ card. We connected everything as stated, and installation was effortless. Upon powering on the computer, the optical out port of the POFP emits a red light, indicating successful installation. There are two digital solutions and one analog solution for connecting audio devices to the POFP. The digital solutions include the TOSLink (optical) ports, and the Coaxial RCA ports. The analog solution consists of the analog-in RCA ports (left and right). The digital solutions contain both input and output ports, while the analog solution is simply for input (as it connects to the AUX-IN port of the SoundBlaster card). To test the digital ports, we used a portable minidisc player/recorder (Sony MZR70) as our source and destination device. I am in a 4 piece blues/rock band and used the minidisc recorder, run through our mixer, to record a standard practice session, with the intention of testing the POFP. I connected the MD player to the analog rca inputs on the POFP, and immediately I could hear the audio from the playing minidisc through the computer's speakers. Recording is simply standard procedure: open your favorite audio recording software, make sure to monitor the correct input from the soundcard, and record as desired. After transferring several songs onto the computer, I tested the digital output of the POFP by use of a standard 3.5 mm stereo optical cable. The Sony MZR70 is equipped with an optical-in jack, ideal for pure digital transmission. I connected the MD player, played some mp3's and wav's on the test system, and recorded to the minidisc. The recording was flawless, and worked exactly as expected. The beneficial aspect of the optical outputs (other than digital transmission) is the most devices equipped with optical inputs have the option of synchro-recording, and this cuts down your preparation and overall production time. The optical-in jack on the POFP works the same as the optical out, just the other way around. Any device with an optical out connector can be connected to the POFP for pure digital signals directly to your soundcard. The coaxial cables work exactly the same way, as well. The POFP has a selector switch in the middle of the panel which must be set to the correct position to indicate the source of your audio. One particular note of importance here is the middle selection, which is an external device. The POFP has a port on the inside allowing you to connect yet another external audio interface to the same soundcard. The switch must be set to 'E' to use the other device, but it adds yet another option of layered-convenience.