So the optical in on my north star broke. The little plastic piece that swings up when you plug in the optical cable snapped off at the NYC Meet and I can't find it. So now when I plug in an optical cable, there's a lot of play in the jack. It works, but the cable can come loose very easily. What a stupid design.

Has anyone had this problem before? Any suggestions how to fix it?

In the alternative, if I decide to use the Coax input on the north star, I'd need something like the M-Audio transit to convert the optical out from my iMac, correct?

Probably the easiest way would be to open the DAC up and replace the module. It should only be something like 3-5 connections, board mounted. I dont know what part Northstar uses, but it likely is fairly easy to find.

Dinny,

Since it's an MKII it might still be under warranty, I'd pursue that first before fixing it yourself.

You, sir, are a gentleman and I scholar. I'd love to be able to fix it myself. I've got to get back into DIY sometime.

Jacob, did you fix your jack?

Also, as an alternative to using the optical jack, I suppose I could use the coax, but would need to get an optical-to-coax converter. Are those things bad for SQ?

I haven't fixed it yet, but here's how others approached the issue (simply replaced the "door"): Broken Pioneer door/flap on Optical 1 input. - AVS Forum