Is anyone using a Word Clock with a Digi 002?

[Al_Huero]

I'm definitely a clocking convert. Got a Minime and slaved an Mbox and Digi 002R to it. Playback on mixes was muched improved--more so for the 002R than the Mbox. The increased clarity and definition is nothing short of amazing--especially stereo separation. Hell, songs played back from my I-Tunes library over the clocked 002R sounded better than ever. Good stuff.

[b3groover]

So I'm going out on a limb here, but I think this might work. I just won one of these on eBay for less that $100:

http://www.monarchyaudio.com/Introduction.html

It's made for audiophiles. It takes the digital out of your CD player and reduces jitter. This is what caught my eye:

The most dramatic feature is the Classic?s built-in precision clock. The original clock retrieved from the transport is abandoned. A new reference clock is introduced to hold the sampling frequency at a precision 44.1KHz

It then outputs the new source to AES/EBU. Now, here's my plan:

I'm going to take an old Yamaha CD player with TOSlink output, hook that baby in to the DIP, and then hook the AES output up to MOTU 1224 and then sync the MOTU to it's AES input!

I'm hoping this will work as well as getting a stand-alone word clock generator like an Aardsync or Lucid. The question is do I even need to hook up the CD player or will the output of the DIP be enough to create a clock signal? Whaddya think? I should add that I realize I can only do 44.1kHz with this, but that's fine.

[east3rdst]

I'm definitely a clocking convert. Got a Minime and slaved an Mbox and Digi 002R to it. Playback on mixes was muched improved--more so for the 002R than the Mbox. The increased clarity and definition is nothing short of amazing--especially stereo separation. Hell, songs played back from my I-Tunes library over the clocked 002R sounded better than ever. Good stuff.

Is this technically true? Will clocking to an a/d or d/a with a good internal clock have the same impact as a dedicated clock? Two birds, one stone?

[Al_Huero]

This issue was addressed in previous posts. General consensus seems to be that a good internal clock is the best of all possible worlds, but the clocks in the Digidesign hardware aren't all that great--so adding a good quality external clock to them can improve things.

And if I misunderstood your question--the Minime is a 2-channel A/D converter with a clock. You can use just the clock, or set it up to use the converters as well.

[east3rdst]

And if I misunderstood your question--the Minime is a 2-channel A/D converter with a clock. You can use just the clock, or set it up to use the converters as well.

That's the part. This clock business is a mess. So with a 002, a Alesis Ai-3, and say a Mini-DAC, your d/a improves 'cause of the converters as will you Ai-3 input 'cause of the clock?

[Red Rockets Glare]

I spoke to a fellow at Apogee and he said you can use the Mini-Me through SPDIF to record two channels of audio AND clock your Digi 002 at the same time. I assume the Alesis would be lef to tits own devices though since the Mini-Me has ony one SPDIF in/out.

[joel hamilton]

The AI3 can NOT be the master, as it takes its clock from whatever host it is connected to, so yes, it would benefit from better clocking for the main DAC in your rig.

[bblackwood]

A better quality clock source will be valid regardless of the quality of your converters.

I'm sorry, but I think this is bad advice. Try it out in your setup, sure, but one of the reasons that converters like db Tech/Lavry, Crane Song, Prism, etc sound so good is that the internal clocks are fantastic out of the box...

[bassface]

This is all some new information to me: thanks for the heads-up.

What I want to know: is this the kind of item that will grow obsolete quickly? What I mean is, in two years will clock technology be superior and cheaper, or is a good clock with today's technology going to remain a good clock in the future?

This will naturallliy have a big impact on how much of my budget I devote to it.

Are there any other high quality units that combine D-A/A-D conversion along with a clock (besides the minime). Thanks again.

[supafuzz]

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/digi96 ... %20PRICING

can this be used ina computer for digi 001?

[bassface]

bump

[b3groover]

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/digi96 ... %20PRICING

can this be used ina computer for digi 001?

I don't think that card can be used as a stand alone card. If you look closely at the picture, it is obvious it goes in the computer, in a PCI slot space, but there are no actual edge connectors. Meaning it doesn't actually use a PCI slot. So how does it connect to the computer?

It must just be an add-on for the other RME cards and connects directly to them. Indeed, on the website it says this:

Power supply: from DIGI96 board, 12 V DC, 45 mA

[supafuzz]

too bad...any computer hookup einstiens out here can figure it out?

I wonder how the clock it self would compare to much higher priced units?

Is it about the clock or the delivery system..just wondering

[pedrohead]

just to throw in my unrequested two cents...

i've been clocking off of my apogee rosetta 48k for a while now, and just a few days ago picked up a used aardvark aardsync II.

my story is pretty much like those voiced here, i switched between internal/external clock, and the difference was astounding. i even switched between external apogee clock, and external aardvark clock (linked through my octopre ADAT card). the apogee was bright, but harsh, the aardvark was smooth as silk, open top end, defined low end, and the stereo image/hard panned items just jumped out at you.

probably my best investment of the last year.

[daveaux]

So, to address the vast differentiation in user skill/budget/project complexity of the users of this forum, let me try to phrase this as universally as possible:

Is it common or accepted practice to buy bomb-ass ADC with the superior built-in clock and use that clock as master for the whole system (002/001/etc)? Or is it (at our on-average-below-$2k-budget-level-per-piece-of-gear) still inevitable that a standalone clock is best bought FIRST, then AD/DA later?

PART II:
If it's possible to clock from a superior converter's internal clock is it an equally efficient use of funds to just buy good DA conversion and sync to THAT clock, so you could at least accurately hear if the onboard converters are really adequate or not? At least you could monitor effectively (assuming you have decent spkrs and ears)....?

For example: If you were working on a song drums tracked somewhere else on HD with Cranesong, for example, and wanted to bring the session back home to do some in-box mixing or whatever?

thanx guys, and especially Joel, who should be salaried.