Big Ben or Antelope Audio Isochrone OCX

[Nu-tra]

I'm researching before I go and dump $$$$ on one of these units.
Any advice is appreciated.

V

[jdunn]

I think there's another post with almost the exact same title around here if you do a search.

[Nu-tra]

I did the search and read it before i posted... I gathered that a few people had tried it but were vague about which clock is better.

V

[Steven Bell]

I just bought an Isochrone OCX, but neither my 828mkII's nor my Delta 1010's seem to "deal" with it very well.

The 828's do not allow separate Word Clock input for the slave. It has to get it's sync via the master. Kind of defeats the whole master clock thing.

The delta 1010 produces a white/pink noise when switched to Word Clock and this noise actually gets printed onto tracks!

My advise: determine if your hardware will be able to "appreciate" the master clock.

Steven

[Albert]

Originally Posted by Steven Bell

I just bought an Isochrone OCX, but neither my 828mkII's nor my Delta 1010's seem to "deal" with it very well.

The 828's do not allow separate Word Clock input for the slave. It has to get it's sync via the master. Kind of defeats the whole master clock thing.

The delta 1010 produces a white/pink noise when switched to Word Clock and this noise actually gets printed onto tracks!

My advise: determine if your hardware will be able to "appreciate" the master clock.

Steven

It sounds like you have setup issues that need to be resolved, certainly with the Delta. I'd be very surprised if that unit can't clock to an external WC. As far as the MOTU gear, once you've clocked the master to the Isochrone the slave clocks to the master. So they are both clocking off the Isochrone, even though the Isochrone is not physically attached to the slave unit.

[Steven Bell]

Originally Posted by Albert

It sounds like you have setup issues that need to be resolved, certainly with the Delta. I'd be very surprised if that unit can't clock to an external WC. As far as the MOTU gear, once you've clocked the master to the Isochrone the slave clocks to the master. So they are both clocking off the Isochrone, even though the Isochrone is not physically attached to the slave unit.

I can't imagine what setup issues would cause this type of behavior in the deltas.
I've used them for five years without anything like this. I can use internal, I can use S/PDIF. But sync to Word Clock and you get noise?

I appreciate the explanation for the 828 slave. It makes a lot of sense. It's just that the slave's sample rate indicator sometimes blinks and I lose audio. I was hoping that if it could get Word clock directly that perhaps this wouldn't happen.

cheers,

Steven

[bigbongo]

... wonder if this isochrone / motu white noise problem was sorted?

[jdunn]

Originally Posted by bigbongo

... wonder if this isochrone / motu white noise problem was sorted?

I don't know, but I can assure you that the problem was on the MOTU side. Their implementation of word clock leaves something to be desired.

The clock on my 896 would lose sync and try to reset at the drop of a pin.

The Isochrone is a solid clock, though I'm still annoyed that they put cheap plastic knobs on the front panel.

[raal]

IMO Digi 192 improved noticeably with either Isochrone or DA16X (same as Big Ben). they sound different, but the stereo image seems wider on both clocks.

still haven't tested as to which makes for being closer to an original analog source, but the Apogee clock so far seems to be make things more pleasant to the ear (for me). apparently punchier; with Isochcrone there seems to be more high end detail. totally subjective here. on another post i said if they were pres, again IMO, the Isochrone would be closer to an API (faster) and the Apogee would be closer to a Neve (warmer, fatter).

haven't been able to get the Antelope people on the phone or to answer an email, so i guess customer service isn't their strong point. something to consider. the Apogee people have been very helpful when i've called.

also have a friend who can't get his MOTU interface to work with an Aardvark i lent him, so if you have MOTU i don't know if either clock will help.