Help with Saffire Pro 40 and Profire 2626

[winedup]

Originally Posted by nfpotter

Howdy, y'all! New forum member here.

So I just bought a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40, and an M-Audio Profire 2626 to put together a mobile recording rig, and I have a couple questions.

First, is one of those 2 units a better clock source than the other?

Second, is s/pdif less reliable as a clock source than ADAT?

Here's what I'm thinking, for a configuration:

Pro 40 to computer via firewire. Optical out of Pro 40 to Profire 2626 for clock sync, with the 2626 as slave. Optical out of 2626 back to Pro 40 for audio data, basically just using the 2626 to get 8 more input into the Pro 40.

Would this be the best way to set all this up, or is there a better configuration?

Thanks in advance!

I don't have the Profire, but I do own 2 SP40s and 2 OctoPre MkIIs....

I think the configuration you have suggested will be just fine, assuming the Profire is happy taking ADAT in as "clock only". It appears as though the Profire has external clock "in" available on the 9-pin DIN - you may want to consider an external clock, clocking the Profire from the external source, then providing clock and audio over ADAT to the SP40. However, the jury is out on whether this creates a better 'audio experience'.

I love my SP40s, and have a 32-track rig that can sit on a TV tray :-)

Enjoy the gear - make some music!

Don

[nfpotter]

Thanks for your help, Don!

[Masaaki]

Either one (Saffire or Profire) can be a source of clock (I have Profire 2626), and the difference won't be noticeable. And SPDIF and ADAT doesn't really matter.

The only concern for me is your use for "mobile" recording, which I have no idea about. But, profire's clock source needs to be changed to external from the mixer panel, and kept that way if your computer has only one FW port. Is it laptop? If you don't setup before hand, it will use internal clock by default, and it won't be sync'ed with Saffire. So, before start recording, on site or at home, you need to prepare this way every time. It's probably not a big deal, but something you need to remind all the time.

[nfpotter]

Originally Posted by Masaaki

Either one (Saffire or Profire) can be a source of clock (I have Profire 2626), and the difference won't be noticeable. And SPDIF and ADAT doesn't really matter.

The only concern for me is your use for "mobile" recording, which I have no idea about. But, profire's clock source needs to be changed to external from the mixer panel, and kept that way if your computer has only one FW port. Is it laptop? If you don't setup before hand, it will use internal clock by default, and it won't be sync'ed with Saffire. So, before start recording, on site or at home, you need to prepare this way every time. It's probably not a big deal, but something you need to remind all the time.

Yes, the Profire's software has a stand-alone section of settings, and the unit seems to retain those settings even after being powered off, so that you don't need to connect it to the computer at all.

Last night I hooked everything up as I described above, and I'm happy to report that everything seems to be working great!