General clock question

[echorec]

Hello,

I use a Motu setup with one HD192, one 1296 and one 1224. I record a maximum of 10 tracks at the time and when I mix I use all the analog outputs (34) of the interfaces.

What kind of diffence will I notice if I use a better (external) clock? I´m interested in the difference in both recording (AD) and mixing (DA).

Thanks.

[C.Lambrechts]

digital / wordclock .... in order to understand what they do and how a better or worse clock can influence your audio you need to understand what jitter is.


There's a great technical explanation on jitter by Bob Katz at Digido :

http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule...er_page_id=28/


more specific to your question :

Jitter occurs or can be added whenever your digital signal goes through a conversion ... A/D or D/A. A proper clock basically prevents time errors by making sure that all devices in your digital setup synchronise their digital data to this one clock.


typically a better or worse clock will result in things like :

- better or worse stereo image
- tight or less tight low end
- loss of depth / dynamics in your sound

[cdog]

You should defintely be using an external master word clock when tracking or mixing with more than 2 units.

You want each box to reference the same clock, otherwise each will run on its own internal clock and there may be ugly digital noises like pops and clicks, or otherwise muddy sound when you playback the audio. This is crucial!

Especially seeing as though they are MOTU units which don't have very good internal clocks to begin with. You can get significantly better results out of those boxes by clocking them with something like a Lucid master word clock.

I should know - I have a 2408mk3 and a HD192. Niether was remotely close to my Apogee Rosetta 800 until I started clocking them to the Lucid. Now the HD192 has a cleaner sound. The 2408mk3 sounds better - but theres really no helping that box. Now, the tracks recorded with the MOTUs at least blend better with the Apogee tracks.

I'm actually reconfiguring my studio and have found an alternative solution to using my Lucid SSG 192 - just clock my HD192 from the Rosetta 800. So I'm selling it on ebay here:

Lucid SSG 192 Master Word Clock Auction

This is would work perfectly for you and its still at a low price.
Someone's gonna win it soon!

cdog

[Chris Peters]

cdog,

I agree with Chris in general. Also if you plan to expand your set-up by further digital outboard you will need a dedicated clock generator/distributor anyway to keep the whole timing in sync. Even in this case if you will not hear such „big differences“ like some others are stating, a centralized clock will secure the functionality of your digital equipment permanently. I would recommend to have a clock generator or at least an active distribution amp. Basically you should avoid to daisy-chain the clock lines!

Regards, Chris.

[Chris Peters]

Sorry cdog,

this message was intended for echorec!

Regards, Chris.

[bigbaby987]

apogee's big ben looks like it could be your solution....serves as master clock and can distribute clock to up to six units all at different rates if you want. nice unit