ADAT I/O wordclock (I know I know)

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Posted this over at the recpit but no response so I thought I would try here....

First off I cam really sorry for posting such a tired subject but I have been looking all over this forum for a definitive answer to a few questions I thought it was better to just ask....

Here is the deal, I am on the edge of dumping Protools LE and moving to Samplitude (I have heard many good things about Samplitude and change is good right?? Hope I am making the right choice)...

I am about to pull the trigger on a Lavry blue a/d as my top 2 channel converter. I currently have an RME ADI-8 (yeah I know but…) and a PreSonus DigiMax ( I have some nice mic pre’s the DigiMax is for scratch vox and the like). I am thinking of getting an RME Hammerfall with wordclock i/o to get into the PC.

Two questions… First, the RME ADI-8 Pro, Hammerfall and DigiMax are all ADAT digital I/O. Some say the ADAT pipe “smears” and sounds very bad yadda yadda yadda. I do have a smearing effect in my Digi 001 but that could just as easily be the floating point on the summing or the ADI-8 converters?? Is ADAT digi I/O noticeably worse than AES/EBU and if so should I be looking into something other then the Hammerfall???

Second, assuming the Lavry is going to have the best clock (and assuming that I will be broke after buying it) do I really need to get a wordclock distribution unit or can I sync the RME ADI-8, Hammerfall and DigiMax all from the wordclock out of the Lavry with BNC T’s or daisy-chain?? It is my hope (am I asking too much??) that I can use the Lavry clock to improve the sound of the so so ADI-8. What would be the best way to do this and what would be the least expensive alternative if the solution is not one and the same??

Thanks, sorry again for posting such an overdone subject.

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Anyone??

[NathanEldred]

Don't worry about it too much. The Lavry clock will significantly improve the Digimax and any RME product. The Samplitude/Hammerfall HDSP combo is stable (it's what I use 24/7 in a commercial setting). Get a distribution box like the Lucid and use the Lavry for the main clock into the Lucid...if what's in front of the mic sounds good (and your room, mics and preamps aren't taking away from the quality too), it will be good. You can skip the distribution box all together as long as only the last connection in the chain is terminated (you would have to make sure and check the specs of each product that is utilizing a 75 ohm BNC connection to make sure it's able to be turned on or off).

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Thanks for the reply Nathan, I was starting to get wonder if I posted in the wrong forum.

Anyway, I have been doing pro audio for 10 years mostly as a hired gun producer and engineer. What I seem to find in most studios is a “get the sound to tape” attitude and I am a “get the sound to tape in the best possible way” kind of guy. There has been a bunch of discussions on this forum about power cables (please DO NOT GO THERE tutt ) and audio cables. A little off topic but with the studios that I work(ed) at there was a huge difference in cable quality and sound (NOT power cables but beat-up mic cables and patch cords for sure). The point is I am equipping my own studio now and I really intend to do it right.

Anyway on that subject, I have always felt (and have read some things to back up my theory) that wordclock BNC cables are more susceptible to RF than any other in the studio. Anyone have a favorite BNC cable for wordclock?? Anyone notice a difference as long as the cables are run away from power supplies and the like?? Any recommendations???