Apogee DA16x/AD16x and Lynx AES-16 combo.

[PapillonIrl]

Sorry, I know this has come up alot...but I searched and didn't find anyone describing a working setup like the above...

I'm doing a little more research before I take the plunge with my studio upgrade, and would like to hear from anyone running the Apogee cards with PCI cards like Lynx or RME.

Ideally I want to have one AD16x for tracking, and two DA16x's for mixing OTB.


I would need two AES-16's for this, right ? Anyone running two ?


What way would you clock this setup ? Daisly chaining the Apogee units ? Slaving the PCI cards to the Apogees ?


Also, if you are running a similar setup, please describe your cabling and where you sourced it ?

Many thanks,

Nathan

[edIT]

I run a Rosetta 800 with a Lynx AES 16. And no you would not need two. you would only need one for a AD16x/DA16x combo. Lynx makes a special Dsub to Dsub cable that sends 8 Channels of AES (16 ch. total) each way. So you would need to buy two of these special cables and you would be all set and ready to rock. With 2 DA16x's you WOULD need 2 Lynx AES 16 cards.

[PapillonIrl]

Originally Posted by edIT

I run a Rosetta 800 with a Lynx AES 16. And no you would not need two. you would only need one for a AD16x/DA16x combo. Lynx makes a special Dsub to Dsub cable that sends 8 Channels of AES (16 ch. total) each way. So you would need to buy two of these special cables and you would be all set and ready to rock. With 2 DA16x's you WOULD need 2 Lynx AES 16 cards.

Thanks mate,

how's it running for you ? Many teething problems during setup ?

Nathan

[edIT]

Absouletly flawless. Couldn't ask for a better digital card. RME stuff is good too if you are looking for an ADAT connection. but if you are going AES, there simply is not a better Digital PCI card out there that can top it. I too will also be switching up to a DA-16x and a Lavry AD in the near future.

[broken head]

Originally Posted by PapillonIrl

I would need two AES-16's for this, right ? Anyone running two ?

You can run up to four AES16s in a Windows PC or Mac (OSX 10.4 is neccesary to access all from a single application).

Originally Posted by PapillonIrl

What way would you clock this setup ? Daisly chaining the Apogee units ? Slaving the PCI cards to the Apogees ?

If you use the CBL-AES1603 cable (this is the one that connects directly to the D-Sub on the Apogees), it's typical to slave the AES16s to the digital in. With Synchrolock jitter accumulation is not of concern, so slaving to the digital in or receiving 2nd generation clock remains jitter-free. So how about this as a clocking scheme:
* AD16X - Master/Internal
* AES16#1 - Digital In
* AES16#2 - Header (from clock header out on card #1)
* DA16X - Digital In from AES16
* DA16X #2 - Wordclock In from AD16X (avoiding 3rd gen clock)

OR - get a Big Ben for clock distribution thumbsup

Best Regards,

[PapillonIrl]

Originally Posted by broken head

You can run up to four AES16s in a Windows PC or Mac (OSX 10.4 is neccesary to access all from a single application).



If you use the CBL-AES1603 cable (this is the one that connects directly to the D-Sub on the Apogees), it's typical to slave the AES16s to the digital in. With Synchrolock jitter accumulation is not of concern, so slaving to the digital in or receiving 2nd generation clock remains jitter-free. So how about this as a clocking scheme:
* AD16X - Master/Internal
* AES16#1 - Digital In
* AES16#2 - Header (from clock header out on card #1)
* DA16X - Digital In from AES16
* DA16X #2 - Wordclock In from AD16X (avoiding 3rd gen clock)

OR - get a Big Ben for clock distribution thumbsup

Best Regards,

thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup

Thanks mate...very helpful.

[madriaan]

eDIT, what software are you running, and how's the latency during tracking with this setup? Many Thanks, Martin

[not_so_new]

No need at all to spend the cash on the BigBen, save the money. Not that the BB is not cool but if you have the AD-16X then you have the 777 clock that is running the BB, no need to spend on redundancy.

Anyway yes the AES16 card is stable as all get out..... rock solid here, I am loving it with my 16-X. Yes you would need 2 AES16 cards for a 1 AD-16X and 2 DA-16X system. I am looking into exactly the same thing myself. rememebr if you use the 25 dsub cables to 25 dsub you need to change the jumpers on the card, takes about 10 seconds, not to worry.

A few days ago someone here mentioned to try turning off the "SynchroLock". I gave it a try... sure as sh*t with SynchroLock off and the whole rig clocking from the AD16-X things are richer and fuller. SynchroLock was still cool but things were more pinched and tight (sorry to the Lynx guys, just my take).

Anyway Lynx have been GREAT from the support side and the card is top notch. I built my own Athlon 64 Venice system with Raptor drives about 2 weeks ago and it has been SMOOTH sailing. 16 tracks of 96 and the machine has never one time even trough up so much as a complaint.

As to the AD-16X, I have used a ton of digital gear and I have to say the AD-16X is the best I have owned or had the privilege to use. Really outstanding. Yeah yeah you can debate all day about analog vs. digital but when it comes down to it if you can't make a good sounding product on the AD-16X then you probably can't make a good sounding product on anything and you might want to look into potato farming for a career change......

[erluna]

Originally Posted by not_so_new

No need at all to spend the cash on the BigBen, save the money. ......

Wouldn't you still need a word clock distribution amplifier? I'm thkning about getting the Lynx AES16, along with an Apogee DA-16X and an AD-16x later on. I would add this to my Lavry 2 ch AD/DA+clock.

Also I was wondering how the latency is using the AES16 with OSX? Can I go down to 128 samples, or even 64 for playing virtual instruments?

Thanks,

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by bamse

Wouldn't you still need a word clock distribution amplifier? I'm thkning about getting the Lynx AES16, along with an Apogee DA-16X and an AD-16x later on. I would add this to my Lavry 2 ch AD/DA+clock.

Also I was wondering how the latency is using the AES16 with OSX? Can I go down to 128 samples, or even 64 for playing virtual instruments?

Thanks,

No idea about the latency on the OSX, sorry can't help.

The question of distribution amplifiers is kind of up in the air. Some people swear by them and some people think they make things worse.

From my side I have never used one so I can't comment but I will say that I have had no problem with daisy-chaining the out of the master clock to the other units.

In your example I would take the BNC clock out of the AD-16X and use the BNC in on the Lavry and then WC out of the Larvy to the AES16 card (unless you are going to hook up the AES16 card with a DB25 cable, if you do then you don't have a BNC in to the AES card and at that point I would take my clock source from 1+2 of the Apogee AES data stream).

Also if I were you I would experiment with making the Larvy the master cloak and recording a few things. From what I have been told the Larvy sounds better clocked to the AD-16X than the other way around but I would still try it if I have the two units side by side.

[broken head]

Originally Posted by bamse

Also I was wondering how the latency is using the AES16 with OSX? Can I go down to 128 samples, or even 64 for playing virtual instruments?

Thanks,

The AES16 goes down to 32 samples buffer size. The size chosen will of course vary with sample rate, but with a reasonably well-endowed Mac you should be able to operate comfortably at 2-5ms of latency.

[Druboogie]

Ok, How bout my setup. I only need 2 I/O, and Im thinkin of getting an RME or lynx card, and an a/d-d/a like an RME adi-2 or motu or something small but quality. The rosetta 200 is the most I will do. I want to get the least amount of equipment possible. With something like this will have 2 clocks , I think. This is the first time I'm getting something this quality, I havent bought anything yet, so what am I gonna have to do about these two clocks?