Clocking Question For My Digi 003

[Bob Vinsick]

I have a Digi003 system and am wondering the best way to clock it. I have an Apogee Rosetta and a Focusrite 428 with the digital card option that I run into the ADAT input of the 003. My master clock source is the Rosetta's BNC clock output.

My problem is with the 428. It gets so hot with the digital card that I think I'm going to dry out the caps if I leave it on all the time. I was running the clock from the Rosetta to the 428 then to the 003 via BNC connectors. The 428 is set to sync to external clock.

The Rosetta also provides 2 channels of A/D, so I run those channels into the 003 via SP/DIF.

With this setup, in order for the clock to make it from the Rosetta to the 003, the 428 has to be on.

I started running it differently lately and wonder if this will degrade the clock. Instead of setting the external clock in ProTools to Workclock, I now set it to SP/DIF since the clock from the Rosetta is on the SP/DIF also. I still have the word clock connected from the Rosetta to the 428 via BNC so the clocking in the 428 should be ok.

Will this way of clocking provide a stable clock or is there a better way?

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by Bob Vinsick

I have a Digi003 system and am wondering the best way to clock it.

Firstly, whichever way you do it is more than acceptable, either BNC or SPDIF from your best AD/DA which I think might be the R200. Its just that if you are using these machines together, you need to align their clocks in order to prevent errors.

I have an Apogee Rosetta and a Focusrite 428 with the digital card option that I run into the ADAT input of the 003. My master clock source is the Rosetta's BNC clock output. My problem is with the 428. It gets so hot with the digital card that I think I'm going to dry out the caps if I leave it on all the time. I was running the clock from the Rosetta to the 428 then to the 003 via BNC connectors. The 428 is set to sync to external clock.

I would ask exactly how you've got this connected. Are you using a Daisy Chain here from OUT-IN-IN? I would go----R200 WC OUT----003 IN with a "T" connector, so that you are not delaying the clock path through the 003's WC outputs. Not sure if this is how you are connecting it.

The Rosetta also provides 2 channels of A/D, so I run those channels into the 003 via SP/DIF.

That would be fine to do, and you could SYNC the Focusrite directly from the WC out of the R200. This might make more sense for your setup.

With this setup, in order for the clock to make it from the Rosetta to the 003, the 428 has to be on. I started running it differently lately and wonder if this will degrade the clock.

BNC is perhaps the best way to go, but there is no reason to think this method won't be fine.

Instead of setting the external clock in ProTools to Workclock, I now set it to SP/DIF since the clock from the Rosetta is on the SP/DIF also. I still have the word clock connected from the Rosetta to the 428 via BNC so the clocking in the 428 should be ok.

Will this way of clocking provide a stable clock or is there a better way?

I think you'll be fine, but listening and experimenting is really the best way to sort this out. You might also think about a master clock source, so all of your digital devices receive the SAME clock. Some steer many away from that, but I think you are experiencing why a Master clock is an important device.

[Slikjmuzik]

Your 428 wud be the least important one of everything needing to be clocked, therefore I'd clock it last. I clock my interface via spidf and then once the interface is locked and clocked steadily, I go out of the interface BNC to my Octopre which has W/c in, but no out. Make sure you terminate properly. In your case, I'd do all BNC, starting from the Rosetta200, out to your 003, then bnc out of that to your 428. That should work fine and you shouldn't have any pop/clicks, whatever. In my case, I have a mytek stereo, who's clock is my main clock, I clock my interface via spidf, and then like I said, I go bnc out of that into my Octopre. However, I also have a Rosetta800, so I use the BNC out of the mytek to clock that, this way, the spdif and the BNC out of the mytek are clocking using the same clock simultaneously and I have no issues. My situation is more complex than yours and I still got mine to work. You should be fine. I cud technically go bnc out of the rosetta to clock the octopre, but I just did it the first way from the beginning and had no issues, so I just left it.

[Leon EA]

Originally Posted by Slikjmuzik

In your case, I'd do all BNC, starting from the Rosetta200, out to your 003, then bnc out of that to your 428. That should work fine and you shouldn't have any pop/clicks, whatever.

I think that is a very weak setup, since the 428 is clocked with the 003 in between and then feeds that 003 over ADAT. I think Bob's last suggested setup is more secure, since it is similar to using a master clock, feeding all units from the same unit.
If all clocking & reclocking works great it might not be an issue, but pops and clicks (as in sync issues) might appear at a given moment, usually during the best take that singer ever performed.

[Anghello]

What about if I have stereo ADDA clocked via SPDIF with 003 and want to use another 8 channel adat DA for output? The ADDA has only BNC in and no out. So would it be bad if I stay clocked via stereo converter and send clock to DIGI and then BNC out to 8 channel DA?

PS: 8channel DA got only BNC in and no OUT.

Thank you.