Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

Hello, I wanted some ideas on which might work out better -

2 HDX cards

1 HD MADI

1 HDIO 16x16

1 Lynx HILO

Misc. other interfaces (these will interface via MADI adapters to the HD MADI)

First, from reading the manual, it seems I should set up the Loop Sync fully between the MADI and the IO16x16.

However, should I aim at making the MADI or the HDIO the main interface? The HD MADI needs both ports of an HDX to itself. So, if I hook up the MADI to the first HDX card, that will work out in the sense that it will be 64 channels there (over MADI), and 16 channels on the second HDX card.

HOWEVER - if I'd rather see my 16 HDIO channels FIRST in Pro Tools - can I make the HDIO's connected HDX card my primary? But what happens then - will pro Tools "reserve" inputs 17-64 for further expansion? Or will my MADI start its 64 channels at input # 17? If so, I don't think that is ideal, since if I add more HDIO later, it will move all my inputs, throwing off any templates, etc. (i.e., HD MADI would start numbering from 33 instead of 17 if I added another HDIO 16x16 to the "primary" HDX card)

On the other hand, I am not sure I want the MADI as my primary, because I might decide to simply not use it, and take it out of the loop.

Only other thing I am wondering - does anyone have experience clocking to the HILO? Or is it better to clock the HILO to the first Avid interfaces (whichever it ends up being, as per my above pondering)? I would think the HILO might have an edge clockwise, but perhaps Pro Tools/HD interfaces would simply behave better if they are internal clock source instead?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Re: Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

My setup is Dell laptop connected to external HD Native card. Native card is Digi- linked to HD IO on port 1, and Digi-linked to Focusrite Red4 on port 2. I clock HD IO to Red4 then to Hilo. HD IO is my clock source (internal). PT hardware shows “internal, 44.1”, and everything plays nice with each other. I use the Hilo for its converters/two bus and to a patch bay to use outboard gear. I route tracking signal into Hilo via ADAT. I send audio from Hilo to a Drawmer MC3.1 monitor controller via AES, then out to my monitors.

Re: Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

The Grimm clocking paper is good for the details but, I would just use the internal clock of your primary HD I/O interface to keep it simple and clock the Lynx from that. Or, experiment with both and see which one sounds the best.

Re: your other question, from memory Pro Tools doesn't leave any “holes” in I/O setup but I'm not 100% sure.

Re: Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

Thanks for sharing your setup! Curious, do you notice a difference between your Hilo and your HDIO (or your Red4), in the input or output AD/DA? I haven't gotten around to setting mine up so I can easily switch between the two at the same time, but the HDIO sounds pretty good to me... thinking of just removing my Hilo from the chain, maybe add another HDIO and sell the Hilo.

Thanks! That is a good reference! And I agree, after more reading myself to catch up on the state of clocking, it's better to just use the internal clock on whatever is master. SOS had a particular good one where they tested internal vs external, and only the very high end converters even work well with an external clock - so much so, that no matter how cheap the interface, the internal clock will fare much better! Seems that it's simply more difficult to build an interface that follows external clock very well, or as well as its own internal clock can be adhered to. So indeed, the Hilo might be a better follower! (prioritize the perhaps higher end gear as receivers, vs. than the master)

I seem to remember hearing that advice now a decade+ ago, but had forgotten about it. Nice to see they tested it... this is the link in case anyone who sees this thread is interested:

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniq...l-master-clock

(and that's from 2010 - I guess on one hand, perhaps more interfaces slave to clock better nowadays, but on the other, even back then, cheap interfaces on their own internal quartz clocks seemed to work fine!)

Oh, and yes, you are right - when I finally got it set up, I went with making my analog HDIO first, and the MADI on the second card... there don't appear to be any gaps left in the numbering. So I am guessing/hoping that, if I add another HDIO, it will simply insert them in the list, but any existing channel assignments would seem to be tied to the hardware, which is actually pretty cool! Never really thought of that as a possible advantage of the HD closed ecosystem. (whereas with general purpose ASIO, one would have to carefully manage the hardware's I/O to the software's I/O, right - and even then, I think if you wanted to insert some into the range of inputs, it would throw off existing project's I/O assignments, since they just go numerically... not completely sure though, just thinking about Live and Cubase and how they map I/O)

Re: Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

I got the Hilo for its converters. I have compared the output to the Red4 and the HD IO. I really can’t tell the difference through my monitors, but maybe favor Hilo through my high quality JH Audio in-ear monitors.

Re: Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

card 1; HD io ->expansion port-> lilo

Card 2; HD MADI

Re: Suggestions on which order interfaces should be connected
 

Nice... yeah, I don't think I could blindly pick out which of my converters is which. Although, sometimes I do swear when I listen to music through the Hilo, I hear some detail I didn't really notice, then I listen through another converter, and obviously it's the same, but I wonder if I wouldn't have noticed it (like the way a note decays or a reverb on a percussion hit).
Cool! Glad to hear someone else put the MADI on their second card also. :)