What alternatives to 888/24 are you using?

[PDupre]

A post on another thread by John Caldwell brought up DAC options that were new to me. What DACs/clocks/etc are you using, how are they interfaced, how much do they cost, and most importantly, how do they sound.

Thanks in advance.

PS I know - you love your DA8000SE

[CLanger]

An important reason to use the 888 is that it offers Superclock in. If you are syncing PT to anything, this is invaluable. I've tried every way possible to sync PT to analog decks, other computers, sequencers, et cetera, and this is the most rock solid way to do it. If you go with another DAC, make sure you have a way to get Superclock into your Pt rig.

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Chris
chris@castle-productio
ns.com

[uno1234]

A USD is an essential part of any protools system. No other sync device provides better ProTools integration and flexibility.

And the USD, BTW, has superclock in.

On topic however, I know alot of people are using the RME converters with an ADAT Bridge and love it. But that's just what I've heard from these boards. Do a search on "RME" or "Apogee" and you are sure to find alot of info.

[Mount Royal]

Those not syncing via SMPTE don't need a USD, do they? Does anyone claim that the USD offers a sonically superior work clock source? Lastly, does Superclock convey any sonic benefitin its own right?

My understanding is that those operating a Pro Tools as a stand-alone audio and MIDI recording system could get along without Superclock. What do you think, Clanger and UNO123?

John Caldwell

[666]

As i mostly need to record only 2 tracks at a time, i have a Rosetta (sounds better than AD8000!!!) connected to a 882/20. So i have 2 top inputs, 6 "service" inputs and 8 good outputs, 2 for stereo and 6 for surround monitoring.
Cost effective and SUPER quality recording, perfect clock.

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somewhere in the planet

[CLanger]

If you are using PT to sync to MIDI gear, no, you don't necessarily need Superclock.

For those of us who must sync PT to timecode at some point, Superclock provides the best way because it carries clock reference AND position reference. SMPTE itself, as well as MTC, only carry position reference. It tells the machines slaved to it where to be when, but not how fast to travel between those points. I know, you are thinking that SMPTE and MTC resolve to up to 30 FPS, and therefore the amount of slop is only 1/30th of a second...big deal, right? Well, it is a big deal, because if PT gets off enough because it isn't receiving a clock source as well, it will run at its own speed, as will your analog deck, or MDMs. The result is a sonically noticeable loss of accurate sync after about three minutes.

No audio is passed through Superclock, but the fact that it offers the most stable form of sync, through clock source and positional reference, allows your audio to remain as in sync (pun intended) as much as is possible, thereby eliminating phase shift and timing errors between the two (or more) systems being synced.

I hope this all makes sense.

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Chris
chris@castle-productio
ns.com

[Mount Royal]

You do make sense, Chris. You've educated me along this line; thanks.

John Caldwell

[tobymusic]

Chris,

I don´t agree . Superclock does not carry any time reference. Superclock is a simple wordclock at 256x speed.
When slaving to an incoming LTC the SSD and USD derive an interpolated time reference from the TC. This is converted to MIDI time code (MTC) and passed to your host computer and to Superclock. There are, however, devices that provide the same for less money, like the Rosendahl or the WIF. Those let you switch between Superclock and Wordclock.

toby

[CLanger]

I apologize. Superclock carries ONLY clock, not position. Position is carried by LTC. However, my basic statement still holds true. That is: in order to get true sync you need BOTH a time reference (Superclock) and a position reference (LTC). Hope this clears things up.

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Chris
chris@castle-productio
ns.com

[PDupre]

Sooo...Let me get this straight. The concensus is to have at least 1 888/24?