Setup question: no 192 w/ DS-M7.1?

[Tom H]

Hi,

We are setting up a few new rooms including a mix room with a spanking new system. The working plan is to run a 192 i/o with AES/EBU hooked up via D-sub into the AES option card on the Tascam DS-M7.1. If we do the Dynaudio AIR system, it will feed off of AES lines from the Tascam. The room's typical clock rate will be either 48 or 96; obviously we'd prefer 96, but we'll see how that works with disk subsystems, etc. A Big Ben will supply clock.

My question is: what happens if we want to run the Pro Tools system at 192 for whatever reason? The Tascam won't pass it, so it would be senseless to run the monitors at the higher rate. Would the monitoring system become unusable? I don't see anything in the literature implying that I could do clock splitting. Seems like a shame to go to analog monitoring just to accomodate the occasional 192 moment.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[Chief Technician]

Unless I'm mistaken, only the control room input on the DS-M7.1 is analog, so the only way you can monitor something higher than 96kHz sampling is in stereo via the control room input (or buy an analog card, but I think you can only have one analog card installed).

[Richard Fairbanks]

You might consider putting an analog input card into Slot 1, the "console" input(a.k.a."bus"). The unit comes with AES/ADAT/TDIF inputs as separate "master recorder" inputs (a.k.a. "rtn"). You are able to switch between the 8 "bus" inputs and the 8 "rtn" inputs via a front panel button, with the button lit you are digital, with the light off you are analog. Unless you need to use the bus/rtn switch for some other purpose you are covered for inputs. Your bigger problem is that the Tascam box does not have an internal clock source, it MUST clock to an external signal (word or one of the digital inputs) You'll need to send it a 96khz-or-less clock to use it at all, even the analog stereo inputs which can override any other input.

A relatively simple to build logic circuit could half the 192 word clock and send that to the Tascam.