888 clocking

[poodlebuild]

I just saw that the 888/24 clock in/out is 256x. Will this keep me from externally clocking it with something higher, specifically a Cranesong HEDD? Thanks.

[minister]

the 888's took what DIGI called SUPER CLOCK, which is 256x regular WC. you need something that generates that to have it clocked to WC...

if you want to clock it with the HEDD, use DIGITAL, not WC.

[poodlebuild]

Thanks, Minister.

[poodlebuild]

-Can I clock via AES without audio passing with it? Matt of Black Lion Audio 002 mod fame said that audio being transmitted with the clock can cause phase modulation in the clock signal - though he was talking about SPDIF.

-Assuming that I'm not running audio or that it doesn't matter w/ AES, is doing it via AES as tight as using a BNC word clock connection?(not that the 888 has one. BTW FWIW the 888 pdf says that what's going thru AES is word clock.

I'm trying to make some related purchase decisions and I don't have the stuff here to try all this out.

[georgia]

Yes, AES Black, is in fact and AES audio signal with no audio. As long as your clock source is of high quality it doesn't matter if you use AES Black or Word Clock. In fact the nanosync and other sync devices like it,offer Word 256, Word x1 (48Khz), AES black, and Video Black from one unit.

cheers
geo

[poodlebuild]

Thanks, Georgia. Very helpful.

[minister]

-Assuming that I'm not running audio or that it doesn't matter w/ AES, is doing it via AES as tight as using a BNC word clock connection?(not that the 888 has one. BTW FWIW the 888 pdf says that what's going thru AES is word clock.

as geo says, AES black is fine.

digital audio and word clock they are completely different things. wordclock is a simple square wave at the sample rate.

also the data rates between the two types of "clocks" are different. at 96KHz, the word clock is about 5nsec between signal transitions. while AES runs at 6MHz, or about 40nsec between signal transitions.

word clock is a tighter, better way to go if you can, but AES black is no slouch. you'll be fine.

[poodlebuild]

Thanks again, Minister. Now I just have to find out if the HEDD sends out AES black.