Master clock/digital questions : big ben vs. 192

[quincygriffin]

I have a setup consisting of a 192 digital i/o, two ramsa da7's. Everything is connected via light pipe through a frontier apache patch bay. I am getting my master clock from the 192 and distributing it with an aardvark synch distribution box(not generator) I have a couple of questions for any of you techies out there:

1)Would using a Big Ben master clock give me markedly better sound that the 192 clock.

2)I am not clear on the role of toslink two way communication with regard to synch. Is this a seperate type of synch from the wordclock, or do they work in combination. and why is two way communication with adat signals?

3)I have been getting some occasional digital pops(maybe once every 10 minutes) and in the course of trying to isolate the culprit I noticed that the noise is ocurring on every other channel of one connection. In other words on my adat bank A channels 1,3,5,7 are getting a pop but not the even channels. Is this coincidental or could this have something to do with a faulty device or cable.



Thanks for you help.

[Lee Blaske]

I'd stick with the 192 clock. The 192 is a high quality unit, and external clocks always have the disadvantage that they cannot be interfaced to the as well as the internal clock.

How long are the light pipe cables going to your Ramsas? Trying shorter, and/or higher quality cables wouldn't hurt. Plastic ADAT cables do have limitations. Also, are there any kinks in your lightpipe cables? All light pipe cable bends should be very gradual. I use plastic hose cable tied to racks, etc., to make cable guides with gentle bends for my lightpipe cables. Also, just to be sure that dirt isn't causing a problem, before you plug in a lightpipe cable, blow out the jack with clean, canned air.

Lee Blaske

[logandrum]

Hey There, when I was putting together my studio I was told that I must have a big ben as my external clock! I have 2 192s and I did go ahead and buy the Big Ben. In all honesty after comparing my rig with and without it, I would recommened you saving your money. There is not an audible difference, at least that I can hear. If you were buying digi interfaces that were not 192's I would highly recommend it, but the 192's clock is rock solid! This is all in my opinion, of course...but I thought I would share! Good luck Brett

[quincygriffin]

thanks guys. replaced my lite pipe cables and that did the trick. i think i will pass on the big ben for now. i still get random flashing light on my 192 digital i/o. any ideas what that could be.

[Duardo]

In your case I'd recommend the Big Ben. Even though, theoretically, the 192 should sound better clocked internally rather than to a Big Ben I've talked to enough people who claim to have heard a difference that I think it's likely that it may at least be worth trying out. And in your case, since you've got multiple devices that need to be clocked together, I think you'd be much more likely to notice a difference since the Big Ben's clock should be more stable than the one passed from your 192 through the distribution box. If you can try it and return it if it doesn't do it for you I'd try that.

-Duardo

[brianjanthony]

glad to see the cables fixed the prob. as for big ben, i have it. to my ears, there is a difference with the clock. whether its good or bad is always subjective. it certainly doesn't hurt things. and i do believe there are subtle changes to the sound that are pleasing. transients are tighter. less smear in dense drum mixes. would i buy mine again???? probably not if i just had the 192. But I have an M box and Digi002 and lots of pres with clock ins, so its nice to get everything talking together on a great clock. one could argue the 192 is plenty fine. i'm not an expert on the math. I just know i like the way my setup sounds with Big Ben. It's also a great system without. Loads better than the Digi001 setup i had 4 years ago
brian

[Nexxt]

Sorry to go slightly OT here, but I've got a clock/i/o question that has been bugging me.

We're thinking about hooking up an 888/24 in order to use more outboard sends/receives, syncing the 888 to the 192 clock. Will the 192 clock improve the sound of the 888 or does the 888 just suffer from poor A/D D/A?

[minister]

Will the 192 clock improve the sound of the 888 or does the 888 just suffer from poor A/D D/A?

yes and yes. the 888 takes superclcock. an external clock would be better., but the 192 will be an improvement and keep the timings close together. ... yet, the 888's won't suddenly sound like PRISM converters. ...but it will be better. noticeable? i never clocked my old 888's to a 192, but to an external lock and the difference was remarkable.

[mixer]

the clock in the 192 is very stable..i had an external big ben and found that there was no difference ...sold it.make sure all your cables are good and not longer than recomended. be careful of all the hype i would rather spend money on mics. Gary M.Vandy Audio Productions

[Nexxt]

Tx minister and mixer.

Figured it would help some, but wasn't certain.