Topic: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

Hello Everyone,
I'm kind of desperate because everytime I try to record something, after a few seconds, the sound become very harshed, cracked etc...
Here is my setup :
Macbook intel core 2 duo, 4g,  with snow leopard last updates with Logic 9 and last updates.
I have a Big ben as Clock Master plugged to Fireface 800 (I've just seen that there is a new firmware, have to install) and FF800 to Fireface 400. 
I have one 75 ohms WC cable from Big ben WC output to FF800 WC input, and a 75 ohms WC cable from FF800 to FF400 WC input. The two 75 ohms switch are selected.
The FF800 is connected to the FF400 with a 400 Firewire cable.
I have connected my computer to the FF800 with a 400/800 firewire cable.

I can see in the Fireface settings that the 2 FF are in slave mode. Everything seems fine as I can see Green lights everywhere
I have noticed that the green WC led on the FF400 is flashing regularly but remain green... Is that a problem?

Well I think I have a clean setup but when I'm recording something in 44,1 or 96Khz, the sound become very cracked, saturated quickly.
Into logic, the latency is set to 128. But I've tried different settings and the problem is still here...
I'm not using the preamp of the FF's but external like API or vintech etc...
Frequently, I use the 16 outputs of the FF's to mix on a console and send back the Master to 2 inputs of the FF800 to record the mix from the console.


Please, I hope somebody has a tip for me because I really don't know where the problem is coming from and how to resolve it!

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

The flashing LED light indicates the input is not in sync.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

Ok, it is good to know.
Then, Anybody have an idea to fix it?
What if I use only the WC outputs of the Big ben (to FF800 and FF400) instead of FF800 OUT to FF400 IN?
Another idea please?

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

Are you clocking an extended system, perhaps including video equipment.  If not, why the Big Ben?

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

Yes I use another converter which I can see and hear the signal in the fireface mixer.
I guess I like the idea of having a external master clock to sync all my gears.

One point, when I said that the wordclock green led of the FF400 is flashing, it is, most of the time, normal. But after 2 minutes, i can see it flashing 2 times then it s normal again for the next 2-3 minutes...

I think my problem comes from the Big ben but I don't know why. today, I will try without it.

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

jazzo75 wrote:

Yes I use another converter which I can see and hear the signal in the fireface mixer.
I guess I like the idea of having a external master clock to sync all my gears.

One point, when I said that the wordclock green led of the FF400 is flashing, it is, most of the time, normal. But after 2 minutes, i can see it flashing 2 times then it s normal again for the next 2-3 minutes...

I think my problem comes from the Big ben but I don't know why. today, I will try without it.

Yes, it seems unnecessary in your system, and only serves to complicate matters!
"Sound on Sound" did a review of such devces last year.  Despite their natural reluctance to discourage advertisers, they could come up with few justifications for external clocking.  The entire article is here@:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun10/a … clocks.htm

and here is the gist of it:

"The issue here is that it is much easier to design a good clock circuit using a fixed crystal inside the unit than it is to design a circuit which accepts an external clock signal and synchronises to it well. External clocks are likely to acquire some element of jitter (largely because of the inherent effects of clock cabling), and the common slave-locking circuits can introduce further timing variations of their own, both of which can be quite hard (and expensive) to remove. As a result, an A-D will often perform less well when synchronised to an external clock than when it is running on its own internal crystal. The noise floor may rise, and there may be more low-level distortion products and artifacts. That being the case, it makes sense to use a device which can handle external clocks well as the slave, and a device which works poorly on external clocks as the master. In that way, the maximum audio quality can be achieved for all devices.

Why Use A Master Clock?

In most compact project studios, there’s little need for a master clock. The required system clocking can usually be achieved by interconnecting the equipment directly and, as explained above, where there’s only one A-D in the system, it’s generally best to use that as the clock master anyway.

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

Hi,
You just need to do is use  Word Clock cable from the out of the first Fireface to the Word Clock Input of the 2nd Fireface.
Set the first Fireface to Master/Internal in the settings panel. Set the second Fireface to AutoSync.
There is no need nor benefit to running an external clock in simple configuration as this.


Thanks Chris

Chris Ludwig
North East USA Sales | Synthax/RME
www.facebook.com/RMEAmericas
Twitter @RMEAmericas

Re: Help! horrible sound when recording, wordclock issue?

Hi there,
I might have a similar problem.
But I'm not using an external clock master.
I've just stacked two ff800 via fw800 connection. One of them is configured as master, the other one as slave and linked correctly with bnc cable.
After a few minutes there's a horrible scattered noise in the recorded signal of the slave fireface which disappears after a few minutes but then comes back. The LEDs don't indicate a lost clock signal or sync problem.

Does anyone know what might be wrong with the system? (The host computer is a Macbook Pro with logic 9 and the latest FF-driver; Hardware of the fireface is 2.77, The fireface is now about 5 years old)

I've used the same system 1,5 years ago and had no problem even without external WC-connection.
Do I have to send it in or is a hardware revision necessary?

Best Regards,
D