• Registered: 2017-04-09
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Topic: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

Greetings:

I am using this cable to connect a digital mixer to RME FireFace UFX Plus:
Pro Co 10' PDRXM-10 Premium Digital Cable - 10' RCA-XLRM.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PDRXM10

Everything works as expected, however, because the mixer is 96K, I am unable to work at higher sample rates.

The Fireface will only produce audio from the Mixer if I set the clock to AES.

My questions is: Is there a way to bring over sound from a device plugged into AES without setting clock to AES, thus limiting the sample rate to the connected device?

Is this possible?

  • ramses
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Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

You didnt say what mixer.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
  • Registered: 2017-04-09
  • Posts: 35

Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

ramses wrote:

You didnt say what mixer.

It is a Roland M1000:

Here is the link:
https://www.roland.com/global/products/m-1000/

Thanks

4 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2017-09-30 16:27:02)

  • ramses
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Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

You need to configure the mixer to get the clock from the UFX+.
1st configure the UFX+ in the RME driver settings dialog to be
"clock master" by configuring clock source to be "internal".

Then you have 2 choices for your device to get clock, either via an AES input or Word Clock (WC).

1. the best solution is to connect the UFX+ digitally to your mixer so that your mixer can learn clock via a digital input,
coming from the UFX+. For this you need to look into the manual of your mixer, to set the clock source so something
like "AES".

2. 2nd best choice is to use Word Clock, but then you need a separate cable with 75 ohm capacity.
Then enable termination on both ends of the Word Clock. On the UFX+ this is again being done via driver settings dialog.

Example for an 75 Ohm cable: https://www.thomann.de/de/sommer_cable_ … ohm_5m.htm
Does not need to be this one, but it requires 75 Ohm. Careful .. it also exists network cables with 50 Ohm,
this will not work. Get the correct ones with 75 Ohm.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
  • Registered: 2017-04-09
  • Posts: 35

Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

ramses wrote:

You need to configure the mixer to get the clock from the UFX+.
1st configure the UFX+ in the RME driver settings dialog to be
"clock master" by configuring clock source to be "internal".

Then you have 2 choices for your device to get clock, either via an AES input or Word Clock (WC).

1. the best solution is to connect the UFX+ digitally to your mixer so that your mixer can learn clock via a digital input,
coming from the UFX+. For this you need to look into the manual of your mixer, to set the clock source so something
like "AES".

2. 2nd best choice is to use Word Clock, but then you need a separate cable with 75 ohm capacity.
Then enable termination on both ends of the Word Clock. On the UFX+ this is again being done via driver settings dialog.

Example for an 75 Ohm cable: https://www.thomann.de/de/sommer_cable_ … ohm_5m.htm
Does not need to be this one, but it requires 75 Ohm. Careful .. it also exists network cables with 50 Ohm,
this will not work. Get the correct ones with 75 Ohm.

Hi there:

Maybe I asked the question incorrectly: If the mixer is the Slave and The FireFace the Master, I am still not able to use a higher Sample Rate in the FireFace.

The Mixer is 96k and if I set the FireFace to internal and Sample Rate to 192K. The Clock is lost.

The Mixer Can only Sync to the FireFace if the Sample Rate for both Units are the same.

So I am back to Square 1.

  • ramses
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Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

Do you also have incoming digital wires from the Firewire to the mixer ?
Only in this case it could recognize clock and eventually sync on its own.

I used a Focusrite preamp in the past, which had only outgoing digital lines to the Fireface,
and with this device I had to set the clock on the Focusrite Preamp always manually,
if I used a different Samplerate with the Fireface.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
  • Registered: 2017-04-09
  • Posts: 35

Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

ramses wrote:

Do you also have incoming digital wires from the Firewire to the mixer ?
Only in this case it could recognize clock and eventually sync on its own.

I used a Focusrite preamp in the past, which had only outgoing digital lines to the Fireface,
and with this device I had to set the clock on the Focusrite Preamp always manually,
if I used a different Samplerate with the Fireface.

So my Mixer is connected to the FireFace via BNC WC.
On the Mixer, I can set the Clock source and the Sample Rate. So in this case I have the Mixer set to External Clock source.

But regardless, I cannot change the Sample Rate on either unit to different value. It will only Sync at 96k, which is what the Mixer has.

  • ramses
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Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

You didnt tell that you use already World Clock now.

If you use word clock, then you need to set the UFX+ to clock source "internal"
and on the mixer clock source to "Word Clock".

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13
  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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Re: Using Internal Clock while connecting Digital Mixer to Fireface

The Roland mixer only supports up to 96k sample rate, so if that is connected and in use then the sample rate cannot be set higher.

If the unit is not in use, the FF can be set to 192k and work fine, even though the incoming clock on AES is no longer synchronized. The mixer could not be used in this scenario, but built in analog channels of the FF will be OK.

Not sure why you would need this - 192k is overkill unless you are doing scientific measurement - but if you really need it you will need a sample rate converter for the AES signal, such as the RME ADI-192DD. This can resample the 96k audio from the mixer to 192k to match the FF clock.

https://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/adi_192_dd.php

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website