• Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Topic: Clock my words...

Hi.
Just bought a fireface 800 (not arrived yet).
Will be connecting an MR816 via adat, then running the firewire from the RME into my laptop.

Never used wordclock before, how should I do this?

I presume the famous RME clocking is what I want being the 'master'. So do i connect the WC-out from the fireface, to the WC-in on the MR816, and that's me done? Or do I need a return cable going from the MR816 WC-out to the RME WC-in? Do i need to do anything regarding 'termination' that I've heard mentioned?

Thanks for your help in advance...

  • Registered: 2008-12-03
  • Posts: 182

Re: Clock my words...

connect the WC-out from the fireface, to the WC-in on the MR816, and that's me done :-)

-----------------------

Various ADK computers :-)
  • Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Re: Clock my words...

thanks.

  • Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Re: Clock my words...

Long after original post... but doesn't seem to work for me. Can't get sync signal despite both units being set to 96khz. Any other ideas on this? Should I be doing it the opposite way and using the termination switch? Any advice welcome.

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
  • Moderator
  • Offline
  • From: USA
  • Registered: 2007-05-21
  • Posts: 4,665

Re: Clock my words...

You also have to set clocking correctly on each unit, of course. FF should be "Clock mode: Master", and the other unit should be set to WCLK.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Re: Clock my words...

Thanks Jeff,
But I did try those same settings, fireface would eventually lock, then sync would flash intermittently, and the MR816 couldn't lock for some reason. Must be missing something obvious here. Both units set to 96khz, brand new word clock cable, settings as above, and still no sync. Will try again tomorrow. Thanks for the replies.

  • From: Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Registered: 2007-05-01
  • Posts: 441

Re: Clock my words...

Do i need to do anything regarding 'termination' that I've heard mentioned?

Try with the Termination switched on
check back of your Fireface
termination button beside the Word clock connection

check manual page 60

regards S-EH

  • Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Re: Clock my words...

Thanks S-E Hansson, but now I'm confused. I thought the termination switch was only relevant if you were taking a word clock signal OUT of the MR816 and feeding it IN to the FF800 (plus activating the termination switch as it becomes the last device in the chain, as per p60 manual). The first few posts in this thread suggest I should be taking the WC OUT from the FF800 and feeding it IN to the MR816.

So, as far as i understand it, my options are...

FF800 word clock out ----->  MR816 word clock IN (termination switches not relevant in this set up)

OR

MR816 word clock out ------> FF800 word clock IN (with FF800 termination switch activated)

Are these just 2 alternatives methods of achieving the same thing, or is one way recommended over the other?

Thanks again for replies, keen to get my head around this smile

  • Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Re: Clock my words...

Simpleton: Had single speed mode checked.

Just to clarify for anyone else wondering - word clock out from FF800 going in to word clock in on external preamp unit is the way to go for the above setup, with both units set to the same sample rate (single speed mode SWITCHED OFF if using 96khz), and clock source on the external unit set to 'word clock in'.

  • Registered: 2008-12-03
  • Posts: 182

Re: Clock my words...

Glad you fixed it:-)

-----------------------

Various ADK computers :-)
  • Registered: 2010-01-23
  • Posts: 34

Re: Clock my words...

Just like u told me all those months ago smile