AES/EBU carries clock, so no need for a word clock cable. Sync your converters via work clock, set the RME card to sync to AES input (from converters) and set your Dangerous device to sync to AES input (from RME).

For one, using Word Clock will not improve "sound quality" at all. And I assume you have some misconceptions about Steadyclock - what do you mean when you say you want "to use steadyclock for the AES output signal to my monitor controller"?

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Word clock is not the best! It is simply the most universal. Nothing worse then a false sense of safety.
The clock in AES is not inferior to WC. Listen to RME pros....

The Wordclock BNC Connection plus necessary PLL circuits inherent in a Wordlock connection increase jitter by their nature - so even though Steady Clock will lower the jitter the RME device uses internally and also re-transmits, any devices at the receiving end will have the unavoidable jitter from the required PLL's and BNC Cabling.

Using the ADC's internal crystal is about the only way to avoid the PLL's and associated BNC Cabling and connections which will always increase jitter at the receiving end.  You can have a master clock with theoretically ZERO jitter (not even possible), but send it down a BNC cable and through a PLL circuit to a converter and it will have all sorts of jitter...

It's not about how much jitter is at the transmitting end per se - it's about how much jitter you end up with at the receiving end and at the actual ADC chip.  As mentioned, the cabling and PLL (Phase Locked Loop) required to transmit and receive the Wordclock signal degrade the signal by their nature.  So even if RME's SteadyClock gave you a perfect clock at the RME's output, by the time it reaches the other device and passes through the PLL, you will have additional jitter.

Chances are the Lynx is not using the Synchrolock when running on its internal crystal - rather it likely uses Synchrolock to clean up any incoming clock signals when run as a slave (similar to Steadyclock from what I gather).  I'm assuming the Lynx uses the internal crystal w/o any additional re-clocking when run on internal clock - this should give you the least jitter at your ADC chip from what I gather.

For "testing" - you'd need some pretty sophisticated equipment - and even then, the "sound" of measured jitter is highly subjective.  As we know - lots of people prefer external clocks, and this generally means more jitter vs internal crystal - so these people like the sound of the additional jitter when clocked externally (odd, isn't it!).  Best way is to use your ears - but you probably won't hear much difference IMNSHO (certainly not night and day as some claim - more like swapping a mic cable than like swapping a mic or moving a mic 1/2")...

Even though all good talk about steadyclock, you suggest I will use the LYNX aurora Synchrolock as master clock rather then using the more highly regarded RME Steadyclock as master clock? My gut feeling is telling me to use Rme steadyclock, rather then Lynx Synchrolock, but that is just a feeling and cause I have more confidence in RME steadyclock, but a gut feeling is all what it is.

I have responded to this same clocking question from you over on the Gearslutz forum. Please have a look over there for further details, and also take the time to read through both your RME manual, your Lynx manual (which explains SynchroLock) and the manual that comes with your Dangerous Audio DAC/monitor controller. In brief, use your Lynx Aurora as your Master clock source (as it is doing the initial A/D conversion), then set up the RME as a slave (deriving it's clocking from the incoming AES stream), and your Dangerous Audio DAC also as a slave (once again deriving it's clocking from its AES input).

If you have a look at the technical link provided by Daniel you will see that Steadyclock is simply RME's method for extracting the clock signal from an external source, suppressing any incoming jitter it finds, and passing this cleaned up clock signal onto other devices. It uses a digital synthesis technique as distinct from other approaches which rely on multi-stage PLL's (Phase-locked loops) such as the Lynx SynchroLock approach. This is also decribed in the RME technical paper. The advantage of the RME approach is its quick locking time and it's ability to suppress jitter in varipitch situations. If you look at the Lynx manual, the analogue SynchroLock approach takes one to two minutes to achieve final lock, using a two-stage phase-lock loop system. These are simply two approaches to the same problem, and the decision as to which unit should be the master does not having anything to do with this problem, but rather should be based on which unit is doing the main analog to digital conversion, as this is where it is most important to use the internal low-jitter crystal oscillator!

So in summary, Steadyclock (RME) and SynchroLock (Lynx) are simply methods used to derive clock from an external source when either device is used as a slave. Because your initial A/D is being provided by the Aurora, it should be the clock master (in which case the Lynx SynchroLock is not required nor is it being used). Your RME AES card will be therefore be the slave (set to derive it's clock from it's AES inputs) and it will use it's Steadyclock technology to synchronize itself to the incoming stream of digital audio data. This clock will also be passed on to your Dangerous Audio DAC/Monitor controller (which is also slaved via its AES input). The Dangerous will do the final digital to analog conversion, which is then sent to your active speakers.