d8b Forum

Hi
I'm thinking about getting an RME RayDat card so I can track through my D8B using protools 9. I have 3 a-dat cards on the D8B and the RayDat has four sets of a-dat in\out, plus 2 midi in\outs. Dose anyone know if this will work, or if there are any issues with this kind of set up?
I have to admit my ignorance when it comes to clocking issues. Anyone know if that will be a problem in this case?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

John

Oh sorry, forgot to mention, I'm using a mac pro

John

Hi,

no matter if Mac or WinPC, all RME cards are able to sync on incoming signal, in your case one of the A-Dat inputs.

If you got the APOGEE-clock-card for the d8b, there is the additional possibility to buy an extension board for the RayDat with BNC-wordclock IN/OUT and sync your console to the RME - might be the better solution.

Or even buy an external clockgenerator like LUCID or BIGBEN to sync both, which is supposed to be the best solution. Anyhow, I can subscribe to the fact that there is improvement in sound with the latter.

Manfred

....there is the additional possibility to buy an extension board for the RayDat with BNC-wordclock IN/OUT and sync your console to the RME - might be the better solution.....
....buy an external clockgenerator like LUCID or BIGBEN to sync both, which is supposed to be the best solution.

Not "might be". It is the best solution as far as syncing the two together is concerned.

I used to have an RME 9652 card on a PPC Mac. When I first hooked it up to the D8B with only the lightpipe connections...it was random click 'n pop city. Got a Lucid GenX192 and connected WC out to both the D8B and the RME. Never had another WC related click or pop ever. Worked a charm. Rock steady sync...never failed.

The only caveat to this is that the RayDAT eats two Mac PCIe slots. If you get RME's Word Clock Module....it eats a third slot up. If you need that extra slot space for something else (like a UAD card)....you're outta luck. When I switched over to Intel Macs, I wanted to get the RayDAT to replace the 9652 (no PCI on Intel Macs...only PCIe)...but the WC add-on was a showstopper for me...so I wound up settling for a MOTU 2408 system....which actually didn't turn out to be all that bad, audio-wise, compared to the RME. And I still use the same GenX to D8B and MOTU WC hookup. Flawless sync.

...just sayin'...

I have a Mac Pro and a RayDat and a D8B (yeah!) and I managed to sync the clock from the D8B fine by using one of the ADAT outputs from the D8B as a clock source. However I also found it worked fine using its internal clock as it has this "Steadyclock" thing which seems to auto compensate. Either way try it first as I have not needed BNC to clock it.

In fact I have a MOTU 828 MKII as well and found I just could not clock it via BNC, the sound went all distorted. So clocked it via SPDIF! Best advice is to try various ways and see what works best, but ADAT should work fine.

Guys
Really appreciate your comments & help. So I'll blast on with the RayDat. Any more tips or thoughts would be great!
I'm finding this forum very useful indeed!

Cheers

J

Okay, using this solution, someone PLEASE explain to me the nuts and bolts of how the Mackie OS and DAW work together? Using the ADAT I/O, I understand how the DAW will see the channels, BUT...what I dont get it, does the Mackie OS, simply become like a Live Display? Can I, or do I have to route The Mackie Transport controls to the DAW to make everything work? Do I hav to enable record on the Mackie AND the DAW? How does this setup work and coexist smoothly. I've been looking at either a RayDAT or a MOTU 2408, as that also moves 24ch of ADAT. I'm just trying to understand how or in what Mode the Mackie is functioning in this setup to coexist/control the DAW. Do the Faders on the D8B act as Pre Faders to the DAW?? I'm a little confused on how they work together. I'm switching between (Sonar X1 & Pro Tools 9).