Wordclock distributer & Jitter question..

[jeremyhillaryphd]

I have a Rosetta that I use to track with and have three digital sources (standalone HD recorder, 2 digital cards) that all have Word Clock in. So obviously I think I would benifit if they all were clocked with the WC out of the Apogee because of the very stable clock and the syncronous timing (I am guessing here).

First, what companies make a unit that recieves one input from Clock (ie Rosetta) and will distribute that clock to 3 or more sources?

Second problem, I am tracking at 24bit/48K, but I want to use the Rosetta to go A/D (with UV22 16bit) to CD @ 16/44.1. So do I lose all the benefit of my clocking from the Apogee when I disconnect the multitrack recorders (and let them rely on their own clock) and just clock the 16 bit recorder with the Apogee (the computer @ 2 tracks in this case)

 

[jeremyhillaryphd]

oh by the way, I am using the Rosetta A/D to 16 bit because I am going D/A out of the computer or HD stand alone. Thats part of the equation...

 

[Ang1970]

Originally posted by jeremyhillaryphd:
I think I would benifit if they all were clocked with the WC out of the Apogee because of the very stable clock and the syncronous timing (I am guessing here).
You are correct if the clock in the apogee is in fact more stable than the clock in the standalone recorder. (Most likely it is.)

First, what companies make a unit that recieves one input from Clock (ie Rosetta) and will distribute that clock to 3 or more sources?
Aardvark makes a good one. There are a few others I can't think of off the top of my head, but I'll try to come back to this one.

So do I lose all the benefit of my clocking from the Apogee when I disconnect the multitrack recorders (and let them rely on their own clock) and just clock the 16 bit recorder with the Apogee
Yes. And also, if you're mixing digital signals from different boxes you'll have to make one of em the master clock the same way you would with the apogee. (Probably the multitrack unit.)

Without knowing more about your setup, it's hard to say whether you will benefit more from the apogee clock on the multitrack or the apogee converters into the CD. Do it both ways, and see which one you like better.

Unfortunately, the next option is to get another clock, either a stand-alone wordclock generator, or in another high quality adc.

Hope that helps.

 

[Pickjim]

Lucid makes a clock distribution amp called the CLKx6 that would input your Apogee word clock and distribute it to as many as 6 destinations. It is quite reasonably priced at $399 MSRP. I think that's quite a bit cheaper than the Aardvark.

It is true that clocking all of your devices to a common reference will result in a more stable recording. It's difficult to have two different sampling rates going on at the same time such as 44.1 (CD) and 48 (HD). Are you trying to go to CD and the HD recorder at the same time? You might try recording everything at 44.1 kHz in order to take advantage of a commpn word clock. Or make a second pass at the different sample rate. I think you mentoned some extra D/A conversion steps in there and I'm not sure about the setup. Could you provide a little more detail about your rig and application?