Hi,
Firstly, a little from experience on optical cables and my setup.
My hardware is 3 DSP cards (same IO daughterboard connectors there) and then for convertors 3 ADA8000, an ADA8200 and MusicNet/Sonorus DA24 and AD24.
Getting my ADAT cables from thomann these days, and I found their Sssnake ADAT really problematic on both ends: the metal connector is really too tight a fit and every time I have to push them so hard I'm afraid the ADAT connector on the hardware, both on Scope and on the convertors, is going to come off. One unit I've had that happen, and needed to replace the ADAT connector. Costed me 80€ - as much as the ADA8000's go for, these days.
So, as a hint:
avoid the Sssnake ADAT cables for our Scope hardware! (that said, I'm very satisfied with the analog Sssnake cables and multi's I'm using. It's just the optical that are no match with my gear) Their big metal connectors also get in the way or sit against the BNC connector at the back of the Behringer ADAT units, more on that below.
Thomann also sells the
Mutec Optical, which fits nicely both ends. I can strongly vouch for those!!
As for glass or fiber or whatever material they're made off, I have no idea. And although they don't look or feel not nearly as strong as the Sssnake ADATs, the Mutecs have not let me down.
I hope this will benefit some of you later.
Secondly, I do have sync issues from time to time (last couple days been especially problematic). There's five 5m ADAT pairs running back and forth. Syncplate provides BNC across the chain, using one longer 5m BNC cable from the DAW to the rack and then 4 30-50cm BNC cables to the convertors in the rack, daisy-chained with BNC T-pieces on the convertors.
So sync can be set 2 ways: using either BNC or ADAT.
I prefer BNC, but on 2 ADAT units, those coming from my 2nd DSP card, using the Ssnake cables, BNC nor ADAT does get the convertors a stable clock. As mentioned, the BNC connectors are touching the fat Sssnake ADAT connectors, I thing that may be one problem. Next I'm going to switch the Sssnake and Mutec cables around, and try blowing some air in the optical ports both ends.
I know this is a bigger ADAT setup, with 5 units. No other hardware but Scope DSP would even allow for such. But it's been months in preparation, of buying an extra card just to get the IO daughterboard, and sold it again without ;) , getting all the multi's etc and took me most of januari to re-cable all this rig to the current 52 IO, I really want this to work. Wish me luck.
at0m.
B2003 is sent to 
