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hello
I'm planning to buy a RME Fireface 800 to expand my Analog IO converters . I have a Pulsar 2 Z-link and a A16 ultra. The questions are : how can I connect the the Fireface ? Via Adat to the Pulsar ? Should I use a BNC cable for the digital synch between the A16 and the FF to use both the converters togheter ? Can I use it as main clock if I connect it via ADAT ?
The more infos you can give me the better is, it is appreciated
thanks

You can use the ADAT outputs from the fireface to connect to the pulsar, yes.

And yes, I would sync things up via wordclock (the bnc connectors)

but you can use adat for sync if you prefer.

ADAT sync should work fine in most cases. In my previous studio I had to use a rather lengthy optical cable run from my Scope to my Hammerfall Multiface and so I would see occasional errors, bnc solved that. I've seen no actual data errors since, but for 6 feet or less (2 meters?) I can't imagine you having a problem with ADAT alone.

thanks for your replies

should I use the Adat out of the A16 (that is the clock master in my system) or I can use the ADAT out the the Pulsar ?

seems like I read somewhere that there is less jitter when clocking via bnc as opposed to optical.
Anyone know if this is actually the case?
I'm just a button-pusher, so I just go by what folks say who is smarterer than me.

yes, bnc is typically less jitter than adat, but that doesn't assure you of a better sound. personally, i prefer an external master clock and bnc, but adat is more than sufficient for most project studio work. most people wouldn't know the difference.

isn't that because the (dedicated) clock source feeding the BNC cable is more stable than the 'regular' clock on the card and not the 'transmission error' induced by the cable type ?

yep, probably....
thanks for the clarification.

oops, if I may hi-jack...
do you still have an old A16 (somewhere) around ?
if so, could you run it's BNC sync against your studio clock ? i.e. let the A16 provide the signal and tell if there's a difference noticeable or not ?

I recently found a passage in the old manual that the A16 was supposed to act as a studio clock and had dedicated circuitry for this purpose - of course it's somewhat inferior as it's chaining from a single source only, and not star-connecting, but anyway...

cheers, Tom

sorry, i can't help. i don't have the a16 around...
i would bet the clock on the a16 to be very good.