Greetings all,
I have a query about the A16 ultra. I currently have a Pulsar II card (with adat interface, no z-link) and have only used the 2 on-board a/d's. I've seen other postings here that say the z-link is a better interface to the A16 than the adat i/f.
What's the reason to say that? Is it merely a bandwidth issue or is the quality of the a/d audio less with the adat compared to z-link i/f?
thanks
A16 ultra
ZLink has much tighter sync than ADAT without wordclock. With wordclock, I guess both must be pretty close. ADAT has a few annoying behavior traits, like if you reboot your computer and you monitors are connected to the A16U/ADAT device, you'll get some pretty loud pops. ZLink is alot more forgiving on that level, and will never lose sync (at least, hasn't happened here.) ADAT without wordclock will tend sometimes go out of sync (depends on the device alot), causing some slight digital "frizzles", and you have to learn to set the master correctly, otherwise you'll end up with more sync problems.
Both can benefit sound-quality wise from using wordclock, but ZLink performs real well without it, and ADAT will usually work well but be a bit more annoying/tinkering. On a good hardware unit, ADAT will be just fine, but you're much better off using ZLink if you have both a CW card and A16U.
Also, ZLink will do 8 channels of 24bit/96khz, ADAT can only do 8 of 24bit/48khz, or 4 channels of 24bit/96khz with SMux.
Both can benefit sound-quality wise from using wordclock, but ZLink performs real well without it, and ADAT will usually work well but be a bit more annoying/tinkering. On a good hardware unit, ADAT will be just fine, but you're much better off using ZLink if you have both a CW card and A16U.
Also, ZLink will do 8 channels of 24bit/96khz, ADAT can only do 8 of 24bit/48khz, or 4 channels of 24bit/96khz with SMux.
adat is nearly flawless in performance for the most part. z-link does have TIGHTER sync, so things will sound clearer and more focused, wordclock is even better. adat is fine for most purposes, however. if you never heard z-link or wordclock sync, you wouldn't really think there was a problem.
of course, as to the master/slave relationship, you have to have one device and the other master(your choice, just be sure it's one OR the other). z-link and wordclock have a set relationship with the same requirement as adat, only one device can be master, all others must be slave. easy.
of course, as to the master/slave relationship, you have to have one device and the other master(your choice, just be sure it's one OR the other). z-link and wordclock have a set relationship with the same requirement as adat, only one device can be master, all others must be slave. easy.
Sync problems using adat i/f sounds a little scary, especially if you're paying $1000+ for this (just guessing at the cost). Would you say there is no sync problems if CLK is set up properly with master/slave with Pulsar?
I do a fair amount of acoustic stuff (record at 24 bit/44.1 kHz). I would want my vocals/acoustic instruments to sound just as good via A16/adat path as through the direct on-board a/ds. Who wouldn't?
I do a fair amount of acoustic stuff (record at 24 bit/44.1 kHz). I would want my vocals/acoustic instruments to sound just as good via A16/adat path as through the direct on-board a/ds. Who wouldn't?
Never had a problem with ADAT.. although the bad noises during power up/down can be annoying (just make sure you have a safe sequence to turn on all your gear).
But the others are right.. with word-clock or z-link, things are going to sound a lot tighter (assuming that the master clock is a good one). I've just invested in a sync plate.. can't wait to install it so I can run everything from an Apogee rosetta clock
But the others are right.. with word-clock or z-link, things are going to sound a lot tighter (assuming that the master clock is a good one). I've just invested in a sync plate.. can't wait to install it so I can run everything from an Apogee rosetta clock
wordclock usually is applied from a 'certified' high quality external source via BNC connectors and as mentioned for the Pulsar a sync plate is required to receive that signal.
Unfortunately there are no specs for the quality of the A16's internal clock.
I have the old model and there's a dedicated part of the circuitry which at least looks rather impressive.
It might even be that the A16U as master via BNC performs better than via ZLink (which gets it's clock from the Pulsar imho), but the procedure applies for a single connection only.
For more external devices (to be synced) you'd have to daisy chain the BNC line, and that's considered inferior to the 'star' architecture where a single studio master clock drives multiple ports.
If the clock is distributed by Adat the clock data must be retrieved from the optical signal and that's more sensitive to errors obviously.
But as said it's not that bad that it spoils all your records
It also depends on the kind of sound sources you're gonna process, since this is a significant investment and the result might not even be obvious. I do like the specific sound of the original DX7 (for example), but this wouldn't get any better by whatever clock...
With lots of high quality mics and acoustic recordings that's a different story tho.
cheers, Tom
Unfortunately there are no specs for the quality of the A16's internal clock.
I have the old model and there's a dedicated part of the circuitry which at least looks rather impressive.
It might even be that the A16U as master via BNC performs better than via ZLink (which gets it's clock from the Pulsar imho), but the procedure applies for a single connection only.
For more external devices (to be synced) you'd have to daisy chain the BNC line, and that's considered inferior to the 'star' architecture where a single studio master clock drives multiple ports.
If the clock is distributed by Adat the clock data must be retrieved from the optical signal and that's more sensitive to errors obviously.
But as said it's not that bad that it spoils all your records
It also depends on the kind of sound sources you're gonna process, since this is a significant investment and the result might not even be obvious. I do like the specific sound of the original DX7 (for example), but this wouldn't get any better by whatever clock...
With lots of high quality mics and acoustic recordings that's a different story tho.
cheers, Tom