link two 828MKI

[djscrag]

hi,
i am about to buy a second motu828 (version 1, firewire), and i wonder if it can be synchronized to my other one of the same kind, without any external clock generator.
could it be enough to just link them via adat optical? does the second unit have to be connected to my mac as well?
does anyone have experience?

any hint would be greatly appreciated!
cheers
bernhard

[daniel.sneed]

I have never tried this, but spdif could be fine to clock the second one.

You'll need to connect both to your computer.
Take a look at how they appear in Audio MIDI Setup.
Then set clocking to internal (1st) and spdif (2nd) thru your daw.

BTW, if you include your gear and soft setup in your signature, you may receive more informed help though.

[therealbigd]

what computer are you using? does it have 2 firewire sockets? (800 or 400)

[djscrag]

what computer are you using? does it have 2 firewire sockets? (800 or 400)

hi,
yes i do have 2 firewire sockets.
sorry for not providing more info, i just updated my signature:

[djscrag]

I have never tried this, but spdif could be fine to clock the second one.

You'll need to connect both to your computer.
Take a look at how they appear in Audio MIDI Setup.
Then set clocking to internal (1st) and spdif (2nd) thru your daw.

BTW, if you include your gear and soft setup in your signature, you may receive more informed help though.

hi, thanks a lot for your posting, i will try and post again if it worked out!

bernhard

[therealbigd]

if you have 2 firewire you should be able to just connect both units to the G5, and create an aggregate device of both of them.
you can clock one off the other using a BNC word clock cable.

[djscrag]

if you have 2 firewire you should be able to just connect both units to the G5, and create an aggregate device of both of them.
you can clock one off the other using a BNC word clock cable.

thanks for your suggestion, but the mk1 doesn't have word clock.
did it with an aggregate device, that seems to work out. i will finish my setup and post my conclusions here.

[therealbigd]

if you set up the clock source in the MOTU Audio Setup to one of the 828s, it might clock through the firewire anyway... dunno.

[daniel.sneed]

if you set up the clock source in the MOTU Audio Setup to one of the 828s, it might clock through the firewire anyway... dunno.

I guess it won't.
FW doesn't carry clock from computer to sound card. Nor from one soundcard to another.

[therealbigd]

im sure when I had my 828(m2) connected to my friend's 896, in the MOTU Audio Setup for the 828 the 896 appeared as a clock source, and visa versa.

if not, it can be done by S/PDIF or lightpipe i believe.

[burn em]

Yes you can use more than one 828 mk1. I used to use 4, sadly 2 are dead now.

A firewire hub is the answer. seems to avoid data log jams with my other interfaces aswell.

No they don't have word clock. Buy a coaxial spdif cable (cheaper than adat cable) and clock the 2 over that. Works perfectly. You could also clock over adat optical if that tickles your fancy.

If you are using Digital Performer you don't need to make an aggregate device.

And lastly, you can polish a turd therealbigd you just need to freeze it first. I hear turd polishers get paid really well too!

[scrag]

Yes you can use more than one 828 mk1. I used to use 4, sadly 2 are dead now.
A firewire hub is the answer. seems to avoid data log jams with my other interfaces aswell.
No they don't have word clock. Buy a coaxial spdif cable (cheaper than adat cable) and clock the 2 over that. Works perfectly. You could also clock over adat optical if that tickles your fancy.
If you are using Digital Performer you don't need to make an aggregate device.
And lastly, you can polish a turd therealbigd you just need to freeze it first. I hear turd polishers get paid really well too!

thank you very much for sharing your experience, it's true the 828 doesn't have word clock, i meanwhile managed to clock over adat optical (with the nice side impact of having even 8 more channels), and it seems to work. i am about to record an e.p. and will see if it really works out like that when i use all channels.

my G5 has 2 firewire ports, i connect the motu828 to one each, and i use the aggregate device to cascade them.
btw. i don't really understand why the aggregate device dialog asks for a sync master again, and if that overrides the hardware setup or if one supersedes the other, maybe someone could shed a light on that? it works, i don't question it too much (never change a you know).

now all i need to make me happy is to know how to monitor more than 2 channels and why Logic won't route output from one device to the other. but that is another issue

i will post my configuration as soon as i have proven that it works out.
thanks everyone for contributing!

bernhard