Setting up an Audiorail system and need WC advice.

[Stuart Pendleton]

I run a small system. 01v96, 3 Presonus D8s, and a DEQ830. I recently bought a pair of Audiorail boxes. They transmit WC through ADAT but have no provision for WC transfer via BNC. Until now I have been sending WC from the V to the D8s using BNC without any issues since they were all in the same FOH rack. Moving the D8s to a stage rack presents a challenge since I already own the pieces.

The D8s have WC in via BNC and WC out via ADAT. There are no ADAT ins to get WC to them from the V. With one D8, I would just send the ADAT to the V and let the V sync to it. With multiple D8s, I need to keep them in sync with each other on stage, and still let the V get WC from ADAT and then pass the ADAT stream to the DEQ830 which gives me my outputs on stage. I could run a separate BNC cable from FOH to stage but it can be a long run (not good) and defeats the simplicity of the Audiorail.

I do have several ADA800s that were replaced by the D8s but hoping not to have to revert to them although that does solve the WC issue since they can get WC from the ADAT ins.

I expect I will need an external clock. A Big Ben would be nice but spending as much on the clock as the V doesn't sit well with me. I ordered an ART Syncgen to use temporarily while I sort things out and get the system working, but am weary of trusting the entire show to a $100 box running from a wall wart.

So...

Would you just use the ART Syncgen and trust it? I have no experience with ART gear. If it works reliably I already have this issue solved.

Can you suggest a clock that doesn't cost as much as the V? I considered a Black Lion but it seems to be a minimal unit for the money. I have no experience with Black Lion gear. Is it any better than the ART unit?

Is there a box that could parse WC from an ADAT stream (one of the D8s) and send out WC over BNC to the other two units? I can't seem to find one and have no idea if anyone makes one, or if mortals could afford it.

Anybody got an idea what fills this need and cost less than a Big Ben by at least one digit in the price?

I would certainly entertain buying used if anyone on here has a used clock they want to sell for a REASONABLE price. Trying to get this solved for less than it would cost to just sell the D8s and buy other preamps that have more WC connectivity.

 

[brian maddox]

Re: Setting up an Audiorail system and need WC advice.

okay, i used to have a similar system. here's a couple of thoughts.

1. i used to run wordclock down a cat5 line. i had multiple lines in our building and i used two for two runs of audiorail [i needed 48 channels one way] and a third for wordclock. ran from my 01v96 to several presonus mic pre's. just used bnc T's to link them together. i used simple video baluns to convert the signal from bnc to cat5 and back. don't know if that's the 'right' way, but i had all the pieces so i tried it and it worked. total length of the run had to approach the limit of the audiorail as it went all the way across our building and through our network room. i ran it that way every sunday [this is a church install] for almost 2 years. it was bulletproof.

2. i've used an ART clock gen. for several years. it's worked great. FWIW...


i don't begin to pretend to know much about this subject. but this is what has worked for me...