TASCAM DM-24 Installation and Use Owners Manual - Page 11

1 - Introduction-Word clock issues Word clock issues The "word clock" in a digital audio system is the timing information that enables the digital audio samples in a system to be synchronized between the different devices. It is completely unconnected with timecode clocks, etc. There must be one, and only one, word clock master device in a digital audio system. The DM-24 is capable of acting as a word clock master or as a slave. WARNING There should be one, and only one, word clock master in a setup. Multiple word clocks in a setup may result in noise. which can damage monitoring equipment (speakers and amplifiers). Check with the other equipment that you are using to see whether it can be a master or slave, and work out which device will be your word clock master. If the DM-24 is to be a word clock slave in your system, it can accept word clocks from the following sources: • An external clock connected through the dedicated connector • The TDIF-1 interfaces • The integral ADAT interface • Either of the two DIGITAL IN interfaces • Either of the slots occupied by an optional digital interface card. In the case of an AES/EBU interface card, any of the four stereo signal pairs may be individually selectable as the word clock source. • If two DM-24 units are being cascaded, the clock source on a cascaded DM-24 will always be the cascade master DM-24 unit. The master of the cascade chain can select its clock from any available source. The clock can be at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz or 88.1kHz or 96kHz with some variation possible for varispeed, etc. at ±6%. NOTE When the DM-24 is linked to an external word clock, it can only use a base frequency clock. Even when many external devices are operating at high sampling frequencies, they output such a base frequency clock. If the external device does not do so, and only outputs a high sampling frequency clock, the DM-24 must be used as the word clock master for the system. TASCAM DM-24 Reference Manual 11