Dual Motu 896 Hd Sync Finally

edwardb · Post by **edwardb** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:50 am

Finally i have acheived a solid sync rate with a dual 896 hd setup @ 64 samples per buffer, 44100 rate, which equals a maximum latencey setting of 1.5 milliseconds. After many months of headaches and frustration, i think i finally figured it out.

I am running windows xp pro sp1 with a belkin pci firewire card that has the onboard ti chipset. Sonar 6 PE sequencer using the wdm driver model and several standalone synths using the asio driver model, all in sync with zero pops ticks dropouts or hisses..etc..

Anyone out there interested in how i did it ??

Gmanstudio · Post by **Gmanstudio** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 12:27 pm

I am trying to run 2 8Pre's. I think I have finally fixed my sync problems by using unit #2 as the primary clock source. What did you do to get your 896's to work? What were your symptoms? Etc.
Thanks!

edwardb · Post by **edwardb** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:49 pm

I am trying to run 2 8Pre's. I think I have finally fixed my sync problems by using unit #2 as the primary clock source. What did you do to get your 896's to work? What were your symptoms? Etc.
Thanks!

My symptoms were as many have described here, pops clicks beeps dropouts, the light dance....etc..A single motu worked fine but as soon as i plugged on the second everything went for a crap..

here's what i did to fix it.....

I got myself a Presonus Digimax Lt and clocked both motu's from the bnc sync port..Sync out of the digimax to a bnc splitter then to bnc sync in on each motu..The sync signal is now external and can be selected in the motu panel as external clock in for either motu. This removes the sync signal from the firewire because the digimax is now the master. Works every time for me with no dropouts, and the digimax also gives me 8 more analog inputs via the light pipe on motu #1. I now have 24 analog inputs, i plan to buy another digimax to expand my setup to 32 analog inputs, the second digimax will connect to motu #2 light pipe input..All inputs have a pre-amp with phantom power. This will allow me to record in a live situation and take the tracks back to the studio for mixing and mastering..

landoblues · Post by **landoblues** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:41 am

edwardb wrote:My symptoms were as many have described here, pops clicks beeps dropouts, the light dance....etc..A single motu worked fine but as soon as i plugged on the second everything went for a crap..

here's what i did to fix it.....

I got myself a Presonus Digimax Lt and clocked both motu's from the bnc sync port..Sync out of the digimax to a bnc splitter then to bnc sync in on each motu..The sync signal is now external and can be selected in the motu panel as external clock in for either motu. This removes the sync signal from the firewire because the digimax is now the master. Works every time for me with no dropouts, and the digimax also gives me 8 more analog inputs via the light pipe on motu #1. I now have 24 analog inputs, i plan to buy another digimax to expand my setup to 32 analog inputs, the second digimax will connect to motu #2 light pipe input..All inputs have a pre-amp with phantom power. This will allow me to record in a live situation and take the tracks back to the studio for mixing and mastering..

I had these very same issues with 2 896 HD's. I tried to work with Motu support and got very slow response to this issue. In specific, the Motu support person told me DO NOT sync them via the external WC connection...

"From: MOTU Tech Support techsupport@motu.com
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:04:00 -0800
To: jim@blueslandrecords.com
Subject: Re: ATTN: XXXXX - Connecting two 896HD's...

Hello,

Thank you for your email.

When using multiple units, they should not have clock cables
connected between them. Try also some of the items from this web link
which features some ideas for optimizing PC's for use with Audio:

http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php

Thanks for writing,
XXXXX
MOTU Tech"

I know that many people have defended the Motu support in this forum, but it is amazing to me that people are solving this problem by doing the exact opposite of what Motu support is recommending to me.

In the end, support agreed to issue an RA for our second 896 HD as it finally stopped communicating with anything at all on the firewire.

edwardb - how much did the Presonus Digimax Lt cost you?

edwardb · Post by **edwardb** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:25 pm

landoblues....

I totally understand your frustrations with your 896hd setup. I have seen some of your other posts also but i was still trying to figure out my own problems with sync.

I've been all over musicxp.net and i find that alot of the information there is useful if your computer is somewhat dated and you need to tweak it for performance to make things work. I think my computer setup is more than adequate for pro pc recording, and i assume yours is also.

I have yet to see motu tech support give detailed specs for a windows based (XP, XP PRO, or VISTA) pc system setup that supports multiple 896hd on a single firewire bus with solid sync (all of the time) with zero dropouts. I mean real details like motherboard manufacturer/model, processor type, ram type, video card etc..If they did, i would buy it immediately..

I would like to visit their factory and see what's actually there for a test bed....But any way enough of that for now..

The digimax cost me $700.00 and the pre-amps are great sounding..Make sure to use only 75 ohm cables, and also make sure to connect bnc out of the digimax to bnc in of each motu 896hd using a 75 ohm slpitter..The digimax lt becomes the master clock for the entire setup and also gives you 8 more analog inputs via the light pipe. There is a more expensive digimax lt that also samples at 96k...