RME M-16 DA [35/57] Lock and synccheck

User’s Guide M-32 DA © RME

16.2 Lock and SyncCheck

Digital signals consist of a carrier and the data. If a digital signal is applied to an input, the re-

ceiver has to synchronize to the carrier clock in order to read the data correctly. To achieve this,

the receiver uses a PLL (Phase Locked Loop). As soon as the receiver meets the exact fre-

quency of the incoming signal, it is locked. This Lock state remains even with small changes of

the frequency, because the PLL tracks the receiver's frequency.

If an ADAT or MADI signal is applied to the M-32 DA, the corresponding LED starts flashing.

The unit indicates LOCK, i.e. a valid input signal (in case the signal is in sync, the LED is con-

stantly lit, see below).

Unfortunately, LOCK does not necessarily mean that the received signal is correct with respect

to the clock which processes the read out of the embedded data. Example: The M-32 DA is set

to 44.1 kHz internal clock (clock mode master), and a mixing desk with MADI output is con-

nected to the MADI input. The MADI LED will start flashing immediately, because the mixing

desk's sample rate is generated internally, and thus slightly higher or lower than the M-32 DA's

internal sample rate. Result: When reading out the data, there will frequently be read errors that

cause clicks and drop outs.

Also when using multiple inputs, a simple LOCK is not sufficient. The above described problem

can be solved elegantly by setting the M-32 DA from internal clock to MADI (its internal clock

will then be the clock delivered by the mixing desk). But in case another asynchronous device is

connected, there will again be a slight difference in the sample rate, and therefore clicks and

drop outs.

In order to display those problems optically at the device, the M-series includes SyncCheck

. It

checks all clocks used for synchronicity. If they are not synchronous to each other (i.e. abso-

lutely identical) the LED of the asynchronous input will flash. In case they are synchronous the

LED stays dark, only the LED of the current clock source will be lit (constantly). In the above

example it would have been obvious that the MADI LED starts flashing after connecting the

mixing desk.

In practice, SyncCheck allows for a quick overview of the correct configuration of all digital de-

vices. This way one of the most difficult and error-prone topics of the digital studio world finally

becomes easy to handle.