User Manual

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User’s Guide OctaMic XTC © RME
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17.3 Clock Modes - Synchronization
In the digital world, all devices must be either Master (clock source) or Slave (clock receiver).
Whenever several devices are linked within a system, there must always be a single master
clock.
A digital system can only have one master! If the OctaMic XTC’s clock mode is set to 'In-
ternal', all other devices must be set to ‘Slave’.
To cope with some situations which may arise in studio practice, defining a sync reference is
essential. RME’s exclusive SyncCheck technology enables an easy to use check and display
of the current clock status. In the State Overview screen the column SYNC will show for all digi-
tal inputs whether there is a valid signal (Lock, No Lock) for the optical input, or if there is a valid
and synchronous signal (Sync). See chapter 27.2.
Under WDM the OctaMic XTC will (has to)
set the sample rate. Therefore the error
shown to the right can occur. An AES, ADAT
or MADI signal with a sample rate of 48 kHz is used as sync source, but Windows audio had
been set to 44100 Hz before. The red color of the text label signals the error condition, and
prompts the user to set 48000 Hz manually as sample rate.
18. Operation and Usage
18.1 Playback
In the audio application being used, OctaMic XTC must be selected as output device. It can
often be found in the Options, Preferences or Settings menus, as Playback Device, Audio De-
vices etc.
Increasing the number and/or size of audio buffers in the application (WDM) or the RME Set-
tings dialog (ASIO) may prevent the audio signal from breaking up, but also increases latency
i.e. output is delayed.
Note
: Since Vista the audio application can no longer control the sample rate under WDM.
Therefore the MADIface series driver includes a way to set the sample rate globally for all WDM
devices, found within the Settings dialog. See chapter 17.1.