{"id":24439,"date":"2011-01-12T00:22:52","date_gmt":"2011-01-12T08:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9n2.ac0.myftpupload.com\/1313\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2011-01-12T00:22:52","modified_gmt":"2011-01-12T08:22:52","slug":"improved-adda-conversion-with-external-synchronizationclock-fact-or-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?p=24439","title":{"rendered":"Improved AD\/DA Conversion with external synchronization\/clock?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/4-192-AD-External-THD+N.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2641\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?attachment_id=2641\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/4-192-AD-External-THD+N.png\" data-orig-size=\"1280,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"4 192 AD External THD+N\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/4-192-AD-External-THD+N-1024x640.png\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2641\" title=\"4 192 AD External THD+N\" src=\"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/4-192-AD-External-THD+N-300x187.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Marketing leads us to believe that AD\/DA Conversion will improve with external synchronization\/clocks. This is not the case.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s no mystery that multiple digital devices need common clock reference to communicate properly. Large studios need common (house clock) to communicate from device to device &amp; room to room. But do personal project studios benefit from external synchronization?<\/p>\n<p>The short answer is no.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->I have yet to find any AD\/DA Conversion\/Audio interface that performs better while locked to external reference. (word clock, AES, video, SPDIF, TOS, ect.)<\/p>\n<p>I judge conversion quality by three key specifications. (In general the lower the better.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; The deviation in or displacement of a digital signal. Small variations in a waveform.<\/li>\n<li><strong>THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; Total harmonic distortion plus noise<\/li>\n<li><strong>IMD <\/strong>&#8211; inter-modulation distortion is the unwanted amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies in a system with nonlinearities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In almost all cases a device locked to external reference will measure decreased performance in every one of\u00a0 these areas. (Found &amp; not limited to Apogee, TC,\u00a0 Avid\/digidesign, Lynx, AMS-Neve, M-audio, Prism, Aphex, Focusrite, Studer, ect).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Lynx Aurora<\/strong><strong> &#8211; <\/strong>Analysis plots = <a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/iM9cr4\">http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/iM9cr4<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; External = 2.3ns Internal = 1.1ns<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>DA THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00046%\u00a0 Internal = .00040%<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>DA IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00039%\u00a0 Internal = .00037%<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>AD THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00046%\u00a0 Internal = .00041%<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>AD IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00038%\u00a0 Internal = .00037%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Apogee AD-8000<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong> &#8211; <\/strong>Analysis plots = <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/98s814\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/98s814<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; External = 6.5ns Internal = 3.4ns<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>AD THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00089%\u00a0 Internal = .00073%<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>AD IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00611%\u00a0 Internal = .00059%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DigiDesign 192 &#8211; <\/strong>Analysis plots = <a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/B99YUQ\">http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/B99YUQ<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; External = 3.5ns Internal = 1.9ns<\/li>\n<li><strong>DA THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00051%\u00a0 Internal = .00052%<\/li>\n<li><strong>DA IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00137%\u00a0 Internal = .00045%<\/li>\n<li><strong>AD THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00093%\u00a0 Internal = .00093%<\/li>\n<li><strong>AD IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00195%\u00a0 Internal = .00070%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Lynx L22<\/strong><strong> &#8211; <\/strong>Analysis plots = <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/C5w790\">http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/C5w790<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; External = 6.3ns Internal = 1.2ns<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>AD THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00047%\u00a0 Internal = .00038%<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>AD IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00066%\u00a0 Internal = .00031%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DigiDesign MBOX2 &#8211; <\/strong>Analysis plots = <a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/45UiBQ\">http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/45UiBQ<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; External = 7.2ns Internal = 4.2ns<\/li>\n<li><strong>DA THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00061%\u00a0 Internal = .00064%<\/li>\n<li><strong>DA IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00067%\u00a0 Internal = .00033%<\/li>\n<li><strong>AD THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00094%\u00a0 Internal = .00084%<\/li>\n<li><strong>AD IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00085%\u00a0 Internal = .00055%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DigiDesign 888\/24 <\/strong><strong>&#8211; <\/strong>Analysis plots = <a href=\"http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/f7c3Us\">http:\/\/flickr.com\/gp\/rhythminmind\/f7c3Us<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jitter <\/strong>&#8211; External = 2.7ns Internal = 1.8ns<\/li>\n<li><strong>AD THD+N<\/strong> &#8211; External = .00146%\u00a0 Internal = .00117%<\/li>\n<li><strong>AD IMD <\/strong>&#8211; External = .00205%\u00a0 Internal = .00092%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marketing leads us to believe that AD\/DA Conversion will improve with external synchronization\/clocks. This is<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?p=24439\">Read the post<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Improved AD\/DA Conversion with external synchronization\/clock?<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[16,271,272],"class_list":["post-24439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-ad-da","tag-external-reference","tag-myths","excerpt","zoom","full-without-featured","even","excerpt-0"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/5-192-AD-internal-IMD.png","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24446,"url":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?p=24446","url_meta":{"origin":24439,"position":0},"title":"Hardware gain staging (with the DAW in mind).","author":"Eric","date":"August 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For many when confronted with the terms dBFS, dBu, +4\/-10, VU, etc their eyes gloss over. Without understanding a few simple concepts, integrating your DAW with external hardware can be a game of trial & frustration. To properly drive & take full advantage of hardware in the analog realm, you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hardware&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/DSC_0038-e1357759888674.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/DSC_0038-e1357759888674.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/DSC_0038-e1357759888674.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/DSC_0038-e1357759888674.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24461,"url":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?p=24461","url_meta":{"origin":24439,"position":1},"title":"A\/D Conversion, can you hear the difference?","author":"Eric","date":"February 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In my downtime I decided to do a in-depth comparison between the A\/D converters I have at hand. 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The ones with the 9pin sub & external power supply.\u00a0 I own the MD1 & 2. Getting hard to find these modern classics. I replaced the tube with a JAN NOS 12at7 & snapped some shots.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hardware&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DSC_0011-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DSC_0011-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DSC_0011-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DSC_0011-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DSC_0011-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ericbeam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/DSC_0011-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24368,"url":"https:\/\/ericbeam.com\/?p=24368","url_meta":{"origin":24439,"position":4},"title":"Digital EQ Fact &#038; Myth.","author":"Eric","date":"March 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 All Digital Parametric EQ's are the same. 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