Old but gold.. I was thinking about buying a new audio interface and thanks to this video you made my decision a lot easier!! Thanks Graham you're fantastic 💪🏻
I got an ADA8000 based on the word of a few of my favorite recording gurus. At $39 it seemed like a steal. Once I put the thing into my rack and connected it via optical to my Pro40, the thing sounded like hot garbage. It didn't occur to me that the Behringer's clock would be the one my interface needed to sync to, but I only had a hunch that a sampling issue was taking place because the audio almost sounded bit crushed. I'm glad I saw this because I was going to have to call up the retailer and fight for the cost of the shipping to be reimbursed.
I can't be of much help here, but it does seem backwards. But using your main interface as the slave as far as clock sync doesn't affect the sound of your main interface at all, you're just limited to whatever max resolution the slave supports. So if you're main is capable of 96kHz at 24bits but the Behringer is only 44.1kHz at 16, you have to go with the lower while you're synced to the Behringer. Settings can be adjusted pretty easily on the software side without having to mess with connections in the back of your rack if you want to track at whatever max resolution your main unit supports. In Saffire Mix Control, which is the Pro40's software client, you can adjust everything pretty easily. I've been tracking with the Behringer for additional room and tom mics and haven't had any issues.
graham, i just wanted to say thanks. your videos are what made the bulb go off in my head that recording at home wasn't some crazy ass mystery or something that was unobtainable. in the last year i've taught myself using a ton of your videos/blog entries, and am now working with 6 different clients on different projects out of my home studio. and i love to see that at least at one point you had some alesis 520's, which is what i'm rocking now. anyway, thanks a bunch graham. you are a great man!
The Digi 003 is better because it also has word clock, which is important to utilize when connecting two digital devices together via ADAT. It makes sure the devices are fully in sync with one another. This makes for better sound quality/A to D conversion (less potential for Jitter and other negative digital audio artifacts)
@BouvrieMax Yes, I believe it is comparable to most similar units in that price range ($500 and under). These are simple clean pres without any coloration and the converters do their job well.
Thank you for making this simple. I am not familiar with digital recording I'm old school and trying to get someone who knows about adding an interface using ADAt has been tricky.
@Mollysconfession The ADA8000 is a preamp/converter that needs to connect to something with an ADAT input. You will need a dedicated audio interface for this.
@mp3sucker I'm not too familiar with the EMU unit, but if it features an ADAT input then depending the software you are recording to, you should be able to access the Behringer's 8 pres that way. The ADAT input on the behringer unit allows it to act as a D to A converter. You can send your DAWs outputs through ADAT to be converted back to an analog signal via the Behringer.
There is inherently a lot of jitter on optical (TosLink) but one thing I would seriously suggest is getting a proper fibre optic lead as this will improve thing - Yes, I know, Its all 1s & 0s but its surprising how much difference a decent optical lead can make on a CD player. With 8 channel companded into that path there is more room for error. Ergo; I would suggest using the Digi 002 as the clock master.
How would I use the Digi 002 as the master instead of trying to force the adat to be the external clock? Just leave Pro tools clock as internal? Or what other setting is there to make Digi 002 master and adat slave? Clicks and pops continue.. No matter what setting on the adat I set and the option to change the clock source is not possible for me. I get an error that it is invalid option and will return to internal.. pops and clicks continue with no change.
@ollie633 You would connect it the same way to your Focusrite. Likely your sample rate and clock source would have to be set in both the saffire mix control and Logic.
@acoombesmusic either or would work. I'd suggest getting the octopre for 2 reasons: 1.)you expand your inputs by 8. 2.) you can bypass the 4 mic pres on your 003. the stock combo mic/trs pres on your 003 are nowhere near as good as the preamps on the octopre..the headroom sucks and the signal just isn't as clear in my opinion. unless you have the BLA mod on your 003, I'd stick to using the balanced trs inputs on your console. use the stock mic pres as your last option. good luck
@rockjpk Just to be clear, the Behringer unit sounds great and is comparable to anything in a semi-pro price range (whatever that is!). But you definitely have options: check out the Focusrite Octopre MkII, the Presonous Digimax D8, or the M-Audio Octane!
Not intending to criticize, but the word clock on the 002 is i'm pretty sure a lot better than the behringer as i've owned both and synced it both ways. The word clock actually decides how close to the original (source) sound your recording will be pre-amp's excluded. My advice, add a second toslink to the behringer/002 configuration and try using the 002 or the clock and check out the difference, i'll eat my words if there isn't one ;)
I think this just saved me $200 for the time being. So basically I can purchase the Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 interface (less inputs) and "upgrade" to more later using this ADAT config. So if I wanted to start mic ing drum kits a few month from now, I can use this method - - but I would have to purchase something like the Behringer. Thanks
thank you for the tutorial..i just found a Behringer ada 8000 in pawnshop..to hook up to my Digi 003..rack factory plus..this helps alot..keep rockin..bro..great video very clean and well done ...will check out more of your ..videos !
great video Graham, I'm about to buy a Focusrite OCTOPRE MKII but I didn't really know how to set it up with my audio interface. this has answered all my questions
@rivermonsoon Not really sure what to tell you my friend. I'm not familiar with that MOTU device but it sounds like a hardware setting or internal software routing thing. You may want to get on some MOTU forums to find out.
Very nice video ! Straightforward and very clear. I've got a question though. If say, I'm using an 8 pre-amp unit just like the one you have with my interface but this unit also has a set of outputs, will those outputs be accessible with the same convenience than the inputs get in my DAW ?
I have a simular set up, behringer ada8200 and 003rack+. I'd like to add the avid eleven rack into the mix, via s/pdif. But I'm unsure how to set the clock with this three way set up, if it's at all postage?
What would the master clock be if I wanted to use the inputs on my 002 plus the ADAT inputs. For example, Inputs 1-4 on my 002 along with the Behringer, for a 12 mic drum kit.
This is great! I just bought a Focusrite Octopre Dynamic and didn't know how to hook it up to my audiobox. Does it matter which piece of hardware is master of the clock source?
Thanks for the tips Graham..What if im going to record more than 8 channels (multiple mics for the drums for example) .How will i connect (2) Behringer ADA8000 to my 003?
You should get another optical wire and conect from the out of the digi 002 to the in of the ada 800, then switch in the sync options of the behringer the option adat in. You will sync with the 002, that has a better clock, and the behringer will sync with the clock of the 002. You shouldn't sync the way you did in the video!
Hi Graham. I know that this is an old video, but the logic is still there. I have a Focusrite interface with word clock and ADAT I/O. I have an ART Voice Channel with the same I/O. I've had the system hooked up and running fine via ADAT (both seem synced). However... I just read that you should use a 75ohm cable and a termination cap if it's available. It sounds like it's just better to go that route. Please correct me if this is wrong. With this said... I purchased a cable and cap, and have hooked it up. I assume that I can use the same logic that you did here, and select the appropriate clock source for each component??? Does it hurt anything to do it this way? Thanks!
Noob question: If I'm hooking up my monitors through the interface, will I receive the playback signal from my DAW to my interface through the single ADAT 'out' cable running from the interface to my sound card? The way I previously (mis)understood it, it is a one way signal; since it is 'out' it transfers the one way signal from the interface to the computer and the 'in' would receive the signal for playback. I don't have an ADAT interface yet so I want to understand it better before I make the purchase.
Just to clarify my question : I want to use the outputs of unit to monitor different elements. The routing can easily be done within my DAW, but I wanna make sure those extra outputs connected on my interface via ADAT will be available to choose from inside my DAW's output options, even though the unit is not directly connected via USB or Firewire as my interface is. Thanks
hey bro great video thanks. I just got the Behringer, followed your instructions but I still am getting some clicks and pops. Wondering if it might help my setup if the 003 was the master. How do you set that up? Also, what is S/PDIF? Is that 8 outs as well and just a different cable that it runs through? Thanks.
I'm hoping to get the Behringer Firewire FCA 1616 (when it's released) and getting this if I ever need to record drums etc. With the 8 channels from the ADA8000, will those 8 mic inputs be recorded into separate channels in the DAW too?
I have a Presonus Studio Channel Pre and have it hooked up to line 1 of the 002. Would I have to hook it up to Line 1 of the Behringer to take advantage of the AD conversion?
Graham i was wondering if the ADA8000 can do both the adat out and the analog outputs in the back. i have an older gen mixer at my church but i want to run those new behringer powerplay headphone monitors. I'd like to send the digital signal out to the behringer powerplay while sending the analog channels back into the mixer.
Hi Graham.. Can u recommend another ADAT interface with better A/D converts than the behringer,,using the same connection as you showed,i'm build a semiprof studio and want to record some drums and guitar setup to an analog console going into the interface? thanx heaps for the video!!
Hey Graham. I have a Liquid Saffire 56 and just bought some outboard pres that have digital outputs. Would using a word clock cable benefit you at all when using adat as your connectivity between the two units? I believe adat has the ability to carry the clocking info, but just wondering if it would benefit at all to run bnc as well. Thanks
So does that mean that if I connect this to a small interface as long as it has the ADAT in and it will turn that interface from 2 channels to 10 channels basically?
Hi Graham, i just wondering, if i’m using an interface like Saffire Pro 40, and the same expansion ADA8000, does the audio from ADAT connection (in this case, ADA8000 will be used) will be included into Saffire Pro 40 for direct monitoring?
Hi Graham, I have a digi002 and use a Avalon pre amp AD2022 - I was told by the store to simply use a cable from the the Avalon out put to the the input of the digi 002 -I use input 7-8 because it is a 2 channel pre amp. Watching your video on how you did it is what I was told completely wrong? Could what I do give me a bad vocal signal? At the inputs there is also +10 and -6 what is the correct setting? Hope you can give me some help - Kind regards Josh
hey great info man we really appreciate it! Question: I'm connecting two Digi 002's with an optical cable. I'm getting signal into the optical ins but constant clicks and pops are on the channels. The think the sync between the two devices is missing? What should I do? Thanks
Hi, Graham, I have a Liquid Safire 56, and I just ordered an ADA8000. How would the process differ if you were to plug 2 ADA8000s into the LS56? Would it be exactly the same procedure, or would you need to make the LS56 the master?
great tutorial quick question is it going to be a same procedure for a spdif??ihave a digidesign oo3 and would like to run my presonus firestudio project via spdif..do i have to run 2 spdif cable aswell? thanks
Tried this with an actual Adat machine and as soon as I set optical as my clock source in Pro tools I get an error that that is an invalid clock source and it will return to internal. And the pops and clicks continue/ So there is no way to force ADAT optical to be the external clock source for some reason. I set the adat to 44.1 or 48 and set it to analog or digital or auto, and nothing works. Thinking of buying the unit you feature here but if the adat tape machine is not working, what would make me think another device will work? What other setting is required in Pro tools to force adat optical as the external clock to sync up and remove the pops? I have the Digi 002 NOT the Digi 003 btw
I was wondering how to use the outputs of the pro 8 with a yamaha o1v96. The inputs are working fine so I'm just trying to figure out if the console has to be routed to use those outputs. I'm trying to use the 8 outputs for the 8 aux sends.
Could i use an external clock like a "big ben" as the master and hook it to the ada (ada now set to slave) using BNC cable then run it through digi 002 via lightpipe and keep the same settings in PT??
Hey Gram...great video. Is it possible to do the same thing by connecting a Digi 003R to a Digi 003 Console or to a mixing interface/mixing board? Do you know of a Firewire based or even a USB based unit that is compatible with the Digi 003 synchronizing ADAT as well as adding sliders (mixing board features). I hope you have an answer. I know this thing is old and I should upgrade, but I am stuck at OSX 8.5.5 for several major reasons. Thank you.
How do you get the ADA 800 to work simultaneously with the 8 Inputs on the 003??? When I switch to optical, the inputs on the 003 interface aren't accessible. What am I doing wrong?
Basicaly i need to know once i connect the ada8000 up to my existing 8 channel 002 rack,will i have a total of 16 inputs to record into,8 optical adat and 8 line in protools inputs.if so how do i get signals to the 8 optical inputs in the record mode,thks
Hey! I have an Allan and Heath GS3 desk... Just wondering if the ADA8000 would be a good choice to use as the interface to plug into my mac using the GS3 as well? I'm a bit of a beginner on all of this :/ Thanks :)
Hey Graham, how do I connect a Apogee Rosetta 800 to a digi 003 and a Avalon vt 737 Compressor via a beringer patch bay and get everything to work in Pro tools?
can you use the behringer ultragain with a behringer u control, it has optical in but didn't know if it would work with it since its only a single channel interface
So, does that mean I don't need the word clock conection? I trying to synchronise my scalett 18i20 with my focusrite octopre dynamic. help please! I have to record a live band on April first.
How do i record signals to the 8 optical line in's?Do i need to run lines into the outputs on the back of the ADA8000 from the outputs of the 002 enterface to get the signals for the 8 optical inputs or would i have to also connect the ADAT out on the 002 to the ADAT in on the ADA8000 to be able to use the optical inputs in the record mode, and if you dont have to do what i said above to use the line outs on the ADA8000 .basicaly i need to know once i connect the ada8000 up to my existing 8 channel 002 rack,will i have a total of 16 inputs to record into,8 optical adat and 8 line in protools inputs.if so how do i get signals to the 8 optical inputs in the record mode,thks
