MIDI Time Piece AV

I have been looking at MTP AV, mostly used, and think they look pretty cool. I am in need of a clock and extra midi ports are not a bad thing either. Is the clock on this piece good? I have read that the Aardsync and GenX are much better clocks than just about everything out there. The price for the MTP AV is attractive though. Also, I have read about issues using the parrallel version with WInXP Pro. Does anyone have it working properly? I could go USB, but they are a bit more expensive, even on the used market.
--MIKE

Mike,
Talking about clock can be a very evolved subject. IT really depends on what you're using and trying to accomplish. Why don't you give your Sales Engineer at call here at (800)222-4700 x1362 to go over what you really might need. If you do not have a Sales Engineer, you are certainly welcomed to give me a call....

I do have a sales engineer, and I wanted to call him this week sometime. (I am at work now though) so, I thought I would post about it. How about just general thoughts on the MTP AV? I want a word clock generator and can use the extra midi I/O. I run MOTU 2408 MKII and ADATs. I am hoping to add a Soundcraft 328 or Tascam DM-24 soon.
--MIKE

Well... the MTP AV is a wonderful MIDI interface that also does very well for controlling ADATs and working with Video. While it can act as a master word clock box, it's not the same type of clock (per say) as something like an Aardsync or an Apogee clock. The whole concept of having a great clock is to provide a single source of origin that provides a clean and stable clock to everything component in the chain that needs it. Some clocks will get the job done but really aren't a very good clock. What I mean is, if you use the MTP-AV as your master clock v/s an Aardsync II... the Aardsync WILL give you superior performance. I hang out in Studio B often where we have a very nice ProTools setup with a Control24 plus a handful of other nice gear including a MTP-AV.... we are also using the Aardsync as the master clock. If you need to control ADATs, you really should get the MTP A/V without question. You don't buy this box based on its performance as a master word clock generator... you buy it for its MIDI performance and ADAT sync.
What else is in your studio that could benefit from having a master clock? If you add say a DM24 to use with your 2408 and get say an Apogee Rosetta....... the results you get will be wonderful for two reasons. One, the Apogee clock is top-notch.... two, their converters are incredible. I am a very big Apogee fan because of this, it's like you buy a killer 2-ch A/D converter and get a free clock with it :-) Even the Rosetta straight into the 2408 will yield favorable results. I know I haven't answered these questions the way I wanted to or as in-depth, but I'm in a hurry :-) If you go to our Word for the Day and do a search on Word Clock and Jitter, you'll find a lot of useful information.
Good luck and enjoy! :-)

Thanks for your help. I have looked at the Aardsync and Apogee stuff but budget constraints are currently preventing that. I don't really need to control multiple ADATs, at least not yet. I have an XT and I am hoping to get an HD24 sometime around the holidays.
If the MTP isn't quite up to what I need, I might have to wait a while to get something that is worth it. I already have a midiman USB midisport 2x2 which usually handels my midi needs.
--MIKE