Why do I need a master clock in my digital studio?

There are several excellent reasons to invest in a stand alone master clock generator for your digital studio. When several clock sources are available, as is very common in today’s digital studios, you must select one to serve as the master clock. Failure to designate a single device as the master clock, will result in audible “clicks and pops” caused by multiple clocks running out of sync with each other. Even though two clocks may be set to the same sample rate (44.1 kHz for example), they will eventually drift apart resulting in samples being skipped and clicks and pops being heard. Setting each device to receive an external clock, and clocking to a single master clock source such as the AardSync II will eliminate the potential for multiple clocks in a digital studio setup.
Another reason, as stated briefly earlier, is the avoidance of “daisy-chaining” multiple devices together. “Daisy-chaining” leads to cumulative jitter adding up as the clock passes between each digital device, resulting in loss of clarity and a stereo imaging. It also leads to improper termination of clock between devices. Each word clock input contains a 75 Ohm resistor that is needed to properly terminate the cable impedance. If one word clock source is connected to several inputs, the word clock signal will be loaded down too much and will not have enough power to go around. Providing each digital device with a discrete clock output from the AardSync II will solve any possible termination problems and help tremendously in reducing jitter in the digital studio.

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