SQ6 Audio Sync

[tourtelotParticipant]

Does anyone know what the setting should be for Audio Sync on my SQ6 with installed Dante card? I see today that it is set for Internal 96k but that there is a setting for I/O Card 96k. I have not had any perceptible sync issues (or not that I know of) with the panel set to Internal Sync but I’d love to know what is correct and why.

Thanks.

D.

[BrianParticipant]

You don’t have to worry about the actual clock speed. The console will always run at 96k and there is no way to change that (nor would you want to). The Dante network has to run at the slowest speed of the slowest attached Dante device on the network. There are lots of Dante devices out there that only run at 48k, so it is very likely your Dante network will have to run at 48k if you have other Dante devices connected. This is fine and the A&H Dante card will handle any clock conversion needed automatically (ie 48k Dante to 96k console). If your Dante network can run at 96k, then I would definitely suggest you run it at this speed, but you aren’t going to tell a difference if you have to run it as a slower speed.

[tourtelotParticipant]

Thanks Brian. I get the part about how my SQ6 syncs with my Dante network and sometimes I run my Dante network at 48k and sometimes at 96k. All depends on the job. But everything attached to the SQ in the network is capable of running at 96k.

My question is about the bast place for the SQ to get its 96k master sync rate; the internal clock or the Dante card? I have been running the SQ with its sync source set to Internal for quite a while with no seeming ill effects, But now I see that I could be running it with sync from the Dante card. The card is always in the SQ. Should I change it for any reason from Internal to I/O? Should I change the setting if I am or am not using the panel in a Dante network or as an independent mixer unit? Or should I just leave it alone since it seems to work? I am mostly just curious about “best practices”.

D.

[SteffenRParticipant]

My question is about the bast place for the SQ to get its 96k master sync rate

Internal, SQ as the master is the best solution.
If you have a device with a better clock you can choose that device, instead.

[tourtelotParticipant]

So there are two digital clocks in my SQ6 (and I may be repeating something that those who are reading this thread already understand); the internal clock in the SQ6 and the clock in the Dante card always installed in the SQ6. Either clock is more than likely to be adequate for the clocking needs on any setup.

Here is my question as distilled as I can make it this morning; Is there any need (“need” not advantage) for me to use one clock or the other as selectable in the SQ’s setup menu, either Internal or I/O Card, for any particular use of the SQ? To muddy the waters more, does my Dante network care which clock is selected in the SQ? Or will either provide the same functionality for accurate clocking when the SQ is attached to my Dante network? Or, any need to set the clock in the SQ to either/or for any reason, or just leave it set on one or the other with no ill effects in any setup, using either clock source for either Dante or non-Dante usage?

Probably driving myself a bit nutty here but I don’t want to find myself with a clocking mistake for simply never having asked the question.

Oh, and selecting the SQ as the “Master Clock” in a Dante network, the clock is the one in the Dante I/O card, not the internal clock in the SQ.

D.

[SteffenRParticipant]

So there are two digital clocks in my SQ6

Just one. The Dante card has no clock to sync the system.
If the Dante card is the clockmaster in the Dante network it uses the SQ clock.
If it’s the clock source to the SQ a different device has to provide a clock.
Remember, DVS is not able to provide a clock to a network. It’s always a slave.

[tourtelotParticipant]

Nope, Steffen. From Audinate:

“Dante Clock Types
Each Dante hardware device can derive its clock from either its high-quality onboard clock circuit, or an externally connected word clock. In the case of Dante Virtual Soundcard, the computer’s clock will be used.”

True that the DVS and at least my MBP controller needs some other device for a clock source. Dante Via will provide a clock from the MBP however.

So, that being said, I always use my first Grace m108 for the Dante clock master. Should I set the clock source for the SQ to “I/O Card”? Like I said, until I discovered that there were two possible settings, the SQ has been set to “Internal” for as long as I have owned it with no apparent clocking issues. If there is no issue with this setting, either as a member of my Dante network or as a stand-alone mixing panel, why are there two possible settings instead of just Internal?

Keith, would you like to take a stab at this question. I have a note into Brett at Audinate as well. Jusy trying to nail this down to add to my mental Dante tool kit.

D.

[SteffenRParticipant]

Your initial question was already answered.

In the case of Dante Virtual Soundcard, the computer’s clock will be used.

That’s just out of the context. You will link more than two devices together.

If there is no issue with this setting, either as a member of my Dante network or as a stand-alone mixing panel, why are there two possible settings instead of just Internal?

If you link two consoles, one needs to be slave.
Or in very large systems, where the SQ is not the center of the application.

[tourtelotParticipant]

Sorry that has gotten contentious, but no, my question has not been answered.

In the case of Dante Virtual Soundcard, the computer’s clock will be used.

Not interested in any answers about DVS. I already know those and at least in my MBP, I always need another clock source for DVS. The MBP will not clock a network through DVS.

If I linked two SQ panels on my network, both panels would be slaves, clocked by the Dante card in one of my Graces. The Audinate hardware would provide the sync. There is NO external sync source in my network. All units are clocked via Dante.

I think, in puzzling this out, that the setting that I am speaking of has nothing to do with clocking when the SQ is attached to a Dante network and only when it is self-standing, including locking two panels together NOT on a Dante network (when using SLink or the like, which I don’t use). When self-standing, I think the SQ would be happy with either sync source; the Internal or the I/O card, and in fact, shows a green check when set with either choice.

My mistake was thinking that the SQ sync setting had anything to do with sync in a Dante setup.

D.

[TobiParticipant]

The Reference Guide says: (https://www.allen-heath.com/media/SQ_ReferenceGuide_V1_5_0.pdf)

“When connecting to another system or 3rd party audio network (such as Dante or
Waves), one master clock source on the network should be determined and all
other units should synchronise to it.”

So you should decide, if SQ or Dante is Clock master and set the other one to slave accordingly, so
… either SQ -> Internal Clock, but then the Dante-Network synced to SQ
… or SQ -> IO-Port, then some other Device in the Dante-Network as master

In case you work with a DVS, I would prefer SQ as master and Dante as Slave.

Best Regards,
Tobias

[tourtelotParticipant]

Just to follow up, from Brett at Audinate:

If it’s a Dante hardware device, chances are it has the SiLabs clock chip we use in all the boards.

Unless the manufacturer created their own design.

Use the Dante card for clock in all your devices, and let them figure out who should be the leader. Our election process will figure it out based on chipset and serial number.

I will use the “I/O Card” setting for my SQ and let the Dante card sync the panel whether it is in the network or stand-alone. Easy answer.

D.

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