Apogee Big Ben external master clock - no idea how to use it

[charzoom]

Hi!

I have a Studer A730 cd player (functioning normally) and from my understanding it has the option to use an external master clock to further improve the sound.

I received an offer from a seller to buy an Apogee Big Ben external master clock at a good price and I am seriously tempted to buy it.

Problem is, I do not have any experience using an external master clock on a cd player. Reading the online user manual didn’t help much. So here is what I want to ask:

1. what cables are required and how many of the are required?
2. there are many input options and output options on the Apogee Big Ben, which ones should I use for the Studer A730 and why?
3. AES/ S/PDIF / Toslink inputs vs clock word input.
4. AES/ S/PDIF / Toslink inputs vs clock word output
5. Can I use it on a Philips CD960 cd player?

Thanks!

 

[Dazaa]

Wouldnt the Bigben just be used to synchronise everything in a studio environment? I can't see why you would have any need in a hifi setting

 

[mcgjohn]

Hi!

I have a Studer A730 cd player (functioning normally) and from my understanding it has the option to use an external master clock to further improve the sound.

I received an offer from a seller to buy an Apogee Big Ben external master clock at a good price and I am seriously tempted to buy it.

Problem is, I do not have any experience using an external master clock on a cd player. Reading the online user manual didn’t help much. So here is what I want to ask:

1. what cables are required and how many of the are required?
2. there are many input options and output options on the Apogee Big Ben, which ones should I use for the Studer A730 and why?
3. AES/ S/PDIF / Toslink inputs vs clock word input.
4. AES/ S/PDIF / Toslink inputs vs clock word output
5. Can I use it on a Philips CD960 cd player?

Thanks!

am not sure if it will work on your CD player.

The purpose of the Big Ben is to provide a more accurate clock and keep all the component sync'd to the same clock.
Hence all the BNC clock outputs on it.

I used to regularly use a Big Ben to sync the A to D and Recorder together, worked quite well.

 

[bobschneider]

To use an external clock, you would use a BNC cable from the Big Ben’s output to the Studer’s clock input. You might also have to adjust the Big Ben to output a signal the Studer could recognize.

I used to have a Marantz SA11-S1 with an external clock input. I tried using an external clock with it, but didn’t notice any difference.

You can only use an external clock if the CD player has a clock input. That is very rare - unless your CD960 has a BNC clock input, you can’t use an external clock.

 

[Powertech]

It's probably a bit like the commercial 'World clock' system used by some studio digital systems. My Behringer gear has inputs for it. It only really applies if you have multiple digital units that are linked together, to keep them all in sync. As said before, it doesn't really apply to solo domestic equipment..

 

[charzoom]

hi! sorry for the late reply because I was preoccupied with some personal matters. A quick update: I bought the Apogee Big Ben and quickly noticed deeper bass and wider audio separation from 15 ohms Rogers LS3/5A. I would not call the change obvious but still noticeable. Happily connected all my hifi devices to my Apogee Big Ben and enjoying the sound improvement!