RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

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lsthwy
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RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Hey there,

I've built a new setup using a secondhand HDSP 9652 into a Ferrofish A16 AD/DA over ADAT.
The computer is running Arch.

I installed alsa-tools and the card shows under hdspconf.
So far, so good.
However, the Ferrofish only shows a signal on ADAT A & B -- no sync lock. I've tried setting the Ferrofish as the master and the HDSP as slave, but the hdspconf utility doesn't seem to like that.. So I have the HDSP as master and Ferrofish set to receive sync over ADAT.. It still tells me that there is no sync lock, but if I change the sample rate on hdspconf the sample rate automatically changes on the Ferrofish, so it does appear they are talking to eachother.

As an aside, qjackctl, also refuses to launch jack when the HDSP card is selected. I figured this might be to do with the sync lock situation, but I'm not entirely sure.

This is my first time using both the Ferrofish and the HDSP, so I might have some things wildly wrong here.
Any help on where to troubleshoot next would be very much appreciated.
merlyn
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by merlyn »

lsthwy wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 6:38 pm As an aside, qjackctl, also refuses to launch jack when the HDSP card is selected. I figured this might be to do with the sync lock situation, but I'm not entirely sure.
I have a HDSP 9632 and to start JACK successfully I need to start hdspmixer before JACK. At the moment I have another PCI card, an ST Audio DSP24, synced up to the RME card, using the RME as the master clock through S/PDIF.
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Thanks for the info.

Starting hdspmixer first seemed to allow JACK to start without issue. If I open a DAW (Bitwig in my case) and set it to use JACK, I can see audio coming from the DAW in hdspmixer.

However still no audio, and no sync on the Ferrofish.

I'm curious if a real-time patched kernel might be needed to get the ADAT sync signal across correctly? I do see moments of hdsp conf seeming to lock on to a sync signal from one of the ADAT Ins..
merlyn
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by merlyn »

To take JACK out of the equation you can try speaker-test which uses ALSA. If you've only got one soundcard in your machine simply typing speaker-test into a terminal will work. If you have more than one soundcard you can use

Code: Select all

$ speaker-test -D plughw:DSP
You should see all the meters kick on hdspmixer. It's fairly loud pink noise, so you might want to turn your monitors down. Stop it with 'Ctrl+c'.
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Yep, so everything lights up on hdspmixer. Still no sound from the speakers.
Also the Ferrofish has LCD displays with meters and none of them light up.. so it seems audio is simply not gettting to the ad/da converter.
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Both devices report sync lock if I take the ADAT signal out and in to the same device.
So this seems to confirm both the devices and cables are in working order.
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by merlyn »

I suppose you now have to go through the usual troubleshooting procedure. Are the cables plugged in correctly? Are the cables good? Have you tried turning the Ferrofish off and on again?

I would simplify things as much as possible to rule things out. You could start with just the output from the 9652 into the input of the Ferrofish and see if that works. On the Ferrofish you have 'signal' and 'lock'. Does the Ferrofish show there is a signal?

ADAT is a self clocking format so I would think this is a hardware niggle, rather than a Linux problem.
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Yes, the Ferrofish does show a signal on both ADAT channels.
I have powered on and off both the Ferrofish and the computer quite a few times.
Also as I mentioned, both devices confirm both signal and lock when they are routed into eachother -- so this would seem to confirm that the cables are indeed working and that each device is also not faulty.

The Ferrofish does occasionally blink between a red and green ADAT sync symbol, so it seems like it is trying to lock on to something.
merlyn wrote: Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:32 pm ADAT is a self clocking format so I would think this is a hardware niggle, rather than a Linux problem.
This is interesting to know, thanks. I was messing around with PCI device timings before to try rule that out, but I guess this wouldn't have much effect in this case.
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by merlyn »

Can you post a screenshot of your hdspconf? This is what my hdspconf looks like (excuse the colour scheme, it's eh ... a work in progress :)) :

Image
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

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merlyn
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by merlyn »

The box called SyncCheck should show 'Sync' for the input you have plugged in. 'No Lock' is what I get when there's nothing plugged in. 'AutoSync Ref.' should not have dashes.

I have had dashes in the AutoSync Ref. box and a reboot fixed it. Sometimes the slave ( another PCI card) doesn't pick up the right sample rate, and to fix that I change settings on the slave -- change the clock source from S/PDIF to internal -- then change them back.

It seems slightly hit and miss, but once I get it working it stays working.

Given that, the order you do things in could be important like whether the Ferrofish is on when you boot up, or try leaving the Ferrofish off until the HDSP has settled, then switch the Ferrofish on.
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Yep, I've tried many different permutations of loading programs and switching things on to no avail.

I'm starting to lean towards a fault with the Ferrofish. The other day I was able to have it reporting Signal and Lock if I looped it out and in to itself, but today, it didn't want to do it. It flashed as if it was trying to do so but never locked on. The 9652 locks on all channels when looped.

I went out and picked up a BNC cable today, to see if I could get them to sync over wordclock. Interestingly when sending word clock out from the 9652 the Ferrofish reports a BNC connection, but won't lock on. However, when sending word clock out from the Ferrofish hdspconf locked on reported a signal lock. I was still unable to get any audio out however -- either with speaker-test or bitwig over JACK. hdspmixer reports signal, but the Ferrofish doesn't report a level on any of it's channels.

Image

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merlyn
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by merlyn »

There is a manual here :

https://guidessimo.com/document/630273/ ... al-12.html

If there's no lock it won't use the signal. The manual does mention a mixer. I doubt this is the problem as it needs lock first, but are the faders up?

It does seem like there's a fault.
lsthwy
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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by lsthwy »

Yep, it does not report lock on the signals -- even though both devices are set to 44.1khz.
The 9652 seems to see the 44.1khz signal from the Ferrofish.

I double-checked and faders are up on the Ferrofish. But you're right that the manual seems quite clear that it won't use these channels until it reports both signal and lock.

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Re: RME HDSP 9652 sync issues

Post by asbak »

The last time (years ago) I used a 9652 in Linux it synced without problems with a BNC cable to a clock from a MTP-AV at 48Khz.

The one thing that absolutely did not work properly were the MIDI inputs. It would receive MIDI but xrun mayhem followed.
The card was fine provided MIDI (for soft synths etc) was provided by a separate MIDI interface.

Presumably it's a bug in the alsa drivers, and presumably these haven't been worked on or updated in years.
Some Focal / 20.04 audio packages and resources https://midistudio.groups.io/g/linuxaudio
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