Mackie HDR 24, Hook-Up Manual

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SET IT UP, AND GO!
A VISUAL
GUIDE
DIGITAL
PRO AUDIO PLUGS AND CONNECTORS
KNOW YOUR
PLUGS
Standing for Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), this is used to either
send out or receive longitudinal time code (LTC) as a positional reference of your playback. SMPTE
is used with standard analog 1/4" cables, even though its application is common to digital and
analog devices. However, we still recommend that you buy an extremely high quality, pre-made
version for sync connections, even if you’re an old hand at wiring analog audio TRS’s.
ADAT™ Optical Connector
SMPTE
(1/4¨ TRS)
RJ45 Connector
S/PDIF
(RCA-type connector)
Word Clock
(BNC connector)
Used for 8-channel digital connections via optical cable to and from
our DIO•8, OPT•8, and OPT•24 I/O cards.
Used for connecting the HDR24/96 or Digital 8•Bus to Ethernet
networks or computers. The Remote cable, (used to connect HDR24/96
recorders to the Remote 24 and Remote 48) also uses a RJ45 connector.
For unbalanced stereo digital I/O to/from the Digital 8•Bus’ Digital I/O.
Resist the temptation to use a standard audio-grade RCA cable. S/PDIF digital data is transmitted
at far higher frequencies and requires a special cable. Use the S/PDIF jack to connect the Digital
8•Bus to any number of stereo digital recorders, CD burners, or PCI sound cards.
Used to sync the sampling clocks of all Mackie's digital products. This connector must be used to
synchronize (or align) the sampling clocks of multiple digital devices, which allows digital audio
data to pass from one device to another. All of our digital recorders and consoles can act as a
master clock source, or as a slave to a common word clock source.
W
elcome to the
wonderful world of digital
connectors. Sheesh! It
was so much easier when
there were only a couple
of kinds of analog plugs.
And what’s worse, two of
the digital connectors
(AES/EBU & S/PDIF) look
like an analog jacks but
emphatically aren’t. Plus
one of them looks like an
analog connector
(SMPTE) and is basically
the same as the
corresponding analog
plug. Go figure.
Even if you’re a whiz at
soldering, we don’t
recommend trying to
cobble up any of the
digital plug and
connectors shown on this
page. These cables
transmit far higher
frequencies than analog
audio and require arcane
shielding and pin
polarities. If you’re
making digital
connections to our
HDR24/96, or Digital
8•Bus, we recommend
biting the bullet and
buying pre-made versions
from your friendly Mackie
dealer. Purchasing good
quality cables now can
prevent a lot of
troubleshooting down
the line.
MIDI (Plug)
MIDI (Jack)
MIDI “Breakout" Connector
AES/EBU (XLR-style)
Used for sending or receiving MIDI Time Code (MTC) or MIDI Machine Control (MMC) between all
MDS products. Typical use of this jack would be an MDR24/96 receiving MMC messages coming
from the D8B, so that you can use the on-board PLAY, STOP, REW, and FF buttons as a transport.
Instead of two separate MIDI ports,
Mackie uses a single 9-pin MIDI connector
that carries both MIDI In and MIDI Out
signals simultaneously. We conveniently
include one of our adaptors with every
digital recorder and mixer we sell.
For professional, balanced stereo digital I/O to/from the Digital 8•Bus’ Digital I/O section.
Resist the temptation to use a standard audio-grade XLR cable. AES/EBU digital audio data is
transmitted a far higher frequencies and requires a special cable. Use the AES/EBU output to
connect to any number of stereo mastering devices or DVD/CD/DAT recorders.