I don't think it's necessarily a clock problem. I've had similar issues
trying to digitally transfer from my DAT (DA 30) to my computer (Layla 24).
Sometimes I get a static like crackle (frying) sound, sometimes it works
fine. I haven't been able to pinpoint the problem but I never had a digital
transfer problem with any other piece of equipment except my DAT machine.
Could be the antiquated technology isn't up to todays tasks.

A solution is to come out of your DAT analog. You'll never notice the
difference.

Neil R

"Walter Harley" wrote in message
...
I've got a DAT that I recorded, of a live show I mixed this week. I'm
trying to burn a CD for the band. This is something I've done
successfully
in the past, but it's been a few months. The problem I'm having is that
my
transfers sound noisy (a weird "frying" sort of noise, perhaps 30dB below
the main signal) and grainy. The question is "is this a clock problem,
and
if so, how do I solve it?"

Here are the details:
=======================

I recorded the DAT off the AES/EBU digital output of a TC Finalizer, onto
a
Fostex D-5. Monitoring the D-5 analog outputs during recording and in
playback afterwards, through Mackie 824's, everything sounded clean and
nice
(at least, given the constraints of the material I was recording). Sample
rate was 44.1kHz.

I then put the DAT into a Tascam DA-P1 and used its S/PDIF out to go into
a
M Audio Delta Audiophile sound card (I don't remember the precise model),
on
a Win2k machine. I'm using a good-quality RCA cable and the connections
appear solid. I set the Audiophile settings to lock to the clock of the
incoming signal, and it indicated that it was successfully locked. I then
recorded the signal, in SoundForge 6.0. Finally, I copied the .wav file
to
another computer (running WinXP) for editing and playback. (I'm
temporarily
without monitors on the first computer.)

Playing back the .wav on the second computer, it sounded "okay" but bad
enough that I thought "did I really fool myself into being happy with that
on the night of the show!??". The main problem is a noticeable "frying"
noise in the background, but it also sounds overall slightly grainy and
distorted. There are no obvious glitches or clipped peaks (and generally
the recording levels are around -12dBFS, with very rare peaks up to 0; I
was
using the Finalizer very gently as a compressor and limiter).

So, I tried the transfer again. This time I went out of the AES/EBU
output
of the Fostex, into the Finalizer (set to "bypass"), and out of the
Finalizer S/PDIF into the Audiophile. Results better, but still not as
good
as I think the actual recording is. (I have monitored the Fostex
headphone
output and it sounds good, but I don't have the Fostex connected directly
to
monitors at the moment.)


Here is the question:
======================

Am I right that this is likely a problem with the sound card clock not
properly syncing to the input signal? And if so, does anyone have
suggestions on how I could fix this problem?

Thanks!
-walter