$10k Octatrack modified

The guy did it for you?
I could contact him maybe 3 years ago.
The mod was around 1000€. I’m not really interested in, I record internally.

The answers you seek can all be found here

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Hah, so you’re listing it for a ridiculous price no one will ever pay because you don’t want to sell it? Why list it at all?

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Tbh, I’ve always found comfort in seeing it still there. What began as a meme has become a friend.

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so the guy who did the mod doesn’t want to touch it, and you don’t even remember who he is to contact him about it, should one need to. and obviously Elektron would never fix it. sounds like a great investment.

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Says the guy who has his own bespoke version with the “superior audio quality” that he paid way too much for :laughing:

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Can OS even be updated with this mod? Or is it purely a hardware re-route? OS is stated as “1.25h”.

That’s how I understood it.
Edit : found again.

Hi,
I’m the guy who have done this modification. This mod is complex. I have intercepted the digital stream between the DSP and the audio codec. Then a FPGA and a DIR (on the bootom of the yellow board) encode the I2S to a SPDIF signal. I also have added a coax connector that outputs the master clock to be compatible with pro audio gears.
You can contact me at neteagle@free.fr if you are interressed in this mod.
NETeagle

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Interesting. Is I2S a common protocol for high quality digital audio transfer? I ve used it but on gritty DIY microcontroller audio experiments.

I2S is a very common protocol to use for sending audio to a DAC.
And you probably don’t need an FPGA to make that translation to S/PDIF.

I fail to see the use of the modification though.

If you use the WordClock from the OctaTrack, you will very likely have a worse clock than most pro interfaces.
This will degrade your audio for the whole digital audio chain.
Things like RME SteadyClock can take the jitter out, but it can’t stabilize a clock.

It has no S/PDIF in so it can’t be clocked by any other device.

So, the only good way to make use of it is sending the S/PDIF output to a sample rate converter and then into an audio interface, adding another expensive step.

And none of this will fix the effect that the processing in the OctaTrack can have on the sound.

It’s a fun mod, but that’s all it is IMHO.

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That s what i was doing, but with lo-fi synthesis on an ESP32 MCU :slight_smile:

why can’t people dust things off before taking full-light photos

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everything i’ve read about wordclock leads me to believe it’s the least best option for digital sync. but me, a mere plebe, what do i know? all the various RME manuals i’ve read over the years specify spdif or adat as superior options in almost all cases.

but for devices that are playing back only … like CD players… they don’t have the digital sync necessary for that “handshake” that happens when sending digital audio over spdif… so wordclock is necessary… still:

But word clock is not only the ‘great problem solver’, it also has some disadvantages. The word
clock is based on a fraction of the really needed clock. For example SPDIF: 44.1 kHz word clock
(a simple square wave signal) has to be multiplied by 256 inside the device using a special PLL
(to about 11.2 MHz). This signal then replaces the one from the quartz crystal. Big disadvantage:
because of the high multiplication factor the reconstructed clock will have great deviations called
jitter. The jitter of a word clock is typically 15 times higher as when using a quartz based clock.

i see why the wordclock is added here in this modified OT but seems a long way to go for 2 channels of audio over spdif. adat would be ideal but probably not possible??? to drop into the OT in the same way.

i’m curious about the use case that prompted this user to get it modified.

That’s why most interfaces and converters, like RME, only use the clock to keep everything in sync. The incoming clock will be reclocked to remove the jitter before it gets to the converters.

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The guy who did the mod told me only 2 channels possible IIRC. I wasn’t interested in spdif only for 1000€.

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All I know is I like the way it sounds better when it was going through my Akai DPS24 converter or then routed to a Eurorack DA converter. You can see that I’m selling my Octatracks. I switched to MPC X. Not a perfect switch for me so I really might pay up to $5000 if I had to. If I can figure a way to better randomize sample chops on the MPC X like on the Octatrack, then I will lower the price some more. Another thing is I feel that samples somehow sound better in The Octatrack. I am also switchin to Eurorack for my main drums because of this. With that s/pdif I like my drums on Octatrack more than the X. Even with the Black Line Audio Mod On my X. I think it’s something in the software. I like hearing the same sample coming out of Octatrack more than the X even though it sounds bigger from the X. I think more punch from the Octatrack or I’m just crazy. I like using a Boss DR-660 for drum programming more than anything. For me it integrates better with the MPC than the Octo. Anyone want to test my Octatrack, just come over and try it for yourself, then post your opinion on here. I might just be hallucinating about how much better it sounds. Brings some hi-end converters if you have it. I’m afraid you might just convince me not to sell it at all.

Look my friend. If someone is willing to pay the ridiculous amount of money for your Octatrack, then more power to you.

And fwiw, not many people have (or care for) world clock connectors

I’ve been considering switching to logic

Not defending him, but people pay a rediculous amt of money for things all the time. And in this over inflated used market, hes got a better chance than ever to sell it. People paying almost 3k for MDs, even Im thinking of selling my spares.

Theres literaly no reason for people to get upset over tthe price especially when they have no intensions of buying it. Im pretty sure if the price was 900$, you woukdnt buy it.

The JCF Audio AD8 has an 2 channel S/Pdif input. Maybe Elektron will partner with them or produce something even more usable next time.