Synklok
Free & open source

Set it once.
Sync forever.

Your DAW switches to 96k. Your MADI interface follows. Synklok makes sure your RME M-1620 Pro D does too — automatically, from your Mac's menu bar or the Windows system tray.

SYNKLOK
RATE FOLLOWER
SYNC
MADI IN
48.0kHz
DEVICE
48.0kHz
Try it — change your session's sample rate:
Locked at 48.0 kHz
Download for Mac Download for Windows View on GitHub

macOS 14+ · Windows 10 & 11 · Free & open source (MIT) · Updates itself

≤2s
to match a new rate
2×/s
checks the M-1620
0
accounts or analytics
MIT
free & open source

THE PROBLEM

Your session jumps from 48 to 96 kHz. Your MADI interface follows. Your M-1620 doesn't.

Now you've got dropouts, clicks, or audio at the wrong pitch — until you click through the web UI or the rack unit's front panel. Synklok closes the loop: when the MADI input rate changes, it tells the M-1620 to match. You don't have to think about it.

Built like studio gear.
Quiet until it matters.

AUTO-SYNC

Set and forget

Lives in the menu bar or system tray, launches at login, updates itself. You stop thinking about clocking.

STATUS

One glance

Device rate, MADI input, lock state and recent changes in one click — or just “96k” right in the Mac menu bar.

DIRECT

Talks to the hardware

A native Mac and Windows app using the M-1620's own control API. No accounts, no analytics — besides your M-1620, it only checks synklok.app once a day for updates.

How it works

A simple loop, checking twice a second.

01 · DAW
Any DAW
Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Reaper…
02 · INTERFACE
MADI interface
e.g. RME MADIface
03 · TRANSPORT
MADI coax
04 · CONVERTER
M-1620 Pro D
Synklok watches the M-1620's MADI input rate and sets the device rate to match.
CHECKS
Twice a second when connected
MATCHES
Within two seconds of a change
CONNECTS
USB REMOTE or your LAN
Read the full explainer

ALSO FOR WINDOWS

Running several RME devices on Windows?

Check out RateSync by ramses, a long-time regular on the RME forum.

RATESYNC · BY RAMSES · WINDOWS
  • ✓Reads the sample rate from your clock master and sets every other device to match
  • ✓Recording interfaces through their ASIO driver; RME network devices like the M-1620 Pro D, 12Mic and M-32 over the network, found automatically
  • ✓Optionally loads one of a device's user configs for each sample rate, routing and all
  • ✓A small on-screen “Cube” shows every device's rate at a glance, with Auto, Manual and Pause modes

Built with AutoHotkey. The download, setup steps and support are in ramses's thread on the RME forum.

RateSync on the RME forum

FREE · OPEN SOURCE

Free and open source

Synklok costs nothing, and nothing is hidden. Its code is public on GitHub under the MIT license: read it, build it yourself, report a problem or send a fix.

  • FREE

    No price, no paid tier, no trial, no sign-up. Every feature is in the download.

  • PRIVATE

    No accounts, analytics or tracking in the app. Besides your M-1620, it only checks synklok.app once a day for updates (the Windows version downloads them from GitHub).

  • MIT LICENSE

    Use it, change it and share it, for any purpose. The license is a few plain paragraphs.

  • ON GITHUB

    All the code for the Mac and Windows apps, plus the scripts that build every release, so you can see exactly what you're installing.

View the source Read the license Report an issue

Install

Two minutes, once. After that Synklok checks for new versions daily and installs them in one click.

macOS 14 or newer
  1. 01
    Download Synklok
    Download the DMG. It's signed and notarized by Apple.
  2. 02
    Drag it to Applications
    Open the DMG and drag Synklok onto the Applications folder.
  3. 03
    Open it
    Launch Synklok from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the Internet.
  4. 04
    Allow local network access
    Click Allow when Synklok asks to find devices on your local network — it needs this to reach the M-1620. Missed it? System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network.
  5. 05
    Find the metronome
    Synklok lives in the menu bar, not the Dock. Click the metronome for status, and turn on Launch at login.
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
  1. 01
    Download Synklok
    Download the installer for Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit).
  2. 02
    Run the installer
    Open the downloaded Synklok-…-Setup.exe and click Install. It installs for your Windows account only, so there's no administrator password. Synklok isn't code-signed, so the first time Windows will say “Windows protected your PC”: click More info → Run anyway. Updates install without this.
  3. 03
    Find the metronome
    Synklok lives in the system tray by the clock. Windows 11 tucks new icons away: click the ^ arrow and drag the metronome onto the taskbar to keep it in view. Left-click it for status, right-click for the menu.
  4. 04
    Connect the M-1620
    Over USB REMOTE it connects on its own. On a network, right-click the metronome → Settings and enter the M-1620's address (shown on its STATE → network page).
  5. 05
    Turn on Launch at login
    Right-click the metronome and tick Launch at login so Synklok is always watching. To remove it later: Settings → Apps → Synklok → Uninstall.

Compatibility

macOS AVAILABLE
  • ✓macOS 14 Sonoma or newer
  • ✓Apple Silicon & Intel — universal binary
  • ✓Works with any DAW or MADI source — it watches the M-1620's input, not your software
  • ✓Follows the M-1620's coaxial MADI input (optical MADI and word clock are on the roadmap)
Windows AVAILABLE
  • ✓Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
  • ✓System tray app with the same sync engine as the Mac version
  • ✓Installs per user and updates itself
  • !Not code-signed: Windows warns once, the first time you install it
  • ✓On a network, enter the M-1620's address in Settings (the Mac finds it automatically)
Download for Windows
Several RME devices on Windows? See RateSync by ramses.

Both versions require the RME M-1620 Pro D connected via USB REMOTE or on the same LAN.