Antelope 10MX Rubidium Atomic Clock vs S.S 10M Rubidium Audio Clock


Antelope 10MX Rubidium Atomic Clock has a new 10M rubidium clock called 10MX Rub Atomic Clock, their distributor in my region told me this product’s selling price is around USD 6950 (listed price).

It is much more expensive than Stanford Research 10M Rubidium Audio Clock, does anybody has experience this product? How’s the sound quality improvement compare with S.S.



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mmbl622

I doubt you’ll find anyone who has compared these two units. I use the SRS PERF-10 with a Hynes Linear PS into an Esoteric K-01X.

--If you can believe factory specs, SRS has significantly lower phase noise than Antelope.

--SRS actually builds the rubidium clock in their unit. The same clock is resold by SRS to Esoteric for the G-01. AFAIK, Antelope has a third-party supplier.

--Antelope features an internal word clock conversion that offers lower speeds, which may be useful in some applications.

--Antelope has an integral AC/DC PS. There is no power port for an external DC linear supply. That feature made a discernable improvement in my application.

--Antelope has much nicer aesthetics than SRS. I covered up the obnoxiously bright SRS LED read-outs with blue tape.

--SRS is a respected instrumentation manufacturer that sells direct. Antelope markets through dealers-- which might account for its higher price.

Hi dgarretson

 Thanks for information! Can you tell me more about what improvement in sound quality after you use the SRS PERF-10 on your Esoteric K-01X?  Is it big difference after you use it?

Also what price (net price) of SRS PERF-10 are selling in U.S. now?

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I had a strong sense of across-the-board improvements with the SRS clock into the K-01X early in break-in of both units. Now that break-in is finished I’ll spend a few days with the clock in and out and return with impressions. That said, I think you missed the boat when you chose a K-03X over a similarly priced K-01X.

Hi dgarretson


I’ll wait for your test result.

Yes, maybe I missed the boat to buy the K-01X (it’s about US$1930), but I use this money as a prt of my budget to upgrade my Avalon Ascendant II to Opus Ceramique



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For those who have a unit that accepts a 50-ohm master clock input (be it a DAC or another clock of some form,....

I've done a lot more research in this regard and have had a number of conversations with SRS as well as other options. The lead-time on the PERF10 or FS725 is longer than I would like to wait personally and my RFQs out to LibertyTest, AllTest and other certified/used equipment vendors for a PERF10 or FS725 have come up dry at the present time. I stumbled on Cybershaft Japan as an option via listings on various sites. It seems they make OCXO, Rudidium-only and OCXO+Rb clock units (single port each standard) for high-end audio, video and studio purposes at an extremely aggressive price point (the Rb-only unit is about $1300-$1500 USD depending upon JPY->USD conversion rate). They are rated for 100-120V and 50-60Hz use which makes them perfect for US or Japanese usage. The Rb-only unit has a single FIFTY (50)-ohm BNC clock output; they supply all their test and calibration results with each unit plus a 1 year unconditional warranty. I have taken the plunge and ordered one as of yesterday; this should be a very nice and affordable test. I plan to use this 10Mhz reference clock sync to drive my Esoteric D-02's clocking baseline while leaving the D-02 to sync itself and the P-02 transport together at 22.5792 Mhz. This should surpass the already great performance of the D-02 clock circuit by a clear margin. Unlike the PERF10 or particular FS725, this Cybershaft unit seems to have a better internal PSU but I'm not discounting the potential move to another HDPlex power supply with a retrofit in the future to get an even better bespoke PSU to drive the Rb-clock. I will report back and let you know my findings between mid-late April after I receive it and break it in. They state specific compatibility with Esoteric D-02, D-03, D01, G-01, G-02, G-03x, G-02s, K-01, K-01X, K-03 and K-03X. You may read more here (use Google Chrome and let it translate the page);

www dot cybershaft dot jp

In the way of an update, I have the Cybershaft Rb+OCXO 'dual master clock' offering up and running as of late and I am extremely impressed by the build quality of the unit and the customer service provided by Hasegawa-san at Cybershaft. He goes to great lengths to ensure all questions are answered and provides unit-specific test data for ALL testing of the unit including Allen Deviation, reference measurement devices used, etc....It's the most specific and open backing of what a unit truly does after it is built I have ever seen. The price point of the unit is a fraction of the other offerings in the space (that provide 10 Mhz atomic-precision master clocking) and frankly when I saw the unit, it's quality, appearance and sheer weight coupled with the exceptional customer service, I don't fee that I am missing out on a single thing compared to the offerings from Stanford Research, Isochrome/Antelope or others. I currently have this connected as follows;

Cybershaft Rb-output=>10Mhz=>Esoteric D02 (WRD CLK IN, 10Mhz)=>Esoteric P02 (MCLK frequency from the D02).

Put another way, the Cybershaft clock is providing an atomic-precision baseline for the clocking circuit of the D02.

All the specs and other technical aspects aside, there was an immediate improvement in the natural/liquid nature of the sound when I enabled the 10Mhz input signal from the Cybershaft to drive the WRD CLK Input of the D02 over the D02 alone. All was extremely good before but I find a touch more precision in image size and placement (of instruments and voices) and an even more musical presentation overall of the system as a whole.

I am very happy to have stumbled on the company out of Japan that as it turns out produces alot of these and similar devices for broadcast and recording audio and video firms and audiophile users in Asia. My hat is off to Hasegawa-san and his team for building on hell of a component at a fair price and topping that with some of the best customer service and attention to detail I have ever seen!
I have a dCS Rossini. I thought it requires an external clock that generates 10MHz and 5MHz to cover both sample rates. Does the Cybershaft do this?

@cycles2 your Rossini needs inputs of 44.1kHz and 48kHz or multiples thereof. The 10MHz output would be used as a reference in on your Rossini clock if needed (frankly it's not)

btw anyone using an external clock also needs to invest in the best BNC cables they can as use of substandard cables will screw things up
I just got a TEAC NT-503 USB DAC for my headphone system. According to the user manual, NT-503 can connect to an external 10M clock source. Also, according to the "conversation" between me and TEAC customer support in Japan, TEAC suggests me to use the cheapest Cybershaft 10M OCXO. Also, they suggest me to buy from the web:

store (dot) shopping (dot) yahoo (dot) co (dot) jp (slash) cybershaft (slash) a5aaa1bca5 (dot) html

According to the description of these 10M clocks, they can be used in lots of different DAC’s with 10M clock input DAC’s or "CD" players.

Hope my information is useful to (especially Esoteric owners) you.
@folkfreak 

I really appreciate the fast response.  I still don't understand whether the Cybershaft clock will work for a dCS Rossini DAC. 

As you know the Rossini DAC has 2 Word Clock inputs, so it can be supplied with either 44.1kHz or 48kHz clocks, depending on the sample rate of the source. The Rossini Clock has both 44.1kHz and 48kHz outputs and the Rossini DAC auto-selects which clock frequency to use.

I don't believe the Cybershaft clock has both clock frequencies. What am I missing about the Cybershaft clock working with a Rossini DAC?

Unfortunately the Cybershaft clock will not help as with other 10 mHz true master clocks, it puts out a 10 mHz, 50-ohm signal and connection.  The DCS Rossini DAC is limited on taking only re-clocking signals that are multiples of 44.1 or 48.0 (Hz) which would be over a 75-ohm connection and further it does not accept master-clock signaling of 10.0 or 22.xxx mHz.

Regardless of the ohm rating, the Rossini does not according to its docs accept a 10 mHz connection.
@zephyr24069 
Thanks for the clarification.  Looks like there may be no financial shortcuts to using a non-dCS external clock with a Rossini.

NEW PRODUCT JUST ANNOUNCED TODAY:
Cybershaft 10 M clocks : UPOCXO-OP20A/OP21A
http://www.cybershaft.jp/a-products/op20a.html

Looks like the bar just got raised again.
This clock allows selection of 75-ohm or 50-ohm for each 10 Mhz output!