Don't have time to read all of these right now but I can give a quick heads up on a couple of things. Don't judge your clock after the first day. They can take 2 weeks to reach optimum operating temperature. Should never be turned off. And unless you're going for a big bucks i2s (HDMI) cable like the Tubulus, the 12-in long blue jeans HDMI cable easily beats the others I have tried costing up to $100 or so
What did a good 10 MHz clock do for your Gustard R26?
I'm auditioning an R26 and it's lovely (musical, high resolution in the microdynamics for example) but a little soft on the highest octave. The imaging is not great. On my speaker system (B&K ST120, Spendor S3/5) the images tend to collapse into left, right, center. I have a guy who does really impressive mods ... beefs up the power supply, adds ERS paper for shielding, bypass caps, etc.... but that's irreversible in case I don't like the result... I'm worried about it getting too bright after the mod. So I thought, why not try a good 10 MHz clock? I don't have the budget for a Mutec, but I could try a less expensive one and have my guy mod it and also create a good BNC cable for it. So I'm wondering what has a good 10 MHz clock done for your R26? Improve the extension on top? Improve the imaging? Has it changed the tonal balance in any way? I'd like more extended but not brighter.