Does a DAc that Reclocks Remove Jitter from Sonos Connect

@jefflz

virtually inaudible except under very rare circumstances

Pretty much.

If @audioengr’s measurements are accurate, the SONOS Connect has 9ns of jitter (which I see in the table on the graph, but then for his product, I see it reading 70psec and not 7psec, so not sure), and if your DAC does not jitter reduction, 9ns translates to a noise floor that’s -68dBFS (CD is -96dBFS) or a bit more than 11Bits. Now, he also states that’s a difference of 450x, I don’t know where that number comes from, as the time difference is >1200x more, the bit-depth is <2x more, and the number of bits is ~800x more.

Also keep in mind that the noise floor in 11Bit is still audible, but faintly so. Most all music/tv/movies have 105dB as their peaks/clipping point, and most rooms don’t have a noise floor lower than 30dBC (my open-floorplan living room is ~46dBC, using an actual calibrated mic, not a phone app) even if treated with a good amount of acoustic panels. 105-30=75, not far off from 68. This is also why 24Bit offers no audible benefit for listening, higher bit-depth is only useful for the actual production of the music as they can gain the various recordings of the instruments and whatnot while still having a low noise floor.

If you say most DAC’s with internal reclockers also benefit from the lower jitter input signal.....then wouldn’t it better to use Wyrd4Sound internal mod for Sonos Connect?

I doubt it. I have many customers with Sonos mods that added my Synchro-Mesh and they are flabbergasted at the improvement.

With your Synchro-Mesh, you’re adding one extra BNC cables, external component (shelf space) plus a wall wart power supply......all this would make sense if your relocker performance far outweighs the Wyrd4Sound internal mod.

It does, by orders of magnitude.

My Synchro-Mesh is the hottest selling product I have designed in 22 years, and I don't advertise.  This is all word-of-mouth sales.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

My Reimyo DAP-777 does reclock. So.. does the Sonos mod add anything?

I doubt it.  You need really low jitter to hear a significant difference.

A good test is to try different sources playing the same track or change the S/PDIF coax cable.  If you hear improvements or changes, then the DAC will respond well to lower jitter and it will probably be audible on your system. If you don't hear a difference, then it may be your system masking the improvement or the DAC reclocking actually works.  Most of them don't do much.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I have been on fence for a while to try the Wyrd4sound mod. Not sure if it would improve the SQ even if jitter is eliminated at its source.

I modded digital component for 10 years before I started designing my own components. There is NO WAY to get the kind of result by modding a Sonos that you get with a Synchro-Mesh, and they probably cost about the same. You can also use the Synchro-Mesh to reduce jitter from other sources, like transport, AppleTV, Smart TV etc..

Like I said, try different sources and cables to your DAC. If you hear differences, then the Synchro-Mesh will probably improve things audibly.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

If @audioengr’s measurements are accurate, the SONOS Connect has 9ns of jitter (which I see in the table on the graph, but then for his product, I see it reading 70psec and not 7psec, so not sure), and if your DAC does not jitter reduction, 9ns translates to a noise floor that’s -68dBFS (CD is -96dBFS) or a bit more than 11Bits. Now, he also states that’s a difference of 450x, I don’t know where that number comes from, as the time difference is >1200x more, the bit-depth is <2x more, and the number of bits is ~800x more. 

Look at all of the peaks in the Sonos jitter, not just one.  The jitter from the SM is 450 times smaller than the Sonos.  The SM has only one peak.

As for what is audible, this depends on how good your system is and how good your ears are.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio