Clocking: again!


There are all manner of folk claiming that clocking is irrelevant to Ethernet and USB connections. While this is obviously ignorant of the RMI/EMI and ground level effects on DA conversion and the analogue stages of a DAC, the level to which digital clocking matters was again brought into stark relief when I changed the clock cable between the Antelope 10m clock and the Etherregen from the cable supplied by Antelope to a Shunyata Clock75 Sigma cable. Shazam! Everything jumping into focus and significantly more snap and reverb. In our hobby everything matters and we are only at the very beginning of optimizing streaming.

antigrunge2

This is the reference to the Chinese Ocxo switch, it is now fully broken in after 4 days and the effect on the Etherregen is remarkable: 

 

@fastfreight,

sorry, can‘t help there. However, the above switch lifts up the Etherregen performance on its own clock considerably and may be a good first step.

Does anybody have experience of using a dcS Rossini with an Esoteric G-02X clock?

the Rossini clock input impedance is 75 Ohms and the Esoteric has 4 world clock outputs which are also 75 Ohms and the owners manual states: "You can set the clock frequency independently for each of these outputs" so I am assuming that I can run 2 connections into the Rosssini, one at 48 kHz and one at 44.1 kHz simultaneously.

Any actual experience would be appreciated.

 

 

I cannot comment on your specific setup but would advise against your suggested approach: not only will even minute differences in the impedance of the connecting cables create divergences in the clock signal transmission but the method chosen for stepping up or down the clock signal in your Rossini may in turn equally introduce timing differences. A better way to proceed might be to add a higher quality 10m clock such as a Mutec Ref120, a Cybershaft Op20/21 or Antelope 10m clock to your setup. In any case only use very high quality BNC cables.

My view of Master Clock Generator: https://www.vinshineaudio.com/post/what-is-a-master-clock-generator

 

Take away:

If you are after the best audio quality, and one or more of your equipment supports Master Clock Sync Input, it is worth considering to invest in a good quality clocking device.

 

When choosing the Master Clock Generator, it's mandatory to verify the following:

  • Clock Frequency (10MHz / 22.5MHz, 24.576MHz / etc)

  • Impedance (50Ω / 75Ω)

  • Waveform: Sine-wave / Square-wave

 

Cheers,

Alvin Chee @ Vinshine Audio