Importance of clocking
There is a lot of talk that external clocks because of the distance to the processor don‘t work. This is the opposite of my experience. While I had used an external Antelope rubidium clock,on my Etherregen and Zodiac Platinum Dac, I have now added a Lhy Audio UIP clocked by the same Antelope Clock to reclock the USB stream emanating from the InnuOS Zenith MkIII. The resultant increase in soundstage depth, attack an decay and overall transparency isn‘t subtle. While there seems to be lots of focus on cables, accurate clocking throughout the chain seems still deemed unnecessary. I don‘t understand InnuOS‘ selling separate reclockers for USB and Ethernet without synchronising Ethernet input, DAC conversion and USB output.
I said I am out of this thread but I will answer you. In my case I have an older DAC that is still excellent and I am reluctant to change it but it doesn't have USB i/f. therefore I am looking for AES or SPDIF i/fs. You say USB is the better i/f and you could be right but I think it really depends on how the DAC has implement the i/fs. With some DACs I still prefer AES over USB. Also some DACs are agnostic of the interface (please see kijanki's explanation further up this thread. |
I am merely sharing my views based on responses here and other threads. It was not my intention to offend or isolate anyone. @antigrunge2 and my experience with an external clock are nothing but exemplary. I must admit, implementation and choice of components (including clock cables) are the key when pursuing such ultra high resolution endeavors. For most folks, internal DAC clock would be sufficient and provide plenty of thrills. Also, whether one can hear the differences with a master clock synchronizing multiple components such as DAC, Streamer and Switches would largely depends on the downstream components. You don’t need to take my word for it, just study the systems that are using high quality external master clock. Peace! |
No problems, thanks for clarifying. I love it that people are so passionate about this hobby over here. In my engineering mind an external clock in the home environment could cause more trouble ie introduce jitter, impedance mismatch, etc BUT lots of things don't make engineering sense in our hobby but do work... like cables. So I hear you. I have tried a very good clock source from work in my system at home and the result was inconclusive, to be honest I don't think I could hear a difference. As you say it could depend on implementation and system specifics. I am glad both you and @antigrunge2 have improved your systems with an external clock source and you are enjoying them more. |
There are also posters in this thread that have added a clock and heard no noticeable difference and were willing to admit that. And those that achieved significant improvements by upgrading their DAC, rather than trying to wring some small improvement out of their existing DAC by adding a clock. Which isn't to say that adding a clock might not be an improvement with some DACs. If you hear a difference and the cost was worthwhile to you, then it was a good investment. |
