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Which USB Re Clocker

I have been very happy with my Innuos Zenith Mk 2 for several years. The sound  is excellent and ripping is child's play. I have been interested in adding the Phoenix Re Clocker for a couple of years, but for various reasons, haven't been able to get a demo yet. One of the selling points of the Phoenix by Innuos, is that it can be used between any source and USB DAC.

 Well it also means that any re clocker should work between an Innuos Server and DAC. The one drawback to me is that the Phoenix isn't cheap, at least as far as my budget in retirement is concerned. The Company claims that the Phoenix is more than a Re Clocker, with improved power supplies and other improvements. I don't suppose many of you guys have had the chance to compare the Phoenix with other units. Still any suggestions about other, cheaper Re Clocker units to consider? Particularly if you have had the chance to use it with an Innuos Server, but not much chance of that either. Still any advice is welcome, thanks.

david12
ianb52
40 posts
 
It seems like you can’t go wrong with the Innuos. I think a bigger question is how much are you committed to the USB format long term as opposed to ethernet/network connections or something like a DCS Network Bridge. It does seem to take a lot of money and processing to get an excellent sound from USB.
bsme85
151 posts
 
Hey fellas, if I had a DAC that sucked then I'd probably buy a reclocker too, as a last resort.;
david12 OP
1,454 posts
 
The Metrum does use asynchronous USB and has a lot of good reports about it. It isn't the latest model and there are obviously better DAC's around. The answer may well be to borrow a Phoenix when I can in the current climate and borrow a better DAC, such as the Chord Qutest. The latter would be half the price of course. Then see which gives me the most benefit.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
The main question is how does the Metrum implement their USB. Is there a reason you think you need a reclocker? Noise problems? Sputtering ? If the USB is implemented correctly you should have no reason for a reclocker. If you’re confused research how asynchronous USB works. The DAC clock controls the stream the reason being the clock closest to the DAC chip is better at adjusting the rate. Good DACs also implement good isolation for noise reduction. If the reclocker controlled your stream would be a mess with buffer loading and dropouts unless you’re operating in isynchronous or adaptive mode. The idea behind reclockers is to make you think you have a problem to sell one more box. If there is a problem it’s better to fix it with a competent DAC not by adding something that could end up causing more problems than it purports to fix.
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sjsfiveo
59 posts
 
I've been researching reclockers and DAC's and talked to a manufacturer and he opened my eyes about streamers and reclockers. He basically said the problem is noise and clean power. Streamers are computers and are incredibly noisy, the reason reclockers work is you're taking the noisy USB signal your getting from your streamer and it's getting cleaned and filtered in the reclocker. Yes the signal gets reclocked but the difference before and after is really to small for the human ear to really detect. The real difference is the noisy signal being cleansed on the outside of the streamer. So his recommendation was to buy a very good LPS to power the streamer and a external reclocker.
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