Just about to pull the trigger on Pontus 15th ...

@lanx0003 Maybe my hearing is just better early in the day, but changing to square wave connections to both the ddc and dac is sounding really good.  A hair more clarity and better separation of instruments and harmonized vocals.  Bass notes seem better defined and punchier.  I'll listen more tonight, but I think I'll leave it this way.  Thank you for the suggestion! 

@sls883 

That’s fantastic. I believe Gustard gear works with either waveform, but according to their website, a sine wave connection is actually recommended—and the chart reflects that. You might want to try and compare both.

The 50-ohm impedance matches, right?

This suggests that the LHY 10MHz master OCXO is quite good, elevating the performance of already state-of-the-art gear. I’m tempted!

@lanx0003 Yes, 50 ohms.   I had read that sine wave was recommended, so I hadn't tried square wave.  After you mentioned it, I did some internet searching and found forum posts where people found that the square wave yielded additional detail. Some felt it was too much. I figured it was worth a try. 

I think the LHY clock is definitely better than the clock in the Gustard U18.  I haven't tried the internal clock on the dac with square wave going to U18.  Figured it made sense to connect them both externally, but maybe it's fine to mix them.

Thanks again for the suggestion. :)

I have the Ares 15th and I think it’s great. 

@lanx0003 

Whatever tariffs (taxes) are decided on goods imported to the US from Singapore, will be payable by you, the importer, to the US government. You’re paying it as a tax to your government.