Interested to see how you get on. I am waiting for a Melco clock for the new N1, i also have an ER.
When i looked at clocks for the ER…….i felt out of my depth to purchase from Japan etc blind. So let it be for the time being.
Hi, Yes I was following the discussions on the forums, given there was lots of different solutions employed following the release of the EtherREGEN. Whether the DIY approach with the former GPS type units sourced from China or the uber expensive Cybershaft units from Japan on par with similar units from dCS and Esoteric.
However AfterDark seem to have make a market for themselves. Yes they are recommissioned OXCO units inside the new cases, but they sample and grade the units in an easier to understand scale. And make then look presentable, ok not as fancy as uber high-end unit, but small enough it can be hidden if you wish (NAPSC unit size)
I was going to go for the ‘single unit’ model, clock & PSU in a single case with a single 75Ohm output, but then there was a listing on the Roon site from a member that reported good experiences with it, in the UK, and after some gentle negotiation, a good price.
So far, very pleased with the result.
Half the brain says ‘it shouldn’t, why and how?’ but the other half shuts it up, as it can hear the difference.
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My journey……but i was not brave enough👍
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A rabbit hole I have dived straight into.
Someone pleeaassse pull me out before I get stuck!!!
Oh dear !
Googling AfterDark has exposed my ignorance of clocks, so am attempting to wriggle out of this particular hole.
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The N1 melco has a clock input, as you know. I have had a few emails with Alan Ainslie on clocks for the N1…….there will be one. I am waiting for his clock.
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Thanks Gazza.
Yes, if a clock is to be introduced I assume it would be best deployed on the Melco rather than the ER.
You may recall when I downsized at Signals I upgraded my UnitiServe to a Melco N1Zs MkII SSD 2Tb. I assume this Medco caters for an external clock.
I would be very interested to hear Alan’s views on the benefits or otherwise of adding an external clock to a Melco N1.
He is a bit of a wizz in his own right, doing the design/testing?..….tried some very expensive clocks and felt they were overpriced and made too many compromises. He gave me his thoughts and clock details required………but i felt it sounded good as is….i can wait. Out of my depth here……just want to roll up to Signals and try one. You can buy one for £100……or £10k. There will be an N1 clock.
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Yep, adding the Melco N1 was a bit of a revelation in its own right.
Please let me know if you find a clock at Signals that takes the Melco to the next level.
Apologies to the OP for the diversion.
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I did send you my new email address, did it go into your auto bin. I can resend?
Can you resend it please.
Gazza, just found your new email address. Thanks.
The only melco that has a clock input is the new series N1 S38.
But having had experience of clocks and re clocking over the years with dCS, you have to be careful what clock you buy. As not all will bring any benefits at all.
First off you need to know what clock you already have is and whether you need to try any inpove its long or short turn clock keeping.
Also re clocking doesn’t stop you using the clock you are already using, that is still the main clock used in the device. Re clocking sends the original clock a single that it can lock on to to keep better time.
Adding a clock to a single device in most cases doesn’t really bring much to the party, and you will find most wont ever hear a difference, plus not everyone’s brains work the same and some are much more open to hearing timing differences.
The real benefits to re clocking is when a clock is added to a system that has multiple clocks in it, and the re clocker is feeding them all a single to lock on to. This then means that they are all the same as the music single goes through each one, and so you get each device having to do no correction to the timing, this brings benefits to less noise being added, the dac especially having a much easier time, etc.
So alot to think about really and it’s only the last few year’s that manufacturers have started adding clock inputs to much more gear. Probably some off it as just a way to make you buy more gear, especially a clock. But certainly try before you buy as if not you could be very disappointed and well out off pocket.
Plus remember the last clock in the chain, normally the dac is the one that does the final re clocking and the most important obviously, so you could argue that re clocking anything before that really is pointless unless you are linking them all up as i said earlier.
This is just scratching the surface and there is much more to add if you want.
Cheers dunc
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Absolutely. Having external clocks is fraught with challenges. So the signal phase is not corrupted the connecting transmission line must be as tight as possible to the defined characteristic impedance, likely 50 or 75 ohms. It can’t be both.
Variation here causes reflections and signal degradation, which defeats the purpose of having an external clock.
I would suggest an SWR of 1.1 or less.
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Thanks gents, I consider myself suitably warned about messing with external clocks if you don’t know what you are doing.
The dust you see is me running away from that particular rabbit hole.
Very sorry……just asked for a Melco update,
LA LA LA……not listening….not listening….
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I felt it made a difference, surprisingly so I’m keeping ER + PS +clock before the Phoenix net then the ND 555. I tried to remove the ER combo and just leave the phoenixnet and there was a marked difference in the sound quality
Pretty much as i found.