AES probably wants you to pay for their standard to get that answer! One website I saw selling a master clock for studio use claimed Class 1 and mentioned their figures were 0.7ppm over 12 months.
many engineers will just go back to their oscilloscope coz communication isn't what drives them.
Intensely hyperbolic trumpet blasts... don't satisfy.
Last time I went to the DMV they had me take a number. It was sqrt(-1).
I'm curious Bruce - which (if any) DACs have you heard where it does improve the sound?
Google found me this result in Google books (after I'd filtered out all the hits to dCS marketing materials) : http://books.google.com/books?id=y0...onepage&q=aes-11 grade 1 master clock&f=false
The short answer is its about long term stability, which is so not an issue in audio as crystals are all way better than mains frequency stability over the short term. Grade 1 is 1ppm.
@Tim - now you're just getting greedy
What's the DMV?
I reckon they'd have to ask you a question first - 'Engineer or mathematician?' so as to know whether you would receive 'i' or 'j'.
'it improves on an already spectacular sound and takes it into an entirely new domain.' - pass me the sick bag please.?
Like I said... if it improves the sound, then the DAC is poorly designed.
Engineering translation please? The master clock is not supposed to affect the sound of the DAC? So what does improve the sound of a DAC?I'm curious Bruce - which (if any) DACs have you heard where it does improve the sound?
Opus, your technical opinion is much appreciated, it is triggering some great discussion !
Any thoughts on the external upsampler?
The master clock is not supposed to affect the sound of the DAC? So what does improve the sound of a DAC?
Opus, very interesting stuff. I share the same theoretical engineering beliefs RE the clock being physically next to the DAC chip and upsampling. To use a simple analogy you cannot zoom into a 1 megapixel image and extract information that is not there like you see done in the movies : ).
I wonder what type of oscillators are used within the Vivaldi DAC, have you seen any information on this?
What are your thoughts on the MSB IV DAC with it's Femtosecond Galaxy Clock? This is arguably the most advanced 'on-board' clock today.
If the engineering's been done well, nothing. If you want to improve the sound of a DAC, buy a better DAC or mod the one you have. Bruce is pointing out that if a DAC's clocking performance is improved by connecting to an external clock its a sign that something's seriously wrong with its internal clock in terms of jitter. This is because an externally fed-in clock isn't going to have the best jitter because of its physical distance. When a DAC receives an external clock signal it uses that one and disregards its internal one (something of a simplification for non-engineering types ).
(something of a simplification for non-engineering types
If you want to improve the sound of a DAC, buy a better DAC
in my ongoing DAC developments there's been plenty of 'low hanging fruit' other than paying attention to jitter.
I'm not someone who's (yet) been won over to the wonders of lower jitter. So its a provisional conclusion. The whole subject of jitter in digital seems to me the area in the high-end where the most smoke is being blown.
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