[FredA]

Does anyone know a good cost-effective clock that I can try out that won't break the bank...I keep wondering what is possible, even though the sound I have now is awesome just with my Di-20...but there is a part of me that wonders WHY IN THE HELL IS THERE AN PORT FOR AN EXTERNAL CLOCK?!?!?! Hmmmmmm....

The Morion mv89a. Ebay sellers will allow customization of impedance, wave shape and signal level.

For the di20, you need 50ohm, around 1.8Vpp and a square output. A sine also works but is a little less optimal, 1.8Vpp is in the middle of the range, lower and higher values will work (0.3 to 3.3v).

You will need a good 12v power supply (2a is enough) and a 50ohm cable. And a dc cable.

Many bought the clock from this guy

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/333541364404?hash=item4da89d52b4:g:1CIAAOSwBXJhqgnq

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Does anyone know a good cost-effective clock that I can try out that won't break the bank...I keep wondering what is possible, even though the sound I have now is awesome just with my Di-20...but there is a part of me that wonders WHY IN THE HELL IS THERE AN PORT FOR AN EXTERNAL CLOCK?!?!?! Hmmmmmm....

Because if you have a bunch of gear, it's good to run it off one master clock.

 

[bodiebill2]

Does anyone know a good cost-effective clock that I can try out that won't break the bank...I keep wondering what is possible, even though the sound I have now is awesome just with my Di-20...but there is a part of me that wonders WHY IN THE HELL IS THERE AN PORT FOR AN EXTERNAL CLOCK?!?!?! Hmmmmmm....

This is probably one of the most affordable:
https://hifigo.com/products/aune-ac1-audio-clock

I had it and it made a difference. It has 4 outputs, 2 sinus and 2 square, so it is good to get a feel for the possibilities of an external clock. I have replaced it with an Afterdark Trifecta Emperor Double Crown with 3 outputs.

But beware of the impedance. I have a custom 75 Ohm clock input on my DI-20HE.

 

[FredA]

This is probably one of the most affordable:
https://hifigo.com/products/aune-ac1-audio-clock

I had it and it made a difference. It has 4 outputs, 2 sinus and 2 square, so it is good to get a feel for the possibilities of an external clock. I have replaced it with an Afterdark Trifecta Emperor Double Crown with 3 outputs.

But beware of the impedance. I have a custom 75 Ohm clock input on my DI-20HE.

Nice unit. They say the outputs are 50ohm on ali and linsoul audio. This is correct?

 

[bodiebill2]

Nice unit. They say the outputs are 50ohm on ali and linsoul audio. This is correct?

Strange, I remember mine was 75 Ohm as my other gear with clock connections. Also on the picture of the rear the connectors look like 75 Ohm ones.

 

[FredA]

Strange, I remember mine was 75 Ohm as my other gear with clock connections. Also on the picture of the rear the connectors look like 75 Ohm ones.

It will have to be confirmed by an eventual seller. Maybe they have both optïons...

The stability (Allen deviation i guess) looks good but they do not spec phase noise.

 

[slazhx]

The Morion mv89a. Ebay sellers will allow customization of impedance, wave shape and signal level.

For the di20, you need 50ohm, around 1.8Vpp and a square output. A sine also works but is a little less optimal, 1.8Vpp is in the middle of the range, lower and higher values will work (0.3 to 3.3v).

You will need a good 12v power supply (2a is enough) and a 50ohm cable. And a dc cable.

Many bought the clock from this guy

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/333541364404?hash=item4da89d52b4:g:1CIAAOSwBXJhqgnq

Here's a tip. You can get something like a 10+% disc. if you directly contact queen'sland and make payment via Paypal instead of Ebay. You just need to have a direct Whatsapp to them which is shown in this link: https://www.ebay.ca/usr/queen*s_land?_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2559

Nice seller to communicate with.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Here's a tip. You can get something like a 10+% disc. if you directly contact queen'sland and make payment via Paypal instead of Ebay. You just need to have a direct Whatsapp to them which is shown in this link: https://www.ebay.ca/usr/queen*s_land?_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2559

Nice seller to communicate with.

Unfortunately, I had very bad luck with that guy. I asked for a few modifications which according to his ebay ad are welcome and no problem, but after a few emails he ignored me.

 

[dougms3]

Here's a tip. You can get something like a 10+% disc. if you directly contact queen'sland and make payment via Paypal instead of Ebay. You just need to have a direct Whatsapp to them which is shown in this link: https://www.ebay.ca/usr/queen*s_land?_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2559

Nice seller to communicate with.

I'm new to the master clock thing, how exactly does it work?

What can expect in terms of improvement?

Where does one get a quality 50ohm coaxial cable ?

 

[slazhx]

Unfortunately, I had very bad luck with that guy. I asked for a few modifications which according to his ebay ad are welcome and no problem, but after a few emails he ignored me.

oh, sorry for that. I was about to get one from him but ended up with Mutec instead as the steal price popped up by that time.

I'm new to the master clock thing, how exactly does it work?

What can expect in terms of improvement?

Where does one get a quality 50ohm coaxial cable ?

There is much info for that. Try searching "morion" within this thread. You just need a clock and BNC cable to connect between it and other devices receiving the clock signals. You better check this on yours first. To my ears, one word for this improvement is Timing.

 

[bodiebill2]

On my journey to optimal sound I yesterday received an SDTrans384 (a minimalistic SD transport). I owned it before but a year ago it sort of exploded after being fed with a much too high voltage (human error, phfew...), and I really missed it since. It is an inconvenient device (only plays wav and dff files, only I2S and BNC/spdif out, only accepts small-size fat32 sd cards), but I know of no better source when fed by a good LPS (with the right voltage that is). For me it is a benchmark and sanity check when investigating expensive streamers such as the AQ Linq or MU1. This one costed me € 350 2nd hand with upgraded clocks.

I compared, with the SDTrans384 playing:
(1) PCM176 --> spdif --> Spring 3
(2) PCM176 --> I2S --> Spring 3
(3) DSD256 --> I2S --> Spring 3
(4) PCM176 --> spdif --> DI-20HE --> I2S --> Spring 3

No network involved. SQ to my ears: (1) < (2) < (3) < (4), the first confirming my earlier preference for DSD with just the Spring 3. However I now prefer (4) with PCM.
I like (3) and (4) even better than PureAsioPlayer streaming via Diretta.

Alas the combination of SDTrans384 + DI-20HE + DSD is impossible. For that I would need a DDC with I2S in- as well as output.
So, after preferring DSD for the last 6 months or so, I am now back to playing PCM with setup (4).
The effect of the DI-20HE is wonderful. It creates such a richly saturated texture.

There is one flip side: the minuscule glitches that I remember when using the spdif input to the DI-20HE are back. I never could get rid of them. They are so few and far between that I could live with them, but any advice would be welcome.

The positive effect of the DI-20HE is further enhanced by a (not yet broken in) HE-1 that I have on loan from a friend for the weekend. And in a few days a used HE-1 Vacuum will arrive, so it is a great time for comparisons.

Next will be an audition of the R7HE (EC version) to compare it with my Spring 3 L2. I hope to be able to do that at home, as then I can use the Afterdark clock that is hooked up to the DI-20HE also for the R7HE.

Sorry for the somewhat OT rambling, but the DI-20HE remains the spider in this web.

 

[FredA]

On my journey to optimal sound I yesterday received an SDTrans384 (a minimalistic SD transport). I owned it before but a year ago it sort of exploded after being fed with a much too high voltage (human error, phfew...), and I really missed it since. It is an inconvenient device (only plays wav and dff files, only I2S and BNC/spdif out, only accepts small-size fat32 sd cards), but I know of no better source when fed by a good LPS (with the right voltage that is). For me it is a benchmark and sanity check when investigating expensive streamers such as the AQ Linq or MU1. This one costed me € 350 2nd hand with upgraded clocks.

I compared, with the SDTrans384 playing:
(1) PCM176 --> spdif --> Spring 3
(2) PCM176 --> I2S --> Spring 3
(3) DSD256 --> I2S --> Spring 3
(4) PCM176 --> spdif --> DI-20HE --> I2S --> Spring 3

No network involved. SQ to my ears: (1) < (2) < (3) < (4), the first confirming my earlier preference for DSD with just the Spring 3. However I now prefer (4) with PCM.
I like (3) and (4) even better than PureAsioPlayer streaming via Diretta.

Alas the combination of SDTrans384 + DI-20HE + DSD is impossible. For that I would need a DDC with I2S in- as well as output.
So, after preferring DSD for the last 6 months or so, I am now back to playing PCM with setup (3).
The effect of the DI-20HE is wonderful. It creates such a richly saturated texture.

There is one flip side: the minuscule glitches that I remember when using the spdif input to the DI-20HE are back. I never could get rid of them. They are so few and far between that I could live with them, but any advice would be welcome.

The positive effect of the DI-20HE is further enhanced by a (not yet broken in) HE-1 that I have on loan from a friend for the weekend. And in a few days a used HE-1 Vacuum will arrive, so it is a great time for comparisons.

Next will be an audition of the R7HE (EC version) to compare it with my Spring 3 L2. I hope to be able to do that at home, as then I can use the Afterdark clock that is hooked up to the DI-20HE also for the R7HE.

Sorry for the somewhat OT rambling, but the DI-20HE remains the spider in this web.

Did you mention you were on fw 4.075? If so, the glitches could be due to the cd transport's being way to off the exact playback frequency.

 

[bodiebill2]

Did you mention you were on fw 4.075? If so, the glitches could be due to the cd transport's being way to off the exact playback frequency.

You mean SD transport?
Yes I am on 4.075, but also tried 4.076, 4.07_Beta1 and 3.933, and all had the same problem with spdif, regardless of source (and I used maybe 5 different sources). With usb input there was never a problem.

 

[FredA]

You mean SD transport?
Yes I am on 4.075, but also tried 4.076, 4.07_Beta1 and 3.933, and all had the same problem with spdif, regardless of source (and I used maybe 5 different sources). With usb input there was never a problem.

Sd. Yes. Ok. I don't have the issue with 4.076 last time i checked.

 

[bodiebill2]

Sd. Yes. Ok. I don't have the issue with 4.076 last time i checked.

Thanks, I may try 4.076 again. I found 4.075 more silky but with the HE-1 in the chain (which is more rounded than the Spring 3 preamp board) this could work.