ZeusOdin

@Clockmeister, you should write a book containing your experiences and insights with clocks, clock cables, grounding, DAC, and the recent foray into ethernet. All audiophiles would buy it. Manufacturers--all manufacturers--would hate you however. Lol

I run the gamut from mythlogical to mythillogical. It makes listening to music quite heaven-like (either Valhalla or Olympus is fine). Call it a childhood with an obsession with Greek and Norse mythologies. Obviously, I purchased the 405s. Thanks for the copious amounts of empirical observations. Invaluable in settings such as these.

@MayfromSOtM, is there any other confirmation besides a blinking light that is objectively scientific? How does a 10 MHz clock affect the sine output of the sms-200?

@Clockmeister, can you recommend a 50Ω version of this cable? Thank you for your thoughtful posts.

Thanks for the replies. A fellow AudiophileStyler sent me a video SOtM. So I knew about the lights. I purchased my sms-200 in June 2021. I've looked through all vent holes. I don't see any lights whatsoever. SOtM added the BNC connector to my unit so I am sure they added the clock board. I am sure they checked it before sending it back to me. I want physical confirmation. Just because there is a green light does not necessarily mean there is a synchronized clock signal. I believe that there is, I just want to prove it. Can I send the streamer to someone with an oscilloscope? Does the clock signal change the sine wave of the sms-200? I am sure it does. But how? @Superdad, any thoughts? I didn't want to bother JohnSwenson.

I am quite vexed by this issue and decided to post here. I have the sms-200 ultra neo. I sent it in to SOtM to have the 50Ω clock input added. I received the unit back. I don't think the clock input works. One of the tests I ran is to disconnect the clock from my DAC while it's playing--clock still connected to the sms-200. Volume goes to 0 while the DAC syncs with it's own internal clock. Volume returns to normal. Reconnect the clock to the DAC. Volume goes to 0 again while the DAC syncs to the 10 MHz clock signal. Volume returns to normal. Great. I then connected and disconnected the clock from the sms-200 while music was playing--clock still connected to DAC. This resulted in no change whatsoever to the sound or volume. There is no synchronization or negotiation to the clock signal while the clock is connected or disconnected. No effect on the sound at all. If the sms-200 clock input is working, there should be some disruption of the signal and a change in SQ of some sort no? I have a very resolving system and I doubt that the addition of a clock would be imperceptible. There should be static, echo, loud pop, zero volume. Something? Right? I reached out to SOtM 4 days ago via email and phone. As of yet no response.

From where did you buy this cable?

BodieBill, Have you had a chance to compare the Rosanna with the SMS-200 Ultra Neo (my current streamer)? Was looking for a streamer-only solution without a DAC or other ancillary equipment. Any other high end suggestions? DI20HE vs Mutec MC3+? I am trying to decide between the two. Leaning heavily toward the hefty DI20HE. Amazing gear! Thanks.

Thanks, @FIndingit and @R1200CL, you clearly know much more than I do. @Superdad, once again you come through in a pinch. I read the links aout ASI Tek. Wow. Multiple bullets bullets dodged. Thanks so much for the info. Great stuff!

Thanks, R1200CL! This is a step in the right direction. Very much appreicated.

Why this clock? This clock seems like all the other AE clocks that are just a flip of the coin. That lone review is definitely not positive. Lol. I kinda wanted the "good enclosure" already included. I will look into Dexa Neutron Star Clock or the defunct Pulsar Clock.

Again, JohnSwenson, thanks for so much of the incredible work that you do! Has anyone confirmed that there are any *GOOD* 10 MHz clocks on AliExpress that would pass John's basic tests? Decent OCXO chip Good sine to square converter Outputs actual 50Ω (or 75Ω) signal Connector is 50Ω (or 75Ω) These 4 requirements do not seem to be super expensive, $200 maybe $300 using reclaimed 4G chips. Add to that a LPS and this will be an excellent, cheap clock. I have purchased the Leo Bodnar Precision GPS Reference and the BG7TBL clocks. I have deferred all other purchases until I finish this gargantuan thread. I am 2/3 of the way through. I take MartinT at his word. He clearly has intellect and an engineering background. If he says he hears a big difference using the BG7TBL clock, I believe him. However, based on John's findings I do believe it's pure luck of the draw with the AliExpress clocks.

Do you disagree with the principles behind the ER or did you implement tech that obviates the ER?

Thanks, SQFIRST. I am in the process of making many changes to my system. I filled out the Audio System portion of my profile. Feel free to take a look but it is a work in progress. Impending changes are in (the first 3 are in progress now): Replacing reflective TV with refractive parametric wood art Replacing Ikea media cabinet with Adona isolation racks Room treatments EtherREGEN Gen 2 Grounding equipment due to MartinT's wonderful posts Upgrading stock Aeris crossovers with aluminum film capacitors, air core foil inductors, & Path Audio resistors Will add Esoteric Grandioso C1 and P1 As far as cables, power cords, and the like I haven't added anything too high end. The 2 best power cords I have are Transparent Audio for the monoblock amps. The rest of my power cords are WAudio or HiFi brands purchased from Amazon. My interconnects are Blue Jean XLR cables, Worlds Best Cable RCA cables, and CyberShaft 50Ω BNC cables. No power conditioning or grounding equipment as of yet. Any changes that I make, I have to re-run the Legacy Wavelet 2 room correction. I definitely need the EtherREGEN Gen2 and will purchase as soon as it's available. I have not had the Mutec (I assume one of the MC3+ versions) in my system. I would like to try both it and the Audio-GD DI20HE. As of right now the final reference clock will be one of Mutec REF10 SE120, AfterDark Geisemann EVA, or CyberShaft OP21 assuming the LB or BG7TBL do not stay permanently. That being said, I would like edit my previous post. I don't think the Leo Bodnar GPSDO changed by system that much. As they say, Computer errors 99% of the time are between the seat and keyboard. I had my DAC on the wrong settings. It was not using the 10 MHz clock signal at all. I changed to the proper settings, there was a 10 sec delay as the system sync'ed the LB clock signal. Listen as I might, I don't think I noticed any change. Now I am paranoid. I thought I heard a big change before. Now I don't hear any change. I then hit the sleep button to turn off all LB ancillary electronics. Now I do hear a change. The vocals seem to move forward. The bass seemed to be more prodigious but that is hard to quantify as I have 4 arrayed subwoofers. Even when there is no bass, it is still prodigious. What can I say, I love the low frequencies! I will take the next 2-4 weeks to do some more critical listening. I might change some of my reference songs. There is a great deal of listening I have to do to determine what's exactly going on. The default sound on my system with no clock whatsoever is amazing. So some of these changes will be measuring inches instead of feet (or centimeters instead of meters if you prefer). The reason I expect huge things from the Leo Bodnar GPSDO is due to Fluty's comments. Fluty is an orchestral solo flautist. Read the pages before and after. Read page 398 where they discuss what live music sounds like. I have literally never read that anywhere. I don't normally link to other sites but I think his comments are quite intriguing and cannot be dismissed ... at all. I am still at a loss as to how the LB with numbers that should render it as static sounds so good to a professional musician of his caliber. Can sound stage and live music be reduced to phase noise?!? I think this is giving me psychoacoustic issues. I will have friends over to listen after my next round of changes. Disagreements, comments, criticisms, improvements welcomed.

I am reading this thread from the beginning, so I apologize in advance if this is outdated. What is the logic behind reclocking multiple times? If the output is analog-sounding, it is certainly worth it. I received the BG7TBL today and it is still unused. I connected the Leo Bodnar GPS Reference Clock. The sound is quite amazing. There has to be more to the story than phase noise. How could a noisy TCXO produce something so musical? From the specs it's as noisy as an exploding stick of dynamite. Lol