Audiophilepure

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“dCS feels that listening tests have proven to their engineers that having a dedicated master clock delivers superior sonic results over a DAC alone acting as the system’s master clock. The current dCS clock features the latest iteration of the company’s multi-stage Phase-Locked-Loop (PLL) system, outfitted with multi-stage power regulation and housed in an “aerospace-grade machined aluminium chassis fitted with tuned acoustic damping panels [to] reduce magnetic effects and vibration.” Special crystals are employed in clock systems which are chosen for their oscillation accuracy over both short and long-term timing domains. At dCS (and many other high-end companies), these crystal oscillators are pre-aged. They are “… selected for long term stability and then individually calibrated over a wide temperature range to ensure consistent optimal performance. [The] Rossini Master Clock uses a sophisticated microcontroller system to ensure smooth frequency correction as the temperature changes, and this approach gives a more stable result than either oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXO) or even atomic clocks,” according to the company.”

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“All genres of music benefitted from the addition of the IsoTek Aquarius, but truth be told, the fullest realization of its potential occurred while listening to purist, uncompressed acoustic music with naturalistic tonal, ambient, and reverb characteristics. A favorite example of mine is Laurel Massé’s a cappella rendition of the Quaker hymn “How Can I Keep from Singing?” [Feather & Bone], recorded in the superb acoustics of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in New York. Via the Aquarius, the spaces between images seemed to open up and the entire cavernous hall seemed to exhale in relief, as if, after holding its breath, it could finally inhale again.”

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” The first thing you notice is the drop in noise floor, this not only makes for inky black spaces when the music has paused creating a much more realistic presentation allowing you to suspend disbelief and feel that the musicians are in the room with you, but opens a whole new world of micro-detail that was previously obscured by the previous noise floor. As you listen further, you start to hear the subtle increases in dynamic range that come from not only the lowered noise floor but the increased current storage in your power supply.

Pulling up Qobuz I selected “Who Killed Smiley Culture?” by Emily Capell. This piece is a single picked note acoustic guitar and vocal, with large spaces between notes. The abyssal silence lets you hear the reflections of the walls creating a greater sense of space. The quiet noises, like the buzz at the back of her throat, the squeak of her fingers on the strings, the click of the pick on the string and soundboard of the guitar all stand out in bas-relief. The sound is intimate and alive with a huge soundstage.”