Master Clock for your EtherREGEN

[bernardl]

At this point, knowing what we know, if budget were not too much of a concern, would there be any reason not to select the Cybershaft OP21A as external clock for the EtherREGEN?

 

- it has the lowest reported noise of any clock

- it has multiple outputs with selectable impedance

- it has a dedicated external linear power supply

- the company has a great reputation

 

Am I missing something?

 

Cheers,

Bernard

 

[bernardl]

10 minutes ago, RickyV said:

What is the price? 

 

Around 7,000 US$.

 

http://www.cybershaft.jp/a-products/op20a.html

 

Cheers,

Bernard

[bernardl]

1 hour ago, LowMidHigh said:

 

Bernard,

 

You'd better do a more thorough research:

- Selectable impedance doesn't yield the correct impedance either way. It's a faulty solution, hands-down.

- It generates a sinuous wave while audio equipment expects a square wave.

 

Perhaps the Cybershaft has the lowest phase noise, but when connected to your equipment, it will suffer from the aforementioned deficiencies. Also bear in mind that both Cybershaft and Mutec swore by -116db is the lower limit for sound improvements to could be perceived. Then marketing took over, and both companies introduced a -120/121db to up the ante. In essence, I suspect, we're in the flat region of the phase noise/SQ curve.

 

I suggest you take a deep breath and study the various offerings again. In my opinion, Mutec Ref10 is the best option, and the SE is the one if you have the have the "Best" 

 

Thanks.

 

Would you have a reference to a document showing that the Cybershaft clocks emit sinusoidal signals and not square waves? I wasn't able to find such information on their site.

 

Cheers,

Bernard

 

[bernardl]

30 minutes ago, LowMidHigh said:

 

It used to be on their website, and Kinji wrote to me as much.

 

When I first embarked on my ref clock journey, I gave his products a close look. Going by his own words, the products didn’t cater to the audio market specifically, but to any application that required a high precision clock in an affordable price. He emphasized that point when I inquired about a return policy: “Can't guarantee audio relate performance, so no returns.” As you can deduct from the impedance selectors and impedance convertors, delivering the purest signal isn’t a top priority for him. Furthermore, to my chagrin, he conflicted himself in our exchange too many times to build trust. 

 

Anecdotally, later on, when he realized demand in the audiophile market was building up, he started gearing his clocks accordingly: More outputs, better encasement, and initiating a war-of-tug with Mutec vis-à-vis phase noise. 

 

 

Thanks.

 

Have you ever tried one of his recent high-end clocks vs Mutec?

 

I read recently a comparison performed in HK where the conclusion was clearly in favor of the Cybershaft vs the Mutec Ref10 (or perhaps Ref10 SE120 not sure).

 

Cheers,

Bernard

[bernardl]

Thanks a lot for the feedbacks.

 

I gather from this that Mutec has a great track record in terms of providing studio equipment tuned for audiophile needs and is a safe bet.

 

Cybershaft is a recognized clock expert but is a more recent entrant in the audio high end sector and may need to improve the way they communicate in terms of how the specs of their equipment addresses the perceived needs of high end audio reclocking.

 

Both product lines have fervent fans in terms of real world performance. The only comparison btwn the respective top of the line offers I know of leans in favor of Cybershaft but there are theoretical reasons to believe that the Mutec should be even better.

 

what made me aware of Cybershaft in the first place is a comment from the CEO of Shunyata Research a few weeks ago where he commented that he considers their clocks the best and only use them for all their design and testing activities. I happen to value his opinion.

 

Being based in Japan for more than 20 years and speaking fluent Japanese it’s also a convenient solution but Mutec is imported here also and I could go that way also (although the SE120 isn’t listed yet).

 

cheers,

bernard