Afterdark Master Clock for Uptone EtherRegen

[John G]

I recently got a dCS Bartók DAC, which I'm enjoying a great deal. The company also makes an external clock (the Rossini) which, at US$ 8,500 is no small investment and I've been tempted by it, although I really don't understand the function of a clock in a digital music system. I came across this thread from a post on the Tidal forum and it make me wonder:  would the Afterdark Master Clock serve the same function as the dCS Rossini master clock?

[John G]

4 minutes ago, DarqueKnight said:

The Rossini is a word clock, which clocks each digital sample of the devices connected to it. The AfterDark clock is an external 10 MHz reference clock, which replaces the less accurate internal clocks of the devices attached to it. The word clocks made by dCS and the 10 MHz reference clocks made by AfterDark serve different functions and are not interchangeable. To use a word clock, a device must have a "word clock" input, or be able to synch to the word clock via some other connection type. To use a 10 MHz reference clock, a device must have a 10 MHz reference clock input.

Thank you for this; it's very helpful.

[John G]

17 minutes ago, AfterDark. said:

We have one product which has same function as the dCS Rossini Master Clock:

 

The device have one 44.1Mhz, 48Mhz, and additional 10M Master Output. This is designed with one of the dCS customer. 

Wow, looks like you have exactly what I need. Have to give this serious consideration, and also think about how I'd find room for this box and the EtherRegen (currently in a closet outside my listening room) in my audio rack.

 

If anyone else has experience with this setup, or there's a thread here that addresses it, I'd like to hear about it.