Afterdark Master Clock for Uptone EtherRegen

[MartinT]

I compared similarly, but one increment up, an AfterDark Emperor Triple Crown over a King.  From my notes...

 

I had an immediate impression of more realism in cymbal strikes, greater note decay and a darker background. Percussive detail is pervasive in everything and the midrange is smoother and less gritty.

 

Bass is felt rather than heard. Less like hearing a pub band with over-driven bass punching you in the chest, more like an Underground train emerging from the tunnel, shaking you in the gut. John knows what I mean, comparing a straight punch with an undercut.

Transients are no longer aural assaults consisting only of loudness. Now they have distance, shape and texture. They can still be loud but the closer approach to real sound makes them more tolerable, and that's also accounting for my lower volume setting of -18dB. I rarely whack it up to -16dB these days.

Even my harshness tests of Sharon van Etten and Feist pass more comfortably, the music flowing with great impact but not giving me a headache. As for Hawkwind's Space Ritual - what a revelation!

[MartinT]

My AfterDark clocks have continued to improve up to around 30 days after first switch-on.  I would say they have reached full performance now, and very good indeed is that performance.  No regrets at all with going in this direction.