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Afterdark Master Clock for Mutec MC-3 + Smart Clock USB


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14 hours ago, Iving said:

I do not feel pernicious, nor do I mean to be troublesome, when I say that cutting through the AfterDark promo material about this cable was tough – but I realise that most of this is to do with the language barrier. imho Adrian would do well to recruit a technically competent translator to make sure his technical arguments are easily digested by the English-speaking buyer. [After all – AS is an English-speaking web site.]

First off, thank you for taking the time and effort to pen such a detailed review / travelogue.

 

Re Adrian's English language proficiency, I just want to point out that he is based in Hong Kong and one therefore cannot expect him to be as proficient in English as you clearly are. What he lacks in English expertise, I am pretty certain he speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin (off-topic for this forum), which is more tongues than many of us can claim to speak!

 

I am glad that Adrian decided to open up his business to the English-speaking world (not entirely altruistic of course), otherwise I would not have been able to access the EtherRegen and his in-house range of tweaks so readily. In my experience, speaking to him using short and simple sentences does the trick :)

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56 minutes ago, Iving said:

 

The thing I most appreciate about my AfterDark Triple Emperor Double Crown is that it has taken me several more steps away from loathsome digititis - the harshness that spoils non-analogue music. When I first opened myself to digital music, I never realised that the Hi-Fi journey would become one primarily about shrinking from this horrible plague.

 

 

Agreed in spades!  I went through the same horrible journey over two years ago when I sold the turntable and SACD player and decided to go all-in with hi-res streaming.  My first iteration just happened to sell me on what was possible: Caiman SEG DAC, Raspberry Pi streamer, Volumio and Spotify.  Low res but nice sounding. Then I set out to go Qobuz hi-res and buy the best DAC I could get my hands on.  Thus the pain began.

 

I would say I have now arrived, the system sounds quite wonderful and there is no harshness whatsoever.  Analogue-like but with incredible detail extraction, soundstaging and dynamics. It has taken a lot of attention to detail throughout the chain.  Anyone who thinks digital high end is easier to achieve than analogue hasn't really started yet.  However, I would never go back to LPs now.

 

To answer your questions: yes I would agree that PSU burn-in must be responsible.  I had the same pain with my first Coherent QP-1, it sounded a bit 'meh' at first, but then it rocketed away to previously unknown heights.

 

On the subject of the incoming Emperor Triple Crown, I will indeed listen to it in the same setup as the current King to hear what differences I can perceive.  Then I shall add the King to the ER, switching it back to external clock.  I have one of two Chinese Weiliang PSUs lying around, I will reset it for 12V operation and put it into action.  It will have to be powered from the P10 regenerator (purportedly reserved for the power amp) as my P3 is fully maxed out.  I will upgrade it with Shottky rectifiers and a National LM-317T regulator, it already has Rubycon caps inside.

TP-Link MR6400 4G router > Uptone EtherREGEN reclocker > Sonore Signature Rendu SE streamer > Gustard U18 DDC > Gustard X26 Pro DAC > Belles SA-100 power amp > Usher Dancer Be-20 speakers. AfterDark clocks x 2. PS Audio P3 & P10 regenerators.

https://theaudiostandard.net

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4 minutes ago, MartinT said:

Thus the pain began.

 

I feel it. I truly feel it.

 

5 minutes ago, MartinT said:

On the subject of the incoming Emperor Triple Crown, I will indeed listen to it in the same setup as the current King to hear what differences I can perceive. 

 

Can't wait. Thanks

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I have now received my AfterDark Emperor Triple Crown and will be listening to it soon, in direct comparison with the King before I setup for two clocks.

 

King

Phase noise 1Hz: -108dB

Phase noise 10Hz: -138dB

Allan deviation: 8.87 x 10-13 @ 1s

 

Emperor Triple Crown

Phase noise 1Hz: -118dB

Phase noise 10Hz: -143dB

Allan deviation: 3.10 x 10-13 @ 1s

TP-Link MR6400 4G router > Uptone EtherREGEN reclocker > Sonore Signature Rendu SE streamer > Gustard U18 DDC > Gustard X26 Pro DAC > Belles SA-100 power amp > Usher Dancer Be-20 speakers. AfterDark clocks x 2. PS Audio P3 & P10 regenerators.

https://theaudiostandard.net

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12 minutes ago, MartinT said:

Very first impressions in an unfair comparison between the thoroughly warmed up and reasonably burned in King and the barely warmed after one hour of being plugged in Emperor Triple Crown, which needed to be unplugged and reconnected into the system.

 

No downside. 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. I'll continue with the listening but my impression, again, is that a better clock (all other things being equal) makes itself known pretty quickly.

 

If burn-in is a non-issue, then differential should remain stable in the coming days. But differential there is. If you get to be able to quantify it better (in qualitative terms of course!) please do post. We'll take it that that phase noise matters! A mantra for our times!

 

Thank you for posting so promptly. Enjoy it!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 9 months later...

Just ordered a customized Trifecta Emperor Triple Crown with Adrians great help for 2 x 50 ohms and 1 x 75 ohms square wave outputs. The two 50 ohms will go to the gustard x26 pro and gustard u16 ddc. The one 75 ohm will go to the Etherregen on a B->A configuration to optical rendu. Will receive hopefully in 3 weeks.  Currently using a gustard c16 connected to x26pro, U16 and ER which is already giving me very good improvements. Also playing via hqplayer dsd 512 output on roon/tidal to maximize the x26pro tech and the instrument separation and clarity is already next level from the c16. AD ETC is an upgrade from -100dbc/hz to -118dbc/hz . Cant wait to test  and hear the difference based on the feedback here.

 
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  • 4 weeks later...

I have received the customized Trifecta triple crown 4 days ago and I can attest with all the reviews here for Afterdark. All x26pro, U16, and ER are connected to this clock and I cant stop listening to various kinds of music genre and appreciate everything all over again. I can now complete a whole album of Neil Young and David Bowies last album Blackstar appreciating the artist talent and not the noise. Noise is now more musical. The audio has become immersive by the soundstage and instrument separation. Also updated the fuse of the x26pro and U16 to Gustard fuse which contributed. Am now waiting for an ordered bnc from Geoff from aurealisaudio to upgrade the stock BNC cable. Thanks to Adrian for his responsiveness on the order of this unit.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi! 

 

We have some positive feedback about the AD modded Mutec MC3 + Farad Super3 LPS.

 

"Music is full blown, deep low-end, rich mids, crystal clear highs. Spatial resolution is astounding. Orchestral music is enthralling. Soundstage is all enveloping. All of this without digital edge."

 

Best Regards,

Adrian

AfterDark. 

 

 

 

image.thumb.jpeg.ccb3162fea4b79b8f84ec5bfa81f88db.jpeg

 

image.thumb.png.30c095540684bdbe72752631dc2498b0.png

 

 

Amp: Goldmund 27+ EVO Preamp, Goldmund 29M Power Amp, Goldmund AC-Curator

DAC: CH Precision C1.1 Digital Convertor,  Studer D19 DAC, Wadia 2000 DAC

Digital: Mutec MC3-USB,  AfterDark. Giesemann OCXO 10M Master Clock Giesemann EVA 

Playback: Goldmund PH3 Phono Amp, Linn LP12, Studer A807 VU MKII Open Reel

Network Switch:  AFTERDARK. PROJECT CLAYX BUFFALO BS-GS2016 CASCADE X GIESEMANN OCXO BLACK MODERNIZE EDITION x Farad Super3 LPS

Dealer: UpTone Audio, Gustard, Farad Power Supply, Cybershaft, Thixar, DELA

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  • 1 year later...

Hello everyone, I'm thinking about testing the Mutec 3 USB between my Opticalrendu and my PS Audio Direcstream dac, in this scenario I would do without the Matrix Spdif interface. Will I have gained by adding Mutec to the audio chain?

 

I have seen reports that this device works better with older Dacs where the digital input clocks were not as efficient as more modern devices, but I also see reports of great improvements even with modern dacs.

 

I would like the opinion of someone who knows and has tested this device a lot, thank you!

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