The superclock is really doing a fantastic job even for a super CD combo in DSo's place...an AB comparison for 10 sec would impress any audiophile on the sonic improvement it brings forth...I know the i2s cable and superclock in Zanden combo well and I have been using SMREE digital cable so I know what SMREE can offer me on top of the zanden superclock on i2s cable. So my gut feeling is that this clock is great but perhaps the SMREE digital being used for connecting it with the Zanden combo may have introduced an improvement on the signal transmission until I further chatted with PT about his own experience of connecting it between his Zero transport and Vekian, he also uses SMREE digital so in his case, the improvement due to the cable has been netted off and PT himself and his father were both shocked by the improvement after puting this clock in-between....
After murmuring some 'save money, no money' prayer, I managed to leave DSo's place to wait for the arrival of the Zanden phono Mk3...this superclock, I didn't hear it, I didn't hear it...
Knowing you are the world's most famous hardcore Zanden fans, I strongly urge you to place the CC1 in between the transport and the dac. The improvement in "musicality" is phenomenal. The improvement on the bass is "crazy". Gone is the "tube style" bass in exchange for real weight, impact and speed.
Last evening, I tried using the CC1 extensively in between the 2000p/5000s after reading DSo's experience. Just imagine why you had decided to purchase the Thales arm. The arguments are the same. The only difference is that the CC1 is much cheaper for the improvement it brings over to an already world-renowned CD combo.
This is my wholehearted recommendation after the Tripoint Troy. By the way, the improvement on the CC1 jumps up further after I connected a ground wire from the Troy to the master clock.
This is more of an exercise of measuring "how far digital can go". I have no intention of promoting the use of CC1 can replace any vinyl setup. I am just surprised by the quantum leap of improvement it offers for such low price.
Before hooking up the clock, you feel the Zanden CD combo is not bad. After you connect the clock in between, you immediately sense everything is wrong especially the bass with your digital source before. After PT took back the clock, I could not turn on my system that night and went out for drinks with friends instead. Luckily PT already reserved one for me and I can become a happy man again this weekend.
I apologize for my mistakes. When I was typing the dac's name, my mind actually referred to the Zanden and Vekian. Because the Heritage was sitting next to them, my fingers automatically typed the Heritage too.
Indeed, the Heritage as you wrote an excellent technical review 3 years ago said clearly the Orpheus's asynchronous up-sampling approach always generates its own clocking signal. (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/orpheus/heritage.html)
The use of an external clock for the Heritage is thus meaningless.
Once again, sorry for my ignorance on the subject.
I am waiting for you to burn the rack for a long time because PT is collating order of craze racks for us.
Your development suggests the crossover upgrade seemingly get you much more transparency allowing you to hear noises from the rack. The switch to craze rack will cure all the remaining noises there. ( I am not a fan of horn and I may likely have serious bias until I listened to the Alpha One which is good other than the integration of the lower mid bass to the mid-range. It is slow definitely. I will listen again when Alpha One plus is installed.)
You are the only one in the community that deals the system development in a logical approach. You take the time to understand the problem and solve it step by step. You deal with mechanical vibrations from the gears, then room noises, followed by AC noises, and subsequently ground noises. I admire such spirit very much. And I heard from PT that you only have 1.5 days in HK per week??
But then your biggest challenge will soon surface. My 833 is a subsidary amp serving the Sunray for recordings like Mahler/Wagner/Beethoven No.9 etc.... plus some really nice recording on grand theatrical opera plays. I am sure you don't need further elaboration from me. You should understand the implications.
Enjoy the clock. Without the clock, it is the first time I felt the Vekian sounds noisy (already connected to Tripoint). The clock cleans up all digital irregularities.
Each time I visit Hong Kong, PT invites me to listen to Audioexotics latest toys. These experiences end up being both a joy and torture. Joy, because I get exposed and immersed in the best sound imaginable, and torture, because I end up going home to Singapore and find my already great sounding system, unlistenable! Inevitably, I ask how much everything costs! That always adds to the torture!
Last night, it was joy and joy, and JOY! I've already written about my experience with the Sunray running Tidal electronics via the Vekian and Orpheus Zero, all connected to the Troy.
It was with the same joy, I listened to it last night. Wonderful sublime sound, that (I thought) you cannot top.
Then PT connects the Grimm CC1 between the Orpheus and Vekian. The Grimm CC1 is beautifully designed with its wooden facade and white lights, unlike the Vekian, which in my opinion is pretty ugly looking and bulky, and needs a redesign. (OK, I bought it, BUT I have it hidden on my rack)
I played my usual tracks, Nils Lofgren Live, Boz Scaggs Live, Indigo Girls and (this time) Micheal Jackson's Off the Wall CD. In ALL cases, the sound cleaned up. There was less noise. The instruments and the voices were more pronounced and less lost in the music. The seperation between the tracks on the songs had more air, and you had a great feeling of the place where the recordings done.
On the more 'produced' (not live) pop tracks e.g. Micheal Jackson's 'Off the Wall' CD... I not only had a revelation but an appreciation of the genius of Quincy Jone's production! Never had I heard 'Don't Stop till You Get Enough' sound so funky!
I have to admit that I did not think that PT's system could handle anything that was produced (and not a live recording)! This had been my experience so far. A lot of systems I've heard that sound wonderful on classical, jazz and vocals that are live, suddenly fall flat when it comes to rock, electronic, pop music that is produced. I was proved wrong once again!
So last night, there was joy in listening to the Sunray, joy listening to the Grimm CC1 and the final joy happened when I asked PT, how much? I always ask PT, is the extra $$$ I have to pay worth the xx% increase in sound you get? The economist in PT always gives me the right perspective! This time, when he told me how much the Grimm CC1 costs, I did not need to ask him that question. The answer was obvious.
So last night was not a grim occassion with the Grimm, but definitely a joyous one!
I guess I'm now on the waiting list!!
Tried the masterclock last night. I put it in between the Kalista and the Zanden, and use Flow to feed it. Have to say the unit is very well built -- the wooden panel is nice and the lights are bright
Is there a difference? Yes there is. Don't think it is jaw-dropping (at least not yet, and maybe it takes time), and don't think even with the clock CD is anywhere near the best of vinyl. Yet the differences are quite substantial and at this level remarkable. The greatest improvement is in separation of instruments. Suddenly there is a natural logic and transparency of the different instruments but not at the expense of coherence of overall musicality. I heard new things from familiar pieces that I was not aware of. I also detect some improvement in soundstage although it might just be my imagination
This is a great product, and at this price is as no-regret a buy as you can get, and more.
cassph, try to get a set of coral feet to isolate the clock from your support platform. The improvement on what you had already mentioned will amplify further. In terms of spatial, I am yet to listen to an analog setup that can rival what I heard from my own system fed by a digital source with the presence of CC1. In this regard, I do think it is jaw-dropping. With this super clock, I could feel the shape of the Carnegie hall which I had visited a few times in my life. But I understand that there is no speaker that I know so far can reproduce spatial resolution at the level of Sunray.
Book an appointment with PT and you will know what I meant.
Hello Uncle Ray, the CC1 is such a big fun. Got mine yesterday. It is very sensitive to vibration and to the power cable. The natural choice is Flow there and it worked well. I felt the clock needs some time to develop thermal stability (I had a lot of clock experience). That's the nature of the clock - thermal stability/mechanical stability are crucial. The first 2 hours sounded too fresh. I connected it at noon. Stay there for 2 hours. When I returned in the evening, bingo! The images are much more accurate. Vocal reveals a lot more color development thru the lyrics. By far, the biggest improvement is the "PRAT" factor in my case. I never feel Zanden combo can deliver the PRAT factor up to the dCS counterparts. The bass is controlled, pace is rhythmic and it got beef now. It is no longer loose.
For the price, it is a no brainer. Whether it is jaw dropping or not doesn't matter as most of our systems is already performing at certain threshold of performance, and the way I see the clock is a major fine-tuning on the digital source. It does not change the tonal balance at all. Just like the any vinyl setup, if tracking is not done right, I don't damn care you have the Thales, Schroders or the Da Vinci, the clock put everything back into focus. I understand some like to see the world a bit vague but that's not me.
Comments
After murmuring some 'save money, no money' prayer, I managed to leave DSo's place to wait for the arrival of the Zanden phono Mk3...this superclock, I didn't hear it, I didn't hear it...
DSo and Bigpiece are dead!
Marvel
Knowing you are the world's most famous hardcore Zanden fans, I strongly urge you to place the CC1 in between the transport and the dac. The improvement in "musicality" is phenomenal. The improvement on the bass is "crazy". Gone is the "tube style" bass in exchange for real weight, impact and speed.
Last evening, I tried using the CC1 extensively in between the 2000p/5000s after reading DSo's experience. Just imagine why you had decided to purchase the Thales arm. The arguments are the same. The only difference is that the CC1 is much cheaper for the improvement it brings over to an already world-renowned CD combo.
This is my wholehearted recommendation after the Tripoint Troy. By the way, the improvement on the CC1 jumps up further after I connected a ground wire from the Troy to the master clock.
This is more of an exercise of measuring "how far digital can go". I have no intention of promoting the use of CC1 can replace any vinyl setup. I am just surprised by the quantum leap of improvement it offers for such low price.
Before hooking up the clock, you feel the Zanden CD combo is not bad. After you connect the clock in between, you immediately sense everything is wrong especially the bass with your digital source before. After PT took back the clock, I could not turn on my system that night and went out for drinks with friends instead. Luckily PT already reserved one for me and I can become a happy man again this weekend.
Don't worry about my rack, it will be burnt soon.
Charles said his heritage could not lock the outgoing signal from the CC1. (The CC1, however, could detect incoming signal from the CD transport)
Can you tell us how did you test the CC1 with the Heritage?
PT
Indeed, the Heritage as you wrote an excellent technical review 3 years ago said clearly the Orpheus's asynchronous up-sampling approach always generates its own clocking signal. (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/orpheus/heritage.html)
The use of an external clock for the Heritage is thus meaningless.
Once again, sorry for my ignorance on the subject.
I am waiting for you to burn the rack for a long time because PT is collating order of craze racks for us.
Your development suggests the crossover upgrade seemingly get you much more transparency allowing you to hear noises from the rack. The switch to craze rack will cure all the remaining noises there. ( I am not a fan of horn and I may likely have serious bias until I listened to the Alpha One which is good other than the integration of the lower mid bass to the mid-range. It is slow definitely. I will listen again when Alpha One plus is installed.)
You are the only one in the community that deals the system development in a logical approach. You take the time to understand the problem and solve it step by step. You deal with mechanical vibrations from the gears, then room noises, followed by AC noises, and subsequently ground noises. I admire such spirit very much. And I heard from PT that you only have 1.5 days in HK per week??
But then your biggest challenge will soon surface. My 833 is a subsidary amp serving the Sunray for recordings like Mahler/Wagner/Beethoven No.9 etc.... plus some really nice recording on grand theatrical opera plays. I am sure you don't need further elaboration from me. You should understand the implications.
Enjoy the clock. Without the clock, it is the first time I felt the Vekian sounds noisy (already connected to Tripoint). The clock cleans up all digital irregularities.
Ray
Last night, it was joy and joy, and JOY! I've already written about my experience with the Sunray running Tidal electronics via the Vekian and Orpheus Zero, all connected to the Troy.
It was with the same joy, I listened to it last night. Wonderful sublime sound, that (I thought) you cannot top.
Then PT connects the Grimm CC1 between the Orpheus and Vekian. The Grimm CC1 is beautifully designed with its wooden facade and white lights, unlike the Vekian, which in my opinion is pretty ugly looking and bulky, and needs a redesign. (OK, I bought it, BUT I have it hidden on my rack)
I played my usual tracks, Nils Lofgren Live, Boz Scaggs Live, Indigo Girls and (this time) Micheal Jackson's Off the Wall CD. In ALL cases, the sound cleaned up. There was less noise. The instruments and the voices were more pronounced and less lost in the music. The seperation between the tracks on the songs had more air, and you had a great feeling of the place where the recordings done.
On the more 'produced' (not live) pop tracks e.g. Micheal Jackson's 'Off the Wall' CD... I not only had a revelation but an appreciation of the genius of Quincy Jone's production! Never had I heard 'Don't Stop till You Get Enough' sound so funky!
I have to admit that I did not think that PT's system could handle anything that was produced (and not a live recording)! This had been my experience so far. A lot of systems I've heard that sound wonderful on classical, jazz and vocals that are live, suddenly fall flat when it comes to rock, electronic, pop music that is produced. I was proved wrong once again!
So last night, there was joy in listening to the Sunray, joy listening to the Grimm CC1 and the final joy happened when I asked PT, how much? I always ask PT, is the extra $$$ I have to pay worth the xx% increase in sound you get? The economist in PT always gives me the right perspective! This time, when he told me how much the Grimm CC1 costs, I did not need to ask him that question. The answer was obvious.
So last night was not a grim occassion with the Grimm, but definitely a joyous one!
I guess I'm now on the waiting list!!
Is there a difference? Yes there is. Don't think it is jaw-dropping (at least not yet, and maybe it takes time), and don't think even with the clock CD is anywhere near the best of vinyl. Yet the differences are quite substantial and at this level remarkable. The greatest improvement is in separation of instruments. Suddenly there is a natural logic and transparency of the different instruments but not at the expense of coherence of overall musicality. I heard new things from familiar pieces that I was not aware of. I also detect some improvement in soundstage although it might just be my imagination
This is a great product, and at this price is as no-regret a buy as you can get, and more.
Book an appointment with PT and you will know what I meant.
For the price, it is a no brainer. Whether it is jaw dropping or not doesn't matter as most of our systems is already performing at certain threshold of performance, and the way I see the clock is a major fine-tuning on the digital source. It does not change the tonal balance at all. Just like the any vinyl setup, if tracking is not done right, I don't damn care you have the Thales, Schroders or the Da Vinci, the clock put everything back into focus. I understand some like to see the world a bit vague but that's not me.