All Clock talk and nothing on cables?

Recently there seems to be a good amount of conversation on implementation of Clocks with Bartok, Rossini, and Vivaldi DAC’s. As the new owner of a Rossini + Master Clock I am well aware of the difference the addition of the clock can make. There have been several threads with some limited discussion on the various cables people are using. I started out with a pair of Geist Apogee Wyde Eye cables which have been highly recommended on this forum. Additional internet sleuthing has found that Transparent Cables, particularly the Reference XL version, seem to be a popular option with Vivaldi users. A $7k pair of cables may make sense for a full stack Vivaldi however I find it difficult to justify spending $7k for cables for a Rossini Master Clock which itself costs the same $7k.

Are there suggestions which fit more in line with a Rossini Master Clock? Transparent make a Reference line which are $4k for the pair, Nordost have Tyr cables at a slightly lower price. I have heard about Shunyata Sigma cables and Cardas Clear.

I am impressed with what the Master Clock does for the Rossini. If a set of clock cables can significantly improve things, while not costing the same $7k price as the clock, I would be interested in trying them out.

I did a quick search and saw several discussions about clock cables here, so I don’t think “nothing” is accurate. :wink:

I’m waiting for an opportunity to demo Shunyata & Transparent cables, but I do not expect to hear a justification for spending that kind of money [my own version of expectation bias in this instance]. Ask yourself, seriously, what should a 75Ω cable sound like? How should it be engineered that would cause a square wave to be “more square” through one cable than another? I could see that a flawed cable could be improved upon. But a properly engineered constant 75Ω cable? How does one improve on that? One of the things that bothers me with some of the cable makers is their enthusiastic claims in the absence of any engineering explanation other than audiophoodoo. I’ve gotten spoiled by BJC and Iconoclast that are happy to share their engineering in explicit detail.

But what do I know? There are people over on WBF who insist that replacing the Cybershaft clock isolation footers makes a “dramatic” difference. :smirk:

Read through the threads on this subject. There are many and the overall feeling is not that $7k cables are essential ( except for those that think that the more they spend the better it gets - for a Vivaldi stack that comes out at $35K).

The job that these cables need to do is pretty simple ( be 75ohm at the required frequencies, don’t be open to RFI or EMI and have a low dielectric constant).

Don’t get hung up on this. If the cable sounds OK then it is OK. If it doesn’t ditch it but that does not mean that spending thousands will buy you anything necessarily better, I am unable to say what I think about some overpriced cables as I do not wish to risk dCS in a legal action.

I use clock cables costing 135 gbp for all 5 in my Vivaldl based system . Read the past threads and you will see that other dCS people have been happy with what I use.

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I find the clock cable discussions on this forum quite refreshing actually. There are some great recommendations that make a lot of practical sense. In the application we’re discussing here I basically agree that this it’s something that can be very effectively measured in a lab.

On the other hand people do hear differences in clock cables, so who knows. I have a set of apogee cables on the way right now and I expect them to preform perfectly :laughing:

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In the particular case of clock cables which need to be to specifications, 75 ohms, with properly connected BNC plugs, etc. I tend to agree and share some of the skepticism expressed by others. I do not share the same skepticism when it comes to analogue cables which connect my sources (Linn KDS, Rossini, LP12) to my Naim preamp. The reason for my inquiry is based on what I am being told by my dealer and by (unnamed) dCS personal. Like you I wish to leave it like that and not get into any further trouble :wink:

My Rossini + Master Clock are 3 weeks into the burn in process and my newly recapped and DR’d Naim pre/power will require 2 months of burn in. Upon completion of the process I plan on arranging a demo of Transparent clock cables to satisfy my curiosity - and to see if they conform to what I am being told by others.

I just upgraded my Transparent speaker and interconnects. I finished the speaker cables first and a couple weeks later with the interconnects. I was happily surprised at the positive difference just the interconnect upgrades made. I’ve also had had positive improvements with upgrading the CAT5 cables. I even had some younger friends over (with better hearing) for some A/B comparisons. They clearly heard the differences with all the upgrades. I think it makes perfect sense to do an A/B compare with Transparent clock cables.

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I first auditioned the Rossini Player and Clock with a pair of Cardas Clear Digital cables connecting the two, and bought the same cables to get the same sound at home.

At US $600 each they are definitely more affordable than the pricier cables you mention.