Hello I would just like a little help with set up on this and if what I am suggesting as the digital chain is sensible .
I have bought a 10mHZ GPS linked clock which I am going to install as the External Clock for my Mutec . On this unit there is an option for me to output this clock to the next unit in the chain which in my case would be the Delius . Now having read the manual it would seem that the Delius needs to be set to Slave so that it accepts the Mater Clock settings from the Mutec . Is this correct ? I would also ask that as I have the Mutec currently feeding the Delius with an XLR AES/EBU input would this continue to work correctly without the clock input to the Delius ? I presume it would and signal within the Mutec would benefit at least from the External Clock . However I suspect that to get the full benefit of using an upgraded external clock it will need to have the clock output from the Mutec attached and locked with the Delius .
I hope that I understand your question but maybe I have it wrong.
The 10mHz reference clock could be connected to a device with a 10mHz input. I do not recall whether or not Delius has such an input. Edit - In fact I just found the Delius user manual and it does not have a suitable input
The signal input interface e.g. AES/EBU is not affected by a wordcock. This is concerned with the clock in the DAC.
So, if the Mutec has a 10mHz reference clock input ( I know some of their units do) then the GPS clock should be connected to it but make sure that input and output impedances match ( 50 or 75 Ohms). The Mutec’s worcdlock( 44.1 or 48) outputs go to the Delius. Which one will depend upon the sampling rate of the audio file.
Thank you Pete sorry I may not have made myself clear I did know that the 10kHZ clock needs to be attached to the Mutec . As noted the Mutec has four clock outputs that can be 44.1 outputs and this using the better accuracy clock being fed to the Mutec is what I would output to the Delius .
I don’t know the Mutec intimately, in fact I am unsure which Mutec device you have. However the ones that I have seen are able to supply clock frequencies other then 44.1. You need to find out the sampling rate of the source that you are using at the time and use a matching frequency from the Mutec. Otherwise the asserted accuracy of the Mutec as a wordclock loses its significance. Unfortunately the Delius has no automatic time selection and this may need to be done manually. Of course if your sources are limited to the those of era of Delius i.e. CD or CD and SACD then both have a sampling rate base of 44.1 kHz . Some streaming services ( which came later) are also limited to this base.
Thanks for the response Pete I Have a Mutec MC -3 + USB which can offer as you say various clock outputs . Most of my files are CD tips at 44.1 but some radio streams are 48 Hz and I do have some 96/192 downloads . I can set the clock output for 44.1 which should match with the Delius but will it accept 48 as the Mutec automatically adjusts when the source changed ?
I think that it will when the Mutec wordclock changes to match the sample rate of the audio signal. However there is a limit. The Delius wordclock input will accept rates <96kHz, so that is 44.1, 88.2, 48 and 96 kHz. On a practical level that will cover a very wide range of repertoire. However sorry that your 192 kHz downloads are not catered for. They weren’t commercially available when Delius was made.
I am, however, not sure if this is correct for both versions of Delius ( with or without IEEE1394) but logically it should be.
Right I have found out two things today first is that mine is a very early Delius Upsampler and does not have have Word Clock in . So that is the end of any experimenting on that .
My Purcell does have Word Clock input but connecting the Mutec does not seem to work . I think the issue may well be because the Word Clcok setting is per input and I use two AES inputs to get the best sounde results . It may well be that I need to select each AES input in turn and set the Word Clock for each one and only when this is complete select 2 x AES . Not exactly sure about this but it is all I can think of as to why set to Wclk Slave the dCS is not sensing the clock input from the Mutec . There is also of course the issue that if you use 2 x AES then you can not get word clock input to function . Ah well if anyone knows anything about this then add to the thread . If not it not the end of the world will just work with the LB precision clcok in to the Mutec when it arrives later today .
I assume that you are using the Purcell to upsample to Delius? If so and if, as you say, your early Delius has no wordclock input then there is no advantage to be gained from having an external wordclock. Using a wordclock has two advantages. The first is to synchronise the units in a multibox system. However you have two units one of which has no wordclock In connection and which therefore cannot be synchronised.
The other is using an external clock as a reference source for the clock in the DAC. However you cannot do this for the same reason as per synchronisation. Connecting Purcell only to the Mutec will not achieve either of the former aims.
I am however unsure about your assertion that there is no wordclock In port on Delius. The Delius user manual shows the relevant BNC as being lower row, next to the Wordclock Out port. Please double check.
Hi Pete you are looking at the MK2 Delius which as you say has both Word Clock Input and Output fitted . Mine sadly is a Mk 1 and only has a Word Clock Output . There was a revision with a new board fitted and the Input Word Clock added and turned to Option with Software 1.1.3 . It does not look like this has ever been done on my unit and as dCS will no longer work on these early models I am sort left with things as they are . So Instead will just have to get things set up and working on the Mutec with an LB Precision clock and accept this is as far as I can go with this .
In my case, using Mutec as a reclocker performs slightly better than wordclock distributor.
In term of 10mHZ GPS linked clock, it is a bit disappointed to me, I believe Mutec’s built in clock is better. At last I bought Mutec Ref 10 to replace the GPS linked clock, and the difference is day and night.
I’m late to the party, Andrew, and can see that the config you wanted to try is not possible with your version of the dCS kit in question.
I can’t find it now (just spent 15 mins looking) but there is a discussion somewhere in which dCS rep argues that clock stability has a greater impact on sound quality than clock accuracy. I may have that the wrong way round! Perhaps a kind fellow forum member could drop a link here.
I believe dCS’s conclusion is that they don’t recommend external clocks of the Mutec REF10 type as they are more accurate but potentially less stable than dCS clocks so sound quality may deteriorate rather than improve…
Okay things have moved on since my post . I now have the LB Clock working with the Mutec and the results are not subtle . For my ears and my system the LB Clock is outstanding the difference for me at least is not small and it is staying connected to the Mutec .
I know that there is nothing I can do about the Purcell so that has to stay as it is. However the Delius does allow an external clock and I would still like to connect the Mutec output clock to the Delius . I have read what to do in the manual and it does not seem to be working . The Delius is in slave mode and should sense the external clock but does not . I am sure this is just set up.
I use the Delius in twin AES input and the manual says that in order to set the external clock it needs to be done for each input . So does this mean that if I use the twin AES I am not able to use an external clock or does it just mean I need to set the external on each AES input in turn before then switching to twin AES ?
Does anyone know if this is possible as it the last link in the chain I can try and would like to see if it works and what it does . Please I do know that this is not ideal and the external clock should be the same for all the chain units but in my case it is not possible . Using the external to the Delius may make no difference or may make things worse but I just want to be able to try it for myself.
You appear to want to use the Mutec as a master clock for Delius. See page 23 of the user manual. It looks to me that the correct synch selection should be MS:Synch. However there is a caveat about " superclocks" whatever those are and also that the source must be connected to the clock generator. You do not mention what your source is. I assume that you have the Mutec BNC wordclock out port connected to Delius BNC wordclock in.
Thanks for your response Pete I have read the manual and my source is connected to the Mutec which a reclocker and has four output clock options . The Mutec is connected to an external GPS clock and it is the Mutec output that will generate the clock to the Delius . What I still do not know is in the manual is that it says the clock setting has to be done for each input which makes sense . But does this mean that I should switch the input on the Delius to AES 1 and set that to the external clock and then switch to AES 2 and do the same thing then switch them to input AES 1 and 2 which is how I use them ? Will give this try and see if this works as trying to do it on the 1 plus 2 input does not seem to work . Not desperate at the moment as the addition of the LB clock to the Mutec has been very good indeed and if that is as much as I can get I am happy . But as we all do if something as easy as another cabe connection can get things even better you want to try it . Just to make it clear the Mutec will be using the original source of the file as the setting automatically so 44.1 for CD rips 48 for some Radio streams and 96 for some of the downloads I have . So this means that what is being fed to the input clock on the Delius is exactly the same as the source which avoids any conflicts .
Andrew, just out of curiosity, when you refer to “the LB Precision Clock,” are you referring to one of the GPS clocks at Leo Bodnar Electronics? I went searching, and couldn’t find anything else that seemed to fit the bill.