Thanks Greg. I suspected that LIFE was getting in your way of answering my desperate questions. It’s funny as adults (now there’s a good one), we think that our personal quests for our own self indulged hobbies are so important to everyone. I actually know that few people care about hifi systems so it’s refreshing to get on here and raise a hairbrained idea and have someone give me feedback good or bad. Anup with his crisp technical knowledge and you with your always gracious patience and certainly Pete as well as others who have helped me out as I have learned this digital terrain.
I won’t further act like the spanish inquisition but want to tie back my take away on the subject so that if I or someone else wants to see where we got to on this subject it may be more evident.
I have read in a number of places including the exalted WBF that Cybershaft is manna from the gods for the digital world but I see that it’s been debunked by James and that it could not possibly make the Vivaldi system improved to the extent that there is a Vivaldi clock installed as it has inferior capabilities doing the same role as the Vivaldi clock. At least not from a statistical point of evaluation. Being a technically minded/educated person I always want to think that the stats always tell the truth, I also am a conceptual thinker and by career a dreamer, separate for many years from the technical world, and recognize that any device could enhance something that we hear that isn’t measurable with todays technical tools. Leaves the door open at least a little.
Then comes the Perf10. I believe from your observations it made substantial differences to your listening enjoyment and is supported technically by James as being of the appropriate architecture to compliment and possibly aid in the accuracy of at least the Vivaldi stack which is where my head is. The words uttered by your non musician wife “Spooky” got my attention.
(My wife has played classical piano and has sung professionally as long as I have known her … lets just say she was in high school then and she stopped singing with the symphony in a large city a few years back. She has been taking an increasing interest in the stereo and my coaching to stop listening to the melody and go into analytic mode. Listen to the sounds and see if they sound real… convincing. I don’t think this is the way to enjoy music, but it is the way that I set up my system and discern initial differences. Once i turn off the technical listening is where the real surprises occur and the where did that sound come from surprises you in a good way. Her hearing and her manner of listening has changed and but she still mostly has comments like… it sounds great. Fortunately cost has not been a question that we have ever dealt with). I have a client/friend who has been a career concert violinist. He has been to my home a few times to hear my rig. His claim is the most real that he has heard except disney auditorium in la. I’m not certain I’m there, but I do chase ideas down rabbit holes to see what may be lurking.
Which brings my thinking to the Novus 1. My reading over and again your description and summary of your experience with the Novus. I don’t want to put words into your mouth but this is what I have extracted from your experiment. When you started your atomic clocking quest you found Cybershaft which gave you a lift. You then proceeded to Pref10 which was notably better in your system than Cybershaft but from a technical standpoint you wondered if it could still be better… I mean why not? Novus was installed and it sounded great. You can’t really put your finger on how or why but technically it’s better and it sounds great. I got loud and clear that you don’t spend dollars unnecessarily but will spend up to what you deem necessary to get where you’re going. I think that we are the same there. Thank you for indulging my folly. I have learned a lot just from your experience and have saved a lot of time. Please feel free to head butt me if I misstated but I am thinking to order a Pref10 in the next few days. I am tempted to try the Novus but i am not convinced that the additional efforts which will slow my trip to Nirvana warrant the wait (but I’m still listening! 
). Again thank you for your time and enjoy your trip. b