So I was considering adding a word clock to my Purcell, there is a Puccini U-clock on eBay but it doesn’t really make sense to spend upwards of £1600 (for the U-clock) on a sub £1000 upsampler. Then I spotted this item (the Lucid clock in the title) which I realise comes from the production world, but wondered if for £300 this might be a worthwhile addition.
Would appreciate any thoughts.
I apologise if I don’t fully understand your query. I am reading hat you have found a Puccini U-clock for £1600 and/or another item ( what?) for £300 ( from the production world - whatever that indicates).
Are you missing a link from your post? Anyway some clarification may help.
Edit: Ah, I have found the GenX6. I agree that the Pucinni U clock may be a bit of a cost mismatch with a Purcell . However for £300 the GenX6 may be worth the risk. Note that it generates a wordclock and a "Superclock "signal. The latter is for use with a Pro-tools system so is not for you.
My caveat with both is that the crystals drift with time and may require re-calibration. What you hear subjectively may also depend upon the typical type of music that you listen to. Many have written that they have been unable to tell the difference, not only with legacy equipment but even using Vivaldi. When I owned Elgar /Purcell it took me several tries before I appreciated the impact of Verona ( the first dCS wordclock generator). Adding a wordclock tends not to affect performance in the normal audiophile lexicon but things like musical flow ,phrasing etc. so can seem subtle.
If it was me then for £300 I would give it a go but that depends on how you see the expenditure.
Remember that the wordclcok connects to both Purcel and ( I think with your setup) Delius.
Thanks - edited
Please see my edited post above.
Thanks. Point well made on clock drift, doing a bit more research perhaps the non USB Mutec MC3+ is a better bet and still a spend under the price of the Purcell, as it can be locked to a 10MHz OXCO or GPS reference (eg. Leo Bodnar)
I am actually using Purcell into a Naim V1 for now. My likely end game is Debussy, so the clock would eventually have two uses. I don’t see myself spending more than that, much as I might like to.
Sorry if I got you mixed up with someone with Delius.
I have to say that using a wordclcok with a DAC with no wordclock input is pretty pointless. The whole exercise is about synchronisation. The DAC and source should be sychronised which is not the same thing as accuracy or stability. It means that the timing reference is the same one for both components ( I guess when upsampling Purcell is in the role of source) and not two pulses that start and finish differently, no matter how accurate they may be otherwise.
I would save your money until you achieve your Debussy.
Isn’t the point of improved word clocking to reduce jitter? I might be wrong but I would think providing a lower jitter upsampled SPDIF signal into any quality DAC should have a benefit.
A wordclock ( AKA masterclock) is also know as a wordclock distributor. Why have a distributor? it is for the reason I gave earlier.
When an external clock such as the Puccini is added to a dCS multi box system, the actual clock in the connected component is not made redundant. It is still used. However the reference crystal is now that in the external clock. Although the grade of crystal in the dCS units is the same AFAIK , it is the case that the one in the dCS wordclock is in a preferable environment i.e. away from other active circuitry. So there might be a gain there. Nevertheless the source and DAC ideally require an identical reference so that their processing is synchronised.
Unfortunately the Naim unit does not have a wordclcok output either so you can’t slave Purcell to it.
Interesting, thanks - looking at the systems thread, seems a number of people with fairly pricey clocks in their stacks use Auralics and Hifi Rose streamers (no clock inputs) as transport sources. Ooops.
Actually things are a bit different with streamers of the type you mention. I don’t know them intimately of course but generalising, mostly they will connect to the DAC by USB. USB is asynchronous so the DAC still looks after timing. Of course if they are streamer/DACs the issue will not arise as all is in one box and controlled by the same clock.
The Lucid Genx6-96 is approx. 20 years old and no longer available as new. No more support.
£ 300 is a rip off, as there is one offered for $99 (!).
Lucid GENx6-96 Word/Super Clock Generator - BS Broadcast
I’d go for a new non USB Mutec MC3+.
Thanks - that was my conclusion after more research.