I have the opportunity of getting a Scarlatti stack for my second system (upsampler, clock and DAC).
I was reading through the documentation, and I have some doubts. Maybe you can help me
First, as I understand, the scarlatti clock outputs only one frequency at a time (44.1 or 48). So, if I am using USB input to the upsampler, I have to manually change the frequency, everytime I change the sampling rate of the file. Is this correct?
Second, I saw that the clock sports a USB input. In this case, it would change it’s frequency automatically. If so, is it possible for me to use this input, and link the clock spdif output to the upsampler? The scheme would be: transport - clock USB input - clock spdif output - upsampler spdif input - upsampler dual aes output - dac dual aes input. Will this work? Should I experience any SQ degradation?
Third, since the upsampler does not output DXD or DSDx2, is there any benefit for going dual aes to the dac?
The first thing that you need to find out about the Scarlatti stack on offer is the software version installed on each component. There were various revisions over the life of the product and features may not be available on all. You can find full documentation on all of the Scarlatti components and software history here:
Subject to the above observation and taking your specific questions in order:
The clock frequencies are base frequencies, the clock will automatically adjust to either base and to multiples of these. You do not need to make any manual adjustments as file resolutions change.
The USB input on the clock rather than on the upsampler is the one that provides the highest PCM resolution ( <24/192).
Your intended configuration seems fine. If using Windows you will need to download the USB class 2 driver.
Without the transport and thus SACD the dual AES interface is not essential as S/Pdif will also cater for <24/192 and DSD 64 via DoP.
Thanks for your reply. Maybe I was not clear in my first question.
My doubt is: imagine I connect the usb directly to the upsampler, and set the clock to 44.1. If I play a 48 song, the clock won’t adjust automatically, and will be out of sinc. So I would have to manually adjust the base frequency to 48.
The only way for this automatic adjustment to happen is connecting the usb through the clock itself. Did I get this right?
It’s been years since the Scarlatti stack’s left my system, but IIRC, what you describe is the correct way that it operates; only using the USB port on the Clock allows automatic frequency shifting between 44.1k vs. 48k base sources.
I’d second the recommendation of RTFM . dCS docs typically cover all use-case scenarios pretty well.
The Scarlatti is excellent, but I’m willing to bet that if you compared a Rossini running the latest software it would best the Scarlatti.
Vivaldi 1.x was demonstrably better than Scarlatti
Vivaldi 2.x was demonstrably better than Vivaldi 1.x
Rossini 2.x is very, very close to Vivaldi 1.x (better in some ways close in others)
By the transitive property of audiophile betterness Rossini 2.x is better than Scarlatti.
I believe that you may be able to get auto synch using the USB input on the Upsampler by setting the latter to master mode. But by doing this you would not be using the external clock box at all. Sorry but like Anupc I am having to rely on a distant memory, in my case of the Paganini which, sans Transport, was pretty much electrically identical to the Scarlatti at least in terms of processing.
As you would be buying the clock anyway, why would you want to use the USB input on the Upsampler in preference to the one on the Clock when the latter is superior?
If the history of Scarlatti hardware is similar to that of Paganini ( which I think it broadly is) then the first production version of Scarlatti would have had only a single USB input which was on the Upsampler. The USB input was improved upon later and the requirements meant placing it at the Clock. That is why there are two USB inputs.
. dCS docs typically cover all use-case scenarios pretty well.