I would start with Vivaldi DAC and Upsampler and call it a day without a clock
What’s your current setup?
Why no clock? When I added the clock to the Rossini Apex, it was a definite step forward.
Rossini Apex + Rossini Clock now
I have nothing against the clock - but I would never add a clock that costs more than the DAC! The DAC is the most important part.
Ok, I get it now.
Have you had any extended time listening with and without a clock? It’s rather eye-opening, or I should say ear-opening.
I was under the impression that there was very little difference in performance between the Vivaldi and Rossini clocks.
Am I wrong?
Yes, I have a clock and find the improvement rather good vs non-clock!
But again, I was just saying that a clock- that costs more than the DAC- wouldn’t be my first upgrade. I would rather go for a Vivaldi first vs Vivaldi Clock+ Rossini.
Gents,
This discussion is the very essence of what makes this community what it is. Thank you all for contributing with your experiences!
I can say without a doubt (as a dCS customer, which I still am - all my dCS products were purchased prior to my affiliation with the company) that every step up, whether DAC or clock, results in a demonstrable step up in SQ (see my ’sublimation’ description to understand why this is inexorably true) but the perceived magnitude is entirely subjective, so please keep contributing your experiences!
Happy New Year all!
PS This is the best online community I have ever participated in (25 yrs+) and that is all down to you. Thank you all for contributing!
I had a Bartok with a Vivaldi Clock before I sold the Bartok and got a Rossini. And that was with auditions at home. Make of that what you will, Lee.
Potential makings:
a) Ben is a twit
b) Ben loves his clocking
Edited to add a third option:
c) Ben is a twit who loves his clocking
Lee, if they have similar performance, look very similar aside from styling details but one costs more than double the other, why would anybody except a chump pay the extra? Or putting it another way, would dCS have a viable business plan offering effectively the same product for half the price?
Have a look at the interiors of the two. Quite a difference ( @Ermos posted some images a few years ago though I cannot find them in the archives but expect they are there somewhere).
BTW, neither the Rossini or Vivaldi wordclocks are actually “clocks” in a full sense. The internal clock in Rossini or Vivaldi DAC continues to be used with the external unit connected. What a wordclock does is provide a more stable reference for the DAC or other units’ clock by placing the crystal in a better supporting environment as well as sending this reference to connected units with suitable inputs.
Why are they called wordclocks? It is a truncation of their longer description, wordclock distributor.
Is the difference audible? Many report that this is the case.
Thanks Andrew. Helpful.
But not to my bank account.
Thanks Pete.
(c) !
But, seriously, I would add, having met Ben in person, twice, and shared some good times and some laughs…
(d) Ben is a good chap who is loco about clocking!
; )
I may soon be there with him…
I would also add that @T38.45 brings up a good question that I have also struggled with, given Rossini Apex (and no clock) as a starting point, either:
(a) Add Rossini clock to Rossini DAC
(b) Add Vivaldi clock to Rossini DAC
Or
(c) Sell Rossini Apex and buy Vivaldi APEX DAC and Vivaldi Upsampler, but no clock
Is obviously easier, logistically, to pursue (a) or (b), but it is a valid question for any Rossini owner seeking additional performance…
R
My path was a rather simple one. After nearly 25 years with a Purcell/Delius I finally upgraded to a Rossini and decided rapidly to upgrade it to an Apex. Having read that so many got substantial improvement from adding the clock, I began to look for a Rossini Clock. I found someone selling a mint lightly used Vivaldi clock for the same amount I would have paid for a new Rossini clock. Also, who said a Vivaldi clock costs more than a Rossini Apex? It doesn’t
While some seem to find it illogical to have a Vivaldi clock with a Rossini, I personally don’t. If I find a great pathway in the future to upgrade the Rossini Apex DAC to Vivaldi Apex, I might just do that…or not.
Or for significantly less of an expenditure, I might add a 10mHz reference clock, something I wouldn’t be able to do with a Rossini clock since it doesn’t have an external reference clock input.
Having looked at the design of the Vivaldi Clock relative to the Rossini Clock, it wouldn’t at all surprise me if there is an added performance benefit from the Vivaldi, but I personally have never compared them directly. Others who have seem to think so.
Here they are:
Thanks for the link Harry. Yes, Rossini and Vivaldi clock have very different works.
Slightly up from your link is a pic of the innards of the Rossini Clock: