Is there any value in using 75 ohm terminators on open clock BNC connectors?
1 Like
Head over to the Naim forum and search for Chord GroundARAY. Plenty of reading to keep you entertained.
Curious to see if @Phil cares to comment on that one (considering he is ex Naim)
Best
Gregg
1 Like
Sorry Gregg. Guess I wasn’t very clear. Interested in dCS Vivaldi Clock open BNC connections. As dCS doesn’t provide any terminators or even mention using these at all in the documentation, it may not be an issue. However, some would argue that protecting these from stray signals of any kind may be a good idea.
Not interested in other products.
Absolutely not … for I understand down that path there be dragons and once their heat is applied I am VERY bacon-like. 
Phil
2 Likes
@stevebythebay
The Chord product is new and somewhat addresses what you may be referring to. Their claim is, in addition to blocking stray signals, to help with grounding.
Best
Gregg
1 Like
Steve, Gregg’s suggestion was I think directly on point to your question. See here. I have always terminated my open clock sockets with something like this [after Cybershaft supplied some extras with my first reference clock], because I like the clean look. I have not experienced any SQ change as a result either way. But the GroundARAY might actually do something.
1 Like
Got it. Interesting. Seems like more of a candidate for a try and buy. I don’t believe there are many dealers for these who offer test kits. But I may be wrong.
1 Like
Let us know if you find an easy source. Their size might be problematic for me, not sure.
1 Like
Hi Steve,
I believe that the answer to the question you are asking is having unloaded outputs on the back of a Vivaldi clock doesn’t change the functionality or operation of the Vivaldi Clock so you don’t have to terminate unused outputs from a performance perspective …
Is that what you were wanting to know? If not let me know and I’ll try to help…
I think that Greg was on point for me. It’s really whether RFI or anything will have the potential to influence the behavior of the clock. Based on both his experience and what you’ve stated, it would seem to simply leave these open BNC connections alone, as I’m inclined not to touch others on my dCS Vivaldi DAC and Upsampler. Same for RCA, USB, optical, whatever.
Unless, I suppose, if using, say an RCA connection for signal grounding, for wiring to an Entreq or the aforementioned Chord GroundARAY.
Hi, I have also speculated about the merits capping the unused clock connections.
Recently I trialed different types of grounding systems (Entreq, CAD, Chord Array and Coherent Systems) and can report they all make a significant difference to the sound of my set-up which comprises a Rossini DAC and Clock. The Chord arrays are very potent noise reducers and will yield a very obvious difference when plugged in. The grounding boxes (Entreq, CAD and CS) are more subtle and sweeter all share the same major benefit over the Chord arrays - musical coherency by linkage of the signal grounds.
I found that connecting my clock, DAC and pre-amp to the same grounding box provides a really big upgrade. In the case of the Clock connecting the unused output to the grounding box resulted in a large increase in perceived depth (just like adding a decent clock cable versus the stock one). Connecting the DAC (analog out) resulted in more detail and better bass. Connecting the pre-amp improved coherency and depth to an even greater degree than the clock. Normally magazine reviews of this type hardware focus on noise reduction (and this can be easily heard) but the real value (IMO) comes from connecting the signal ground as this yields significant improvements in coherency (realism) and depth. After a short while you can switch back to the non grounded solution and the sound ‘appears’ to collapse by comparison. Grounding solutions are well worth trying. I ended up buying a Coherent Systems solution (many connection points) and augmenting with a very potent Chord Array USB on my server which I preferred to keep separated from the DAC grounding circuit. However all of the grounding systems have their virtues are are worth a try in my view. You will be suprised how much of a difference the wire you use to connect to ground can have on the sound of your system. I speculate that differing efficiencies of each grounding solution leaves a minor signature on the sound. All solutions appear to improve the sound but in different ways so it is worth trying to find a signature that fits your system (PS: Have not tried the Nordost Qkore system).
2 Likes