I have a word clock with 2 outputs on 44.1khz and 176.4khz. I know both frequencies are acceptable of Rossini, just wonder which solution is better to the sound performance. Maybe I need to understand the mechanism first how Rossini is utilizing external word clock signal. If I can decide the frequency fed to Rossini, then another output will be fed to Esoteric transportation naturally to synchronize the clock signal.
Adam
Your post implies that you may be unfamiliar with how wordclocks work and the frequencies required. The Latter have to match the sampling rates of the file being replayed. These vary but are based upon either 44.1kHz or 48KkHz and multiples of them. 176.4kHz is simply a multiple of 44.1 ( 44.1 x 4 = 176.4). Are you certain that your clock does not offer 44.1 or 48kHz ( and/or multiples thereof)? If not then you will be unable to correctly play many types of file and I would judge the clock as not suitable for adding to Rossini.
I would add that the built in clock of Rossini is of high quality and a third party clock may actually be worse ( unless you have measurements to verify its performance).
May I suggest that you familiarise yourself with the relevant FAQs from dCS via this link:
https://dcsaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/sections/4815574248220-Clocking-FAQs
There should be no difference in sound quality between 44.1kHz and 176.4kHz, but feel free to test yourself. As Pete says, you will need a 48KHz clock if you want to play streamed files at that sample rate or multiples thereof. That will leave you with one free output you could use for a transport (that’s why the Rossini clock has three outputs) but I believe all Esoteric transports have reference clock inputs (10MHz) which are not compatible with word clock outputs.
I will add a further small but important point regarding the suitability of clocks used to synchronise both dCS units and Esoteric CD transports.
Wordclock inputs to dCS must be 75 ohm impedance or the clock signal will be distorted. This involves both the output of the clock device and the connecting BNC/BNC cable. Esoteric, however, normally requires a 50 ohm input instead.
Some ( not all) third party wordclocks are switchable from 50 to 75 ohm output but this will affect both i.e. you can’t have one output 50 ohm and the other 75 ohm. Having said this as Andrew say’s if the Esoteric clock input is for a reference clock this requires a 10mHz clock , not a wordclock.
Thanks for your reply, it’s really helpful to me.
My Esoteric transport is old model which is able to accept multiple word clocks and 10M master clock, including 44.1khz and 176.4khz.
Adam
Thank you so much for the key remind.
Fortunately my old model Esoteric transport is 75ohm impedance, and OXCO clock is the same. Anyway it’s very valuable information to every dCS owner and needs to be double-checked anytime.
Adam
Back when I had a Paganini DAC and transport, I experimented with some third party clocks (old Mutec and a Grimm). I think I preferred the 4x multiple at that time, but best to try it out for yourself.
Those same clocks on the Vivaldi were less impressive though, so Rossini probably needs a very high quality one. Please try your external clock vs running the transport from the DAC clock or vice versa.
Hi August, thanks for your reply
My clock is very low phase noise and it’s better than the internal clock of DAC per my audition. Although it has the multiple frequencies of 44.1khz only, it does work perfectly for the digital stream of CD transport.