Rossini DAC/Clock config experience and preferences, please
- Thread starter Parsons
- Start date
I haven't tried still points, but I have tried other feet and ultimately preferred a good audio rack. You'll hear the feet, hard to say whether everything is better or not, I'd say this is very system and listener dependent. I don't think there is a definite answer to your question....
I really like the stock ones, they're super high quality for being the "free ones"...
Hi Parsons and all in this thread. I will be receiving my Rossini Next week. Has anyone listened to the Rossini with and without the Clock? I can afford the clock, but the dealer said the difference wasn't huge. I'm interested in peoples listening experience. Also are there any clocks that work better with the Rossini than the matching DCS unit?
Given your system, you'll hear the benefits of a dCS clock. I'd stick with dCS. I suspect if you're streaming or your digital sources can't be clocked (like your i7/SSD) this could be why your dealer is saying what he's saying. I haven't heard your combo, but in my Vivaldi stack it was amazing how much better a Vivaldi Clock sounded that a Scarlatti Clock on all sources. Clocking in important. Better focus, un-ravels the notes better, resolution. Again all easily heard with your Nagra/Wilson combo.
In the past I had a Puccini with a U Clock, tha I moved to scarlatti clock, important improvement. Than I changed to Rossini, whaouw, it was listening music into another world. Sincèrement 4days I moved to the vivaldi clock, and it sounds far better than my previous combo Scarlatti +10 MHz cybershaft op21.
so you can see, improvement of the clock is very important. Today I will couple the vivaldi clock and thé cybershaft, and .... for sure it wil bring me in Heaven..
so you can see, improvement of the clock is very important. Today I will couple the vivaldi clock and thé cybershaft, and .... for sure it wil bring me in Heaven..
Are you still using the Alpha clock cables? My local dealer recommended some $4k cables and that’s nuts for a $7.5k clock. Currently using the dCS forum favorite cables and have tried any audiophile cables yet. Personally the clock hasn’t added much to my system yet. Maybe better clock cables will help?
Clock cables will help. But not change it from bad to great. What is the rest of your system? I am curious how it's configured and maybe something isn't set right? Accidentally plugged a BNC cable into wrong place? Also, can try removing it after listening for a few days, you may notice your missing something all of a sudden. With my clock, things are better organized, better positioned in space, notice a bit more resolution and music seems to be unraveled better. It's one of those things that isn't spot lit, but once it's gone it's missed.
Also, on the clock it's important for it to be powered up for a few days and never to be turned off (standby is ok). It takes a bit to come up to temp and perform at it's best.
My current system isn’t revealing enough to tell a difference. I assume... Good thing is I just bought new A5s, a super integrated amp, and a HRS rack to replace my current system. My current speakers aren’t properly set up and my listening position is about four feet too far away. My entire system was just lazily thrown together. Even so the clock is the first upgrade I’ve ever added that I can’t tell if it is positive or negative. I’ve had it over a month and it’s been powered up 99% of that time.
It’s frustrating because dCS could easily include appropriate clock cables with the clock. They should make clock cables to sell because their whole “master clock important” thing really requires the cables don’t get in the way. Certainly they have cables they use to test/design their clocks why don’t they share that info with customers?
After factoring in power cable, bnc cables, rack, and isolation the clock adds about $18k cost to my system or approximately 10%. Not sure I’d have purchased it if I knew this at the time.
To be fair... my 16 year old can always hear the difference the clock makes and she prefers the clock vs no clock. It’s possible my hearing isn’t sensitive enough to detect the change. But... I can hear subtle differences between different interconnects and power cords.
What is most important for the clock? Bnc, power, isolation or ???
Strange your 16 yr old can hear it and you can detect other changes like cords and interconnects. The stock dCS clock cables I got were good, just there was better and best. The Cardas clock cables are relatively cheap and very good. As far as more important, I think all of those items, cables, isolation all help. I might rank the clock cable first, power cord 2nd, isolation 3rd, but it's an opinion vs statement of fact.
I would invest in a good speaker set up person on the speakers (you may be getting new speakers if I read another thread correctly). The thing about other changes it's usually around tonality or resolution. The clock is about precision in time and space...so maybe speaker setup could be a factor in your reaction. Again, a guess vs a statement of fact.
Can your dCS dealer help with speaker setup? Curious where you live....
The Magico dealer is installing my new A5s in two weeks. I can “kinda” sense some more of that precision in space time. With my different power cables running from free to $1,200 I can hear real differences that I can easily describe. Now I can’t say which one is “better” between the two best power cables I own but they are subtly different. My brain probably isn’t trained to detect the types of changes the clock makes.
My daughter is a grade 8 violinist playing in three orchestras. I think she has really good ears because she can describe subtle differences among the various filter settings on the Rossini. Unfortunately all the filters sound exactly the same to me.
My dealer recommended Transparent Reference bnc and dCS supposedly uses the Transparent XL internally. Also recommended Reference power cord. Shunyata recommends inexpensive power cord for clocks. Oh... if you read the manual dCS kinda says the included bnc cables aren’t meant to be used but are included because they have to include something.
I’m putting it on a S3 base with nimbus and damping plate with Transparent Reference power and Shunyata Alpha bnc cables. Not doing any of that until after the new speakers are setup properly. Might wait until after I get my Humboldt installed to buy the new cables.
I had them under my Bartok but not under the Rossini. Mine are only the Ultra SS and the bigger ones might work better. I preferred the Bartok without stillpoints mostly because they need to be reset every couple of months and that’s too much hassl.
I was unsure of how much clock cables could affect my system, but I had the opportunity to audition the AudioQuest WEL Signature clock cables, and the difference they made compared to my previous Cardas Clear clock cables was not minor.
As pricy as they were, it's an upgrade I've never regretted.
As pricy as they were, it's an upgrade I've never regretted.
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