Master Clock for the SOtM SMS-200 Ultra Neo SE


Hi guys

I have the SOtM SMS-200 Ultra Neo SE in a rig with a very well treated digital signal. It sounds very nice, but it doesn't have a Master Clock input because I did not wanted to pay that aditional cost back then (now I kind of regret it as I have a Master Clock).

 

Has anyone of you tried this device with and without a Master Clock feeding it? Does it really make a noticeable difference? My experience has been that the further the device from the DAC, the less impact the Master Clock makes. The biggest impact is feeding the DAC. I have it also feeding a DDC before the DAC and the Uptone ER and I don't find a big difference, mostly on the ER.

 

​Please answer if you had a real listening experience. I don't want to start a technical debate. 

plga

@jjss49 

Thanks for posting the video. Hans nailed it. But man, he missed the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, he could have easily asked SOtM to send the switch with external master clock input :-) 

Well, at that time I did not have the master clock and the money.

 

Maybe I can ask Crux Audio to add it now. We'll see.

If you use Usb in asynchronous mode all that needs clocking is the dac since it slaves the server. On all other protocols except I2S clocking the server matters greatly since it embeds the accurate clock signal that the dac uses.

@antigrunge2 

Thanks for your post and clarification. I keep forgetting majority of folks still using USB or AES/SPDIF to connect their streamer and DAC. I have gone all Ethernet and couldn’t be any happier.