Measurements and conclusion
Contents
We hooked up the Mutec MC1.2 to our Wavecrest. To the Aeroflex is not possible (yet), because the frequencies of the crystals are different. So we have no reference. However, that doesn’t really matter now: the Wavecrest is accurate enough to do a decent jitter measurement.
We compare the internal power supply of the MC1.2+ and measure again with an external power supply. Purely to see what it does.
It’s a little crazy. The jitter decreases when we use an external power supply. However, relative to the internal power supply, the low-frequency noise increases when using the Sbooster. With an external switchmode power supply that we also grabbed, the noise is lower than with the internal power supply. Now we’ve noticed the same with Sboosters on switches: it doesn’t really get any better…. The Sbooster is a nice power supply, but not for switches or in this case; the Mutec. It seems like the Sbooster is not fast enough.
Fact is: the internal power supply is not bad, but a good external power supply makes things audibly and measurably better. At around 50ps with the internal, the MC1.2+ is no wonder in terms of jitter, but it’s not bad either. With a good power supply that can be pushed down to 40ps, we estimate. Still, that’s a significant improvement. Especially if the “noise” also drops and stability increases.