The Sound of ...?
Contents
So how can you describe the sound of a clock? Well … that’s surprisingly easy. After all, it’s not a subtle difference that this Mutec REF10 Nano makes.
Air!
First, we hear the stereo image take a step in width, depth and height. Clearly audibly, a good deal of air is added. Ambiance. We can hear and feel much better where the recording took place. Connoisseurs will probably find it easier to distinguish Wisseloord Studios or Abbey Road, Air Studio’s, etc. Or the various concert halls. Your author especially hears the size of the room more easily because there is much more information about decay and for example harmonics.
Fortunately, the scale does not have the side effect of suddenly making the instruments much larger. Those remain neatly in proportion. Vocals are not suddenly larger than life. Something we are not very fond of at Alpha Audio. Things have to be right.
Flow!
A second thing that immediately stands out is the flow with which everything is presented. Now the Mutec is not a bad DD converter/reclocker. However, anyone who has heard the Mutec MC3 with REF10 Nano (or the other two, more luxurious models) cannot really go back (you have been warned). The whole thing is given – again, clearly audible – more flow and suppleness. This is no doubt due to the extreme peak-to-peak precision of this clock (see measurements).
Insight and tranquility
A pleasant side effect of the flow is the quietness we hear. The highs are much, much softer and free of grain. This makes longer listening a pleasant affair because there is no listening fatigue. (Gee, where have we written that before?).
The calmness also brings back microdetail and insight. Following multiple layers takes much less effort and therefore less energy. That, by the way, is a strength that the better hi-fi has, and not just this clock. Try such a comparison yourself: an entry-level amplifier and a few series above it. You will find that a better system makes it much easier to follow the various layers in a song. You will also get much less tired in the long run. This is due to the lower distortion (on many levels) which means our brain doesn’t have to work as hard.
But before we dive into the psychoacoustics, we want to conclude by saying that this is definitely an upgrade you can consider if you want to improve the above. Looking for a “more analog sound” and own a device with a 10 MHz REF input? This is step one … really.
The Ali Express Clock
We don’t need to go into this very deeply. The clock from AliExpress not only measures worse – especially on phase noise – but also sounds downright annoying. It is “overly sharp” and very intrusive. So anyone who thinks, “I’ll just buy an audiophile 10 MHz OCXO online and put it in a box with a power supply!”…. Well… it is not that easy.
