Does clock influence sound?

[DNCAgain]

I have seen some "golden ears" giving advice on different clocks.
They are not professional musician and they only have one set of equipment .
In that case,will clock influence sound?
below is a picture of the advertisement of a digital player advertising about their clock

"Ultra-Low Phase Noise Femtosecond-level Master Clock"

I have doubts about that.

 

[DNCAgain]

By the way,as to the input of signals,what's the difference between a digital player and a mobile phone or laptop?

 

[NTK]

Here is Amir's jitter measurement result of a (relatively) cheap headphone dongle. Clock error (jitter) for audio DAC is a solved problem that doesn't require expensive solutions.

 

[DNCAgain]

Here is Amir's jitter measurement result of a (relatively) cheap headphone dongle. Clock error (jitter) for audio DAC is a solved problem that doesn't require expensive solutions.

Thanks!

 

[moleman]

Depends how loud the ticks are

 

[mhardy6647]

Until they get chronon-level resolution... hard pass.

Chronon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[morillon]

In the professional field, it's used for distributing a common clock.

But in our field, the question is amusing: Whether it has an effect or not isn't really a concern. It doesn't cost these brands much to make the effort to include this type of quartz movement, and it can't be considered negative.

But one thing is certain: it's become a "bankable technology", a bit like an OPA1612 among enthusiasts on the "ASR" forum, etc. So why not?
Put another way...

distributing precise, noise-free "clock" information throughout all the signal processing stages...
cannot be negative...
( ps in the AP you have many efforts with clocks ;-) )



;-)

 

[DNCAgain]

But it doesn't significantly affect the sound, or at least doesn't seem worth me paying the same price as I would for a speaker system, right?

In the professional field, it's used for distributing a common clock.

But in our field, the question is amusing: Whether it has an effect or not isn't really a concern. It doesn't cost these brands much to make the effort to include this type of quartz movement, and it can't be considered negative.

But one thing is certain: it's become a "bankable technology", a bit like an OPA1612 among enthusiasts on the "ASR" forum, etc. So why not?
Put another way...

distributing precise, noise-free "clock" information throughout all the signal processing stages...
cannot be negative...
( ps in the AP you have many efforts with clocks ;-) )



;-)

 

[SSS]

Right.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

In that case,will clock influence sound?

Only if something is broken.

In large complex digital studios with thousands of devices talking to eachother in real time, variations between device clocks can cause splats or synch errors. So a master clock is distributed throughput the site. Domestically it is unnecessary and will not impact sound (unless there's a fault).

 

[morillon]

The topic here isn't the word clock itself, but its internal use, even on affordable quartz-based machines like OCXO, etc. (although the quality varies considerably in reality). It's become a fairly standard effort, a democratization...

Etc

 

[DVDdoug]

Occasionally the clock in a "cheap consumer soundcard" can be off by enough to change the pitch & tempo (like playing a vinyl record analog tape at the wrong speed). It's rarely bad enough to be noticed by listeners but it can cause trouble for musicians trying to play in-tune.

But most crystal oscillators are accurate to 100-200 PPM, which is way more precise than you can tune an instrument.

If you have two separate devices recording a 2-hour concert, the timing can be off by a few beats by the end of the concert. Or if there is a separate video recorder, the audio & video can be noticeably out-of-synch.

Jitter (clock instability) virtually never causes audible issues unless it's artificially generated. So, I've never heard it myself, but "they say" it sounds like noise, so you don't really hear it as "jitter".

 

[Multicore]

Only if something is broken.

Which is why Amir tests it. Some designs are in effect broken in this part. It's not common but it happens.

But that doesn't mean it makes sense to seek devices with the cleanest jitter chart because there is no practical difference between inaudible and inaudible.

 

[egellings]

The Tice Clock will surely improve your sound, hey? And you don't have to install it. Just plug it into a wall outlet nearby and listen to the magic it brings to the sound.

 

[DNCAgain]

Occasionally the clock in a "cheap consumer soundcard" can be off by enough to change the pitch & tempo (like playing a vinyl record analog tape at the wrong speed). It's rarely bad enough to be noticed by listeners but it can cause trouble for musicians trying to play in-tune.

But most crystal oscillators are accurate to 100-200 PPM, which is way more precise than you can tune an instrument.

If you have two separate devices recording a 2-hour concert, the timing can be off by a few beats by the end of the concert. Or if there is a separate video recorder, the audio & video can be noticeably out-of-synch.

Jitter (clock instability) virtually never causes audible issues unless it's artificially generated. So, I've never heard it myself, but "they say" it sounds like noise, so you don't really hear it as "jitter".

That's clear enough.Thanks!

 

[Johnkeizer]

So the smsl 200t has a clock input and smsl can sell you one. Considering the tests of the transport were so good, would adding the clock do anything worthwhile?

 

[DVDdoug]

So the smsl 200t has a clock input and smsl can sell you one. Considering the tests of the transport were so good, would adding the clock do anything worthwhile?

of course not.

Unless you are doing audio production where more accurate timing (or exactly synchronizing multiple devices) may be important.

If you are just listening to a 2-hour concert it doesn't matter if you are a fraction of a second off by the end of the program. ...And the SMSL's built-in clock may be better than that.

There are no perfect clocks, but there some carefully calibrated temperature-stabilized clocks, and even atomic master clocks for studios.

 

[Johnkeizer]

But just picture this:
You are down at the pub with your mates and you just casually drop into the conversation that you have just installed an atomic master clock on your cd transport.
Who could beat that?

 

[Rick63]

But just picture this:
You are down at the pub with your mates and you just casually drop into the conversation that you have just installed an atomic master clock on your cd transport.
Who could beat that?

 

[MC_RME]

'His' graph starts near 0 Hz - look again. Also you refer to specific clock measurements (like in data sheets of crystals), while the one used here is a 'real-world result' measurement, showing the effect on the analog output (aka DA conversion) - the only thing that really matters. And this measurement shows zero nada nothing affecting the analog output signal that is jitter related...or would be audible.