Quick buyer survey: 10 MHz master clocks & ultra-low-noise DC PSUs (2 min)

[Arno-G]

Hello,

I’m working on a high-end Hi-Fi hardware project (France/EU sourcing), initially focused on 10 MHz master clocks and ultra-low-noise DC power supplies.
Before committing, I want to validate real buyer interest and motivations through a short survey.

Survey link

This is not a sales pitch: nothing is for sale and this isn’t spam. I’m trying to determine market reality, which configurations actually benefit (or don’t), and what makes a new brand credible.

Attachments (page context):

• Attachment #1 (Clocks): 1-page spec snapshot (tiers, guaranteed phase-noise targets at BNC, main features/options like WC & upgrade path).
• Attachment #2 (PSUs): 1-page spec snapshot (outputs/modules, voltage selection approach, upgrade paths, measurement/certificate intent).
  
  These are not final validated datasheets but an overwiew of the goals

Thanks a lot for your help,
Arnaud

 

[RandomEar]

What target group are these devices aimed at? Because every consumer device (like a DAC) I have seen comes with an internal clock and either has the PSU integrated, comes with an external one or is USB powered. That might be different for the professional market, though - that's why I'm asking.

 

[staticV3]

Hi @Arno-G! Welcome to ASR.

No offense, but I think you're in the wrong forum if you want to sell clocks and power supplies to a clientele with such deep pockets:



Not least because the usefulness of Hifi tweaks like clocks and PSUs has long been thoroughly debunked, by many smart people including our forum host @amirm.

 

[Arno-G]

90% of audio products are now coming from China. It's a shame for EU & US that have grown this kind of products and this business.
I''d like to start up a new kind of HiFi brand based on D2C to avoid 30 to 40% taken by resellers and offer what the best West engineering can offer.
It may can be a dream that customers would consider the origin of product and the economic impact before its economical interest.

But every business begin with a dream.

Don't forget, when you're buying a low cost chines product, you're destroying employment in your own country. Our purchases are our jobs. Chose your poison !!!

 

[LTig]

Don't forget, when you're buying a low cost chines product, you're destroying employment in your own country. Our purchases are our jobs. Chose your poison !!!

That's not the point. I don't buy products which have no audible improvement, especially not those claiming this while knowing (I'm an EE) that it's snake oil.

 

[LTig]

90% of audio products are now coming from China. It's a shame for EU & US that have grown this kind of products and this business.
I''d like to start up a new kind of HiFi brand based on D2C to avoid 30 to 40% taken by resellers and offer what the best West engineering can offer.
It may can be a dream that customers would consider the origin of product and the economic impact before its economical interest.

This is a good quest but you should not sell high priced electronics with exceptional specs which have no audible improvement. Here we call it snake oil.

I do own high priced equipment by western companies (RME, Classé) which is much better than my hearing but I bought it for its specs and features, not for its sound quality.

 

[kyuu]

Don't forget, when you're buying a low cost chines product, you're destroying employment in your own country. Our purchases are our jobs. Chose your poison !!!

Great. Make useful products that are equivalent or better for a reasonable cost. I won't be guilted into buying useless audiophilia at extravagant prices.

 

[Arno-G]

Up
I woulds appreciate more answers from this community.
have a nice day

 

[pkane]

Up
I woulds appreciate more answers from this community.
have a nice day

An external clock isn't useful in a home environment, especially an expensive one. It's good for synchronizing devices in a studio, or possibly in a measurement lab. There's no benefit to using a high-grade external clock at home, since it doesn't do anything to improve sound quality. Some may think it does, but in most cases an internal clock in a DAC has a big advantage over anything external: less circuitry, fewer signal conversions, fewer power supplies, much shorter connections, no extra cables, and a much lower cost. So, why bother?

 

[RandomEar]

Up
I woulds appreciate more answers from this community.
have a nice day

Your target market appears to be solvent audiophiles who believe in rather obscure improvements to sound from switching clocks and PSUs, which provably don't exist. This forum is mostly visited by people who rely on objective data to judge, classify or improve audio equipment. A vast majority of them will be extremely sceptical of your ideas to improve already transparent audio devices with expensive clocks or PSUs.

-> Most members of this forum are not in your target market.

 

[Philbo King]

I hesitate to rain on your parade, but the market for home consumer users would be miniscule for reasons listed in posts above.

I worked in R&D for a decade or so designing state of the art clock generators for aerospace and military applications, and the cost of entry is pretty high. And the specific design techniques in this field are neither well known nor readily accessible to the public.

The phase noise analyser I used (Keysight E5054B) runs about $1K/month to rent, and well above $120k to buy. It is pretty much the industry standard for clock phase noise & jitter measurement. Rhode & Schwartz also has gear that will do it, but is far less intuitive to use.

Lease cost: https://www.testunlimited.com/Product/Keysight/E5504B/4893

A more lucrative market might be in 10MHz clock generators for lab test & measurement, but be aware that there are lab GPS receivers that generate 10M clocks with atomic clock accuracy, far more accurate (e.g., lower phase noise) than is achievable with stand-alone circuitry such as TCXOs and similar.

 

[Dan Lavry]

I hesitate to rain on your parade, but the market for home consumer users would be miniscule for reasons listed in posts above.

I worked in R&D for a decade or so designing state of the art clock generators for aerospace and military applications, and the cost of entry is pretty high. And the specific design techniques in this field are neither well known nor readily accessible to the public.

The phase noise analyser I used (Keysight E5054B) runs about $1K/month to rent, and well above $120k to buy. It is pretty much the industry standard for clock phase noise & jitter measurement. Rhode & Schwartz also has gear that will do it, but is far less intuitive to use.

Lease cost: https://www.testunlimited.com/Product/Keysight/E5504B/4893

A more lucrative market might be in 10MHz clock generators for lab test & measurement, but be aware that there are lab GPS receivers that generate 10M clocks with atomic clock accuracy, far more accurate (e.g., lower phase noise) than is achievable with stand-alone circuitry such as TCXOs and similar.

The Keysite 53230A offers 20ps (pico second) single shot measurements. It picks upto a million individual cycles, it displays time, min, max, standard deviation histograms... I think I paid around $6000 around 10 years ago...