I am dubious as well…about the opinion of the reviewing “expert”, that is; not the value of a quality femto-grade clock.
See here, for example:
According to Wyred 4 Sound:
“Implementation of this component optimizes audio quality by lowering phase jitter by over 80% as well as greatly reducing phase noise in the digital circuit.”
I am no expert but this seems legitimately important to me. My understanding is “jitter matters”.
Curious what others think…I am eager to understand this subject matter a bit better. Maybe its a matter of where the clock is placed in/serves the digital signal path?
[@tedsmith: If you have the time and inclination, your input would be appreciated.]
The question for me as well, not being an expert and all, was if using a better clock was germane if the streamer was intended to feed an external DAC. For, not being an expert and all, maybe the clock only affects the operation of the build in DAC. After looking in their info blurb online, Aurender makes a point talking about its dual femto clocks with their Aries series which do not have a built in DAC. That clarifies it to me. I made the point of registering and posting on their forum because a guy posted that he was told that the Master Edition only had a sonic advantage while using its own DAC. It seems evident to me that that should not be the case.
I’ve spent some time today trying to make some sense of the whole femto clock rabbit hole. To say there are many opinions is an understatement. I’ve got to admit that there are many who question its economic sense. A few arguments against are-
The clock in the DAC is where you may want to put the money not in the streamer.
This is particularly true if using USB.
The implementation of the clock is at least as important as the speed of the clock itself and how can you know how well that is done.
I don’t think anyone is saying the spending more for a femto clock could result in sound that is worse though I don’t know that for sure. I’m leaning towards concluding that the main concern is that funds might be better spent in other areas, like the clock in the DAC itself, but the possibility exists that there could be some improvement if implemented well. So, my take just might be that spending more for the Master Edition may or may not result in better sound quality but should not sound worse. If someone with more knowledge in these matters could chime in I sure would appreciate more insight. As I keep saying, I’m no expert.
Not sure if anyone knows yet… does anyone know if I can just hook a usb hub input as I have 4 external drives? Does it only have a usb type c connection for this? I have 20TB.
I don’t foresee any issues there Timm. The design and feature set of this thing suggest a weakness in that area is very unlikely. I’ll know for sure in three days. I love that soon you’ll be able to use a 4TB M2 drive in the secret cavern. M2, noice!
I can’t wait for them to release a high end device. Say, $12K worth.
I’d expect a decent laser light show to spew from the top.
I wrote Steve Huff suggesting he run a comparison on his channel. Failing this it’s going to take someone to buy both versions and do their own comparison. Not me. This early it comes down just making a choice and living with it. Buy the Master Edition and hope for the best or buy the standard version and apply the savings towards a better power or USB cable. Arguments can be made both ways.
If DMP-A6 is very close to Euphony Summus 2 in SQ then it will not be in my upgrade list. I am happy with the Summus2, but my upgrade bug has infected me lately.
My LHY SW-10 network switch has a fiber optic output. So, it looks more and more my next logical streamer should be a Lumin U2. Because it has the fiber optic input, plus a optimized USB input. It just seems to make too much sense, and being an audiophile that may be a problem.
It’s interesting how the Alpha Audio NET guys seemed to like a bog standard Netgear GS-108E arguably a bit better than the LHY SW-8. Measurements showed it, even with its wall wart supply, to be quieter than the LHY.
It’d be interesting if you gave it a try. Order it from Amazon and you’ll probably have it tomorrow. Costs nothing by comparison. Send it back when you’re done… or perhaps keep it. Now that’d be something, wouldn’t it?
Costs nothing by comparison. Send it back when you’re done… or perhaps keep it. Now that’d be something, wouldn’t it? 
