clocks....

Hi,
after listening to a couple of transports today i've decided that my squeezebox needs a kick up the arse so to speak. i'm going to investigate a psu tomorrow however the big difference will probably be a 'reclock' however finding the little bugger inside is a p.i.t.a.
casting my inexpert eye over the innards there are 2 possibilities both of a similar size and shape however they aren't little metal canisters as i would expect more chip shaped with 4 legs. one is marked with a 'G' looking logo and has the s/n AA3Z (possibly AA37) and 18.432M on it and the other has the same 'G' logo and AA41 4.800M on it. are these 'clocks' or am i way off base here?
cheers


julian.

 

Its a complete guess but they could be PLL clocks? Although the ones I've seen have more legs on. I don't know how you'd reclock a PLL anyway though. I'm not sure it would use a normal CD type oscillator to start with as its essentially a PC/router esque thing which wouldn't be running at cd clock frequencies as it has no transport etc. so I don't know that theres any chance of a reclock. As far as I can tell from a quick look its close to an ethernet router than a regular digital source you can clock and its probably streaming audio in that manor too rather than using cd type architecture.

 

surely though there is going to be something that is used to generate the 44.1khz clock for spdif output. not that i know much about these things.
cheers

julian.

 

A crystal oscillator doesn't have to be in a metal can. It can be in a normal DIP or surface mount package, as it's a silcon-based device just like the items "normally" found in these packages (Quartz is Silicon Dioxide, which is used as the insulator in most silicon chips).

18.432MHz is an integer multiple of 48kHz. To generate the word-clock you simply divide the clock. 18.432MHz is 384fs of 48kHz. It's also very close to an integer multiple of 44100..

The 4.8MHz clock is for the networking side of the squeezebox.

 

thanks isaac, i'll be looking into superclocking or ncoding (probably the latter if it's possible) my squeezebox in the future. thanks for all the help
cheers


julian.

 

Seen this Julian?
http://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10685

 

yeah, i'm considering one of those clock upgrades as the xo3 seems to do a good job and be pretty cheap however i want to do a back to back vs a roku to see if that has a better archetecture.
no rush as yet
cheers


julian

 

Isaac, might pick your brain on clock mods on thursday if thats ok with you? Ive fit one before to a meridian 206 DS and think it might work well with my copland but unsure which speed I need.

 

Which copland is it?

 

Which copland do you have? A 288 is 16.9344MHz from the trichord page but thats the only one listed

 

It is a 288, can't say I have a problem with the sound of it I just remember the clock 2 was good in the 206

 

You'll love it, get a clock and a psu (its worth the £50 unless you can build your own?). I'm not actually convinced that the clock 4 is worth the extra £100 over a clock 2 tbh but I've not heard them in the same player unfortunately. I've heard 4s in marantz machines, very good but I've heard similar performance leaps from 2's in pioneer stuff so I don't know. Depends on how awful the clocks were in the first place really, I suspect the pioneers wasn't too bad as its newer and sacd compatible but who knows. The marantz clocks are pretty poor really so maybe a 2 wouldn't have been as good. That doesn't help you, sorry
Go on, reclock it!

 

They do 2 psu's £50 and £175 never connected is it worth the difference? I have always been put off clocking the copland, firstly its a damn fine sounding player to start with and secondly I beleived it to have an accurate clock installed?

However a seperate psu driven clock is something else.

 

In a nut-shell most definately, I personally wouldn't rework a player without one, however you can use them for more than just clocks and too great effect too. Wm

 

Like what? One each for transport, dac, output amp and clock?

 

They're just voltage feeds, so yes, if you like. Not shure about transport tho as this has more current demand, don't know what they're rated to.
I wouldn't bother with the never connected. The PSU can be a fairly subtle difference you notice over time rather than the revelation the clock is so I don't really think spending £170 is justified personally, although I haven't heard the thing, just think the money could be better spent elsewhere.
One thing about the clocks though is they will sound unlistenable for 3 months or so. This means leaving the player on 24/7 (maybe you do that anyway?) for that long before it sounds musical again but its worth the wait.

Had a look around tinternet, according to hifi choice the precision clock was only introduced on the 289 which replaced the 288. Looking at the number of sites listing the clock frequency of the 288 when I typed in 'copland clock frequency' to google it looks as though the info is correct, and it doesn't look like your the first to reclock one.
http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/t.pl?f=tweaks&m=95506 He seems to like it. Also gives you some reasons to buy trichord . Trichord do seem to be excellent though, extremely quick to dispatch and very helpful- if you ask they'll probably have some instructions for your player they'll send to you which are worth having.

 

Depends on how far you wish to go, I'd definately fit a dual rail to the anaolgue stages, as well as the clock.
If you wish to get busy then, a seperate digital supply feed is also beneifical. and one to the servo drive too.
Unless you've heard these in action, then please don't make sweeping statements. They'll surprise you, I've fitted over 20 of these and they never fail to to make me smile. Wm

 

20 of what?

 

Never connected total reverse isolation power suppiles sorry I should have been more specific
Yes Do speak to Graham, he's a decent straight chap who's only too willing to advise on specific applications and uses. Wm

 

Have you compared them directly to the cheaper ones then? £170 is ALOT of money afterall