dCS Vivaldi Master Clock

In a digital audio system, samples must be accurate in level and time but jitter, which exists in all digital systems, can result in timing errors in these samples, causing the analogue signal to be reconstructed inaccurately.

In a dCS system, the DAC can act as the system master clock, but listening tests have shown that there is no substitute for a dedicated high quality master clock. dCS pioneered the use of external clocks in digital audio systems and this clocking technology has been continually refined so that our latest multi-stage Phase-Locked-Loop (PLL) system sets world-beating standards for accuracy and control of troublesome jitter from the incoming audio stream.

All dCS Master Clocks are subjected to rigorous in-house testing. The crystal oscillators are pre-aged and selected for long term stability and then individually calibrated over a wide temperature range to ensure consistent optimal performance. Vivaldi Master Clock uses a sophisticated microcontroller system to ensure smooth correction as the temperature changes, and this approach gives a more stable result than either oven-controlled crystal oscillators or even atomic clocks.

All dCS master clocks are designed to generate industry-standard Word Clock on 75 ohm coaxial cable. Other manufacturers’ equipment that has been designed to accept standard Word Clock can be used with our clocks.

Vivaldi Master Clock may be slaved to an external reference (such as an atomic clock or GPS reference) if increased accuracy is desired. Our sophisticated multi-mode Phase-Locked-Loop (PLL) significantly reduces jitter from the reference source.

The dCS ‘soft’ approach to programmable logic allows the user to easily update Vivaldi Master Clock software, whether this is to add new features, improve performance or adapt to changes in digital formats.

Used as part of the Vivaldi digital audio playback system, Vivaldi Master Clock improves on an already spectacular sound and takes it into an entirely new domain. With a clock added to a dCS system, images snap into sharper focus and the music displays a substantially greater sense of authority and power, as well as offering noticeably superior resolution of detail.