Superclock 4 is an ultra-low jitter master clock for CD,
SACD, DVD or Blu-ray player in addition to certain DAC processors, digital
network players and computer sound cards. It can be easily installed in to any
digital product using a master clock or system clock oscillator to remove
jitter and noise and provide drastic improvements.
In its
4th generation the Superclock has benefited from years of research & design
to continually raise the bar. To put this in to perspective the original
Audiocom “Superclock” is still superior to the manufacturer’s clocks used by
modern CD/DVD players. Now move several generations on and you will start to
appreciate the progress that Superclock 4 has made.
Dan
Wright, President, ModWright Instruments Inc (MWI) comments on Superclock 4;
“The SC4 is STUNNING!”
"When installed after all of our modifications, the Superclock 4
with dedicated power supply produces a significant improvement in all areas.
Bass response, detail, resolution, pace, timing and separation of notes
are astounding. There is a palpability and natural ease to the music that
is not present without the Superclock 4 installed. This is a significant
upgrade!"
Product Features:-
·
Voltage reference
An
important factor when designing a high performance clock is voltage reference
noise. Low frequency jitter is the worst and most audible of all and the noise
floor should remain ultra-low down even to well under Sub One Hertz. The problem is that noise of
voltage references below 10 Hz rises steeply, the band of noise which we need
to be lowest of all.
We
studied a group of voltage references to find the lowest 0.1 – 10 Hz noise, the
MAX6126 was found to have ultra-low noise at low frequencies (1.3µV @ 0.1 – 10
Hz), and ultra-low wideband noise (60nV). A further advantage of the MAX6126 is that it has a noise reduction pin
and with a 0.1µF capacitor wideband noise is reduced from 60nV to 35nV.
This
solution is far superior to using the low cost LM329 as used in other clocks;
the low frequency voltage reference noise of the MAX6126 is 20 times quieter
with 1.3µV @ 1 Hz compared to
25µV @ 1 Hz for LM329.
·
Oscillator
The
Superclock 4 uses a pure sine-wave oscillator which places the crystal at the
lowest impedance point in the circuit. This is a discrete, push-pull circuit
using over 30 precision parts including a pair of 5 GHz RF transistors, thin
film resistors and a quartz crystal which is precision AT cut type with high Q
factor. The output from the oscillator is converted to a square wave by a very
fast comparator before buffering and line termination.
·
Regulated Supplies
It is
widely accepted that separating digital and analogue power supplies improves
performance, and the Superclock 4 was designed to maximise on this concept. Two
independent regulators are employed for the analogue (oscillator) and digital
circuits. The separated, regulated supplies and ground paths the clocks
analogue and digital power supplies are isolated and cannot influence or
potentially corrupt each other.
·
PCB & Layout
High
speed clocks require an RF layout because we are dealing with high frequency
(MHz). The choice of a 4-layer PCB for Superclock 4 means we are able to
achieve the shortest power, signal & ground paths. The PCB is also entirely
Gold-plated to reduce resistance, skin effect, impedance.
Several
unique features are brought together in Superclock 4 which combined with its
unmatched sound quality make it world leader:-
■
Discrete, ultra-low phase noise oscillator.
■
MAX6126 world’s lowest noise voltage reference.
■
Two independent ultra-low noise, wideband discrete regulators (analogue &
digital supply)
