9
Clock Interface
After years of experimenting with inputting and outputting clocks we now strongly recommend not doing this. A low jitter clock must be
physically close to the DACs. There is no lower jitter clock than the MSB clocks, and even if there were, once the clock was transmitted
from an external box so much jitter would be introduced in the cable that the clock would be marginal at best. So we are confident that
no benefit would be gained from an external clock.
A different set of problems exist with outputting clocks. A paradox is created as a source needs a clock to transmit data, but when the
DAC sees the data, which can be at any sample rate, it adjusts the clock to match. Most sources cannot handle its clock adjusted on
the fly. The MSB Transports can handle this as the PRO I2S interface is smart and negotiates the proper clock to be sent back to the
transport. But as new sources have this ability, and you need to access this
clock, it can be done.
The MSB CLOCK ADAPTER allows the DACs master clock to be output.
The BNC output is a LVDS level 512x master clock output that can be used
to keep a server in sync. This is a great upgrade and has already been ap-
proved by Aurender.
Clock Frequencies -
The clock output frequencies are as follows:
· 44.1, 88.2 or 176.4 kHz sampling frequency source outputs a clock frequency
of 22.5792 MHz
· 48, 96 or 192 kHz sampling frequency source outputs a clock frequency of
24.576 MHz.
The Clock adapter allows the DAC clock to be
sent to your server or transport so the system
stays in sync.
Windows OS - USB Setup
The amazing thing about the MSB USB 2 input with Windows is that
once you get it set up it works completely and absolutely perfectly,
with every file playing bit-perfect at its native sample rate up to 384
kHz with no user intervention. Just pick the song and play. The rest is
automatic and works perfectly. This is a first for any Windows machine
I have seen and a dream come true. The bad is that MSB drivers will
have to be installed, and your music must be played with a properly set
up player program like Foobar. Its a small price to pay for perfection,
and MSB will help walk you through the process.
First, install the supplied MSB drivers from the included USB 2 drivers
CD or from our website. So with a PC, there are two possible play
modes. The “advanced speaker properties” window lets you set up
Windows output sample rates up to 192k as shown to the right. Any
audio played by an audio program would be output at this sample rate.
Specialty programs like Foobar can be modified with a plug-in, like
ASIO (http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio)
which allows Foobar to interact directly with the MSB DAC to play
every music file at its native sample rate bit-perfect. Foobar over-rides
all windows settings and is quite amazing.