Femto clocks

I'm considering several DAPs that have upgrade options to Femto clocks (Aune M2, Soundaware M1). Is there consensus on whether femto clocks make an (audible) difference?

 

I thought this topic would be right in SBAF's wheelhouse: a chance to poo poo audio fairy dust (or not?).

 

I prefer Vimto Clocks




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When I was a child, British pubs were strict about age limits; pubs were for adults only. My parents would go for a drink, leaving me sitting in the car. From time to time, they would bring me Vimto, or Ginger Beer, to drink, along with Smith's Potato crisps (with the salt in a little twist of blue paper). I used to listen to drama, comedy or music on the car radio. I don't know why I thought it was such a treat to do this in a car park, rather than at home, but I did. Looking back on it now, after more than fifty years, Hmmm... Yes! I can say that the radio sounded better when I was drinking Vimto!

 

I can't actually find solid proff that the clocks used in the Aune are "femto clocks", so I'm personally skeptical. I can't find actual jitter numbers anywhere. Just buy something that makes reasonable sense, financially speaking, and sell it if you don't like it. Worry about Fenton clocks when we have 32/384 music with actual 28 bits of information.

 

I have heard very extensively the Soundaware esther M1 (both the analog and vitality versions). I own the M1pro (the analog version with femto clocks), and the M1pro studio edition (vitality with femto clocks, its not on sale anywhere yet though), and I can tell you, that the difference is not small. Mind you, I'm not saying that femto clocks in general will make a huge difference. But the difference between the the versions with and without the femto clocks, in this specific situation, was clearly audible within a few seconds.

Take the M1pro for example. The analog is very closed in, overly thick and smooth sounding. The vitality is much better detailed, albeit a tad unnatural, but very fun to listen to no doubt. it is also more open and transparent sounding, and more linear.

The M1 pro brought the tonality somewhere in between the vitality and the analog models, still warm and smooth but with a much opened up soundstage and resolution on par with the vitality version.

I know it doesn't sound like it might be possible, but if you ever get a chance to do a comparison, you'll understand what I'm saying. I was very skeptical at first too, but I heard a big difference regardless.

 

Interesting impressions, but we'd really need to know more about the models in question, and what other differences between them are before making a call about the clocks. For example, what if there are incrementally better power supplies, then the difference you heard might be a result of a quieter noise floor. Less noise in the air range seems to result in better staging and imaging, especially when you get to the point you can hear the room, not just the instruments.

 

Wonder how many femto clocks meet spec? I remember when some dac chip makers used to measure and grade chips. If a mass produced chip can vary wouldn't it also hold that a mass produced crystal might also vary. I remember one bridge producer saying he could buy reels of oscillators and measure them and throw out many because they were not at spec. Maybe one manufacturers hand picked not femto clock could outperform a random femto clock. And would it matter what type of circuit they built around it to keep it stable? I think in the end it again might be about implementation.

 

@bixby - That was something I thought about when I looked up the specs on some of the femto clocks. They didn't seem to post numbers about stability or operating conditions. Of course, binning greatly increases the price of any product.

 

I actually did think about that too, whether or not there were other differences, and I was not quite willing to believe that the femtos were the only cause of the difference, but the chief designer told me that that was in fact the case, and that was the reason why he could get the M1pro studio edition beta unit out to me in just 2 weeks, because the circuit board is exactly the same as the vitality's. In fact, the labelling of the new chassis backplate was the one that took most of the time

 

Okay, I can buy that. What's the DAC chip in this thing?

 

I wouldn't be so concerned with whether the femto is the one making the difference. What matters is that the M1pro is a big improvement over the M1, and thats enough for me