Home Computer Audio Asylum

Music servers and other computer based digital audio technologies.

RE: Absolute Sound on Auralic Vega PLL

"'Another signature feature of the Vega is its Femto Master Clock, which yields a spectacularly low 0.082 picoseconds (or 82 femtoseconds) of jitter—a figure few DACs at any price can match."


TAS is forwarding marketing BS. Quoting chip specifications and implying that these are realized in actual product performance is at best skating close to the line.

" It supports the suggestion, that it is the ESS master clock lock range that is at play with lock on issues with MAC computers running some player software."

There may be serious problems with the Vega's's design, but no blame can rest on ESS. The SABRE chip will lock onto any sample rate up to a maximum limit, there is no need for any accuracy at the source. If the DAC designer chooses to disable this feature then he is on his own and must keep all of his clocks synchronized, provide his own PLL, etc...

In any event, it makes no sense to have a PLL related to the audio sample rate, let alone a "lock range" on an async USB input. A correct implementation of the async USB protocol takes care of all of the related timing issues. (The implementation at both the computer and the DAC has to be correct. There are specifications. This is not magic, except to BS marketing people and non-technical magazine writers.) The whole point of the async USB protocol is to eliminate the need for PLLs and the associated variable frequency oscillators.



Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Schiit Audio  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.