Well I finally managed to get to hear the revised Zen Electro CD clock upgrade board and all I can say is wow.
Having heard the previous incarnation I had my appetite wetted and lusted after a replacement for my fairly basic setup. Patience has it's rewards. The new version kicks in the teeth any ideas that digital sounds artificial, gone is all edge and hardness and in its place is beautiful flowing music which can now finally go head to head with expensive turntable setups with high price step-ups and MC cartridges. Think this is an overstatement, well I challenge you to try for yourself; I can see a new elite bunch of folk who are
not prepared to cough up the 5 to 10k for a flash external box re-clocker but who will
part with the cash for a Zen electro clock. Of course some sacrifices are required to reach this level including a hefty 12 v battery and some Dueland pwr supply bypass caps but it's small change for the improvements wrought. 16 bit digital has never sounded so natural, so large and so real to my ears and I have heard some very expensive setups which pail into insignificance against the KDAC and Zen clock combo.
System clock was used in: Marantz CD94, KDAC, passive alps blue, custom EL34 amp, Lm1 refs.
The overall impression is the increase in natural flow to the music, the rhythm, pace, heft (read dynamic weight) and finesse. It goes beyond bravura and digs deeper into the musical cupboard to reveal new shades of deep rich sound.
Are there any downsides to the Zen implementation, well compared to the Triclock 3 you do not get the same razor spotlight instrument placement within the sound stage but this pales in comparison to the organic flow and natural timing which makes the T3 sound somewhat artificial in comparison.
So what will this all cost, well if you can use a soldering iron reasonably well then factor in less than around 500 dollars for the Zen Clock board, 2 Dueland caps and a 12 volt battery of at least 20AH and the charger if you don’t already own a car battery charging unit. In audio terms this is a relatively speaking, a bargain as you can blow this on a single cap and get less of an important change / improvement.
I suggest people on this forum who have not succumbed to the audio death by squeeze box and still have the enthusiasm to get off their backsides to change silver discs make a bee line for Zen Electros door and shout and rant to get him to start the production line.
V