MUTEC from Berlin has started shipping its new MC-3+ Smart Clock USB. The MC-3+USB uniquely combines an audiophile USB interface with an audio re-clocker designed for the demands of high-end consumer audio. The MC-3+USB enables computer audio via USB, optimizes jitter-affected digital sources, improves any D/A converter, serves as a digital audio switching matrix, format converter, master clock and exports and converts native DSD signals from the computer.
MUTEC is a German manufacturer of professional A/V studio and consumer audio equipment from Berlin, highly recognized for its audio/video clock generators, clock distributors and format converters. Now MUTEC combined the best of its technology to create a complete solution for high-end digital audio.
For the first time, the new MC-3+USB combines MUTEC’s groundbreaking REVIVE Re-Clocking solution with a new USB interface optimized for highest fidelity consumer audio. This bi-directional, asynchronous interface acts as a USB isolator that transformer isolates the re-clocking circuit from noise interference caused by music servers and audio computers. In combination with the subsequent re-clocking process these measures yield a significant improvement in the audio quality of connected digital audio devices. As a result, the audio playback will be rendered with increased depth and width, more precise imaging, and with a more musical representation of the recorded space in all dimensions.
Stock consumer audio devices, laptops, and audio computers can now achieve a new level of quality that was previously only obtainable at a premium cost or by means of luxury cables. Furthermore, the MC-3+USB is a flexible, bi-directional format converter, including the USB path of the interface. In addition to ordinary PCM streams the interface is also capable of receiving native DSD and DoP streams and converting them to PCM audio in real-time. The PCM audio can be sent to a total of five audio formats at different selectable clock rates simultaneously. The MC-3+USB supports all rates possible up to high-speed USB as well as DSD/DoP streams up to DSD/DoP256.
The most significant features of the MC-3+USB however are its unmatched suppression of noise and its jitter-free audio performance, particularly when selecting the USB interface as the source. Using cutting-edge components, lowest-noise audio oscillators and power supply, as well as high-speed, IT-tech isolators, the USB interface is close to immune towards interferences from PCs, laptops or music servers. In this way, the MC-3+USB is capable of delivering a consistent, highest-grade audio performance regardless of the quality of the USB source.
MUTEC’s proprietary 1G-Clock technology, renowned among Hi-Fi aficionados, has been significantly optimized for the MC-3+USB. Utilizing the latest developments in circuit design, the jitter and noise performance has been drastically improved to achieve a new level of musicality in digital audio reproduction.
With its intuitive user interface and simple installation - and ready for future updates - the MUTEC MC-3+USB is available in black or clear aluminum face plate and will ideally complement any jitter-affected digital sources like CD transports, satellite radios, and streamers. Of course users will still need to add a good quality D/A converter able to lock to an external signal. Apart from the bi-directional USB2.0 interface, the MUTEC MC-3+USB features an AES3/11, S/P-DIF + AES3id, optical S/P-DIF and coaxial S/P-DIF inputs. It provides four BNC outputs for Word Clock (adjustable in pairs) and AES3/11, AES3id and S/P-DIF outputs on BNC connectors, plus standard S/P-DIF optical and coaxial outputs.
This means that, the MC-3+USB can be used for high-quality recording - useful for remastering - apart from improving computer audio sources and act as a digital audio switching matrix, format converter, and master clock in project studio and mastering suites, for instance, even though MUTEC offers some more sophisticated (and expensive) solutions for those purposes.
But even for home use, the MC-3+ Smart Clock USB by MUTEC expands the reproduction of digital audio signals, offering higher-quality results in listening rooms.
www.mutec-net.com
