"As the conductor of a "digital audio orchestra" at home, the REF 10 will inspire with unheard-of clarity, graceful dynamics, and pure music. It is the most flexible, most compatible 10 MHz clock on the market allowing customers to spend less time worrying about integration and leaving them with more hours to enjoy blissful playback," says the Berlin-based company, a renowned manufacturer of professional and high-end consumer audio equipment.
The REF 10 features a clean, intuitive user interface and ships with an integrated, high-quality international linear power supply. Engineered with eight galvanically isolated, individually switchable BNC clock outputs with 50 and 75 Ω impedance for maximum compatibility with clocks and DACs by other manufacturers, the REF 10 also features a sub-Hz optimized, low noise power supply for every circuit section and highly efficient power line filtering.
Due to its ultra-low noise characteristics and flexibility, the REF 10 can enhance the audio quality of compatible D/A converters (DACs) and re-clockers, music servers, and audio clocks to the highest possible level. According to MUTEC, it is a perfect match and ideal upgrade for MUTEC's 10 MHz ready products like the MC-3+ and MC-3+USB Smart Clocks. The eight simultaneous clock outputs at both 50 and 75 Ω impedance allow using the REF10 in combination with not just MUTEC products, but also 10 MHz compatible products by all other third-party manufacturers, such as Esoteric, dCS, or SOtM, for example.
"MUTEC's research has shown that the high clock stability of so-called "atomic clocks" based on a rubidium or cesium oscillator is limited to the long-term time domain. While this long-term stability may be useful for some telecommunications applications, it is essentially irrelevant for digital audio purposes. Instead, it's the short-term stability measured as jitter or phase-noise that really matters for high-end audio," says Christian Peters, MUTEC's CEO.
"Currently available digital converters, master clocks, and audio re-clockers perform acceptably when reproducing or processing digital audio. Even so, we felt that existing solutions fall short of delivering the full potential of audio productions. In our commitment to advancing the state of the art and science we set out to investigate the possibilities to further enhance the performance of digital audio systems. To do so, we recruited one of Germany’s most renowned RF engineers to join our R&D team. Together we developed a master clock generator with a technical performance beyond what we thought could be possible. The effects of the technical performance were then verified by a group of experienced audiophile beta testers to ensure that the high-end performance translates to best-in-class sound," he adds.
MUTEC also adds that its new Empyreal Class represents the company's commitment to high-end consumer audio in its most sophisticated form. Apart from exceptional sound performance these products feature a streamlined interface with fewer parameters and user-friendly operation.
www.mutec-net.com
