Audio Show 2016 • Hot Product

Anybody who has played with dCS equipment knows just how big a contribution an external clock can make to the musical performance of a system. With Esoteric and Antelope Audio also offering external clock options, perhaps it’s no surprise that independent providers are starting to appear. V-Acoustics demonstrated a final prototype of the new (and as yet unpriced) MCLK-01 10MHz master clock to spectacular effect.

Hooked up to an Esoteric K-01x, the clock brought a sense of life, dynamics, crisp temporal accuracy and musical momentum to the proceedings -- qualities that disappeared as soon as it was removed from the system. What had been a vivid and expressive piano was seemingly reduced to a cardboard-cutout pianola -- a result impressive even by the standards of existing clocks.

Expected to cost roughly the same price as dCS’s Rossini clock, the V-Acoustics MCLK-01, with its compact and beautifully styled casework, looks to offer a substantial upgrade as well as a viable alternative to “house” solutions for players with 10MHz clock inputs.