Black Lion Audio Micro Clock MK2 – Word Clock

Manufacturer’s Description:

When we launched the Micro Clock MKII, we had no idea how much demand and controversy it would generate. External clocking is certainly a hot potato. Some people claim that there is no basis for it, that it is a kind of modern “the emperor’s new clothes”. The reason is that the device being externally clocked simply filters the incoming clock signal through its phase-locked loop, eliminating any benefit from the higher-level clock. In addition, the simple process of taking the incoming signal and generating a new, in-phase signal adds some jitter.

The biggest problem with this theory is that we know nothing about the PLL filter in question; it is entirely hypothetical. Many PLLs in professional audio are designed to filter out unwanted signals outside the desired bandwidth, although some are configured to filter out unwanted harmonics that are within the frequency band of the signal. It’s incredibly rare to find one that can do both at the same time. In the case of the Micro Clock MKII, it outputs a high bandwidth signal rarely found in internal clocks. Whether an external word clock can improve the sound quality of a receiving device depends entirely on how the receiving device accepts an external word clock signal, and depends on the quality of the receiving device’s internal clock. It is best to do an A/B listening comparison to know if the external clock has a positive effect on the sound or not.

The Micro Clock MKII is simple and probably even boring looking to most. It is housed in a rugged 3 “x4” case that provides optimal RF shielding. It has no lights, no frequency display, and none of the usual visual appeal that might be the envy of your friends. But for a modest black box, it does its job incredibly well, and at a price that is unheard of for this level of performance!

It has six selectable output frequencies from 44.1 kHz all the way up to 192 kHz. The output level is about 5 volts peak-to-peak. Jitter at the crystal oscillator is about 1 picosecond RMS and just under 10 picoseconds RMS at the output. Power is supplied by a 9-volt DC power supply that can handle both 120 and 240 volts AC. The clock is compatible with all modern digital devices that have 75 ohm BNC word clock inputs.