Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB

Posted by: nbpf on 23 April 2017

There have been a number of positive reports on the Mutec in the CA forum recently. I would be interested if someone here is using the MC-3+ Smart Clock USB to feed a Naim DAC and how does it fare in comparison with other SPDIF sources. Thanks, nbpf

Posted on: 23 April 2017 by Mr Underhill

If you look at Andrew Everard's site he has reviewed this with Naim gear; and Andrew posts on this forum.

M

Posted on: 23 April 2017 by nbpf

Thanks M, I'll have to check Andrew Everard's review again but, as far as I can remember, he does not mention what he has compared the Mutec against. I anyway remember that I could not draw any conclusions from his findings, but I might have missed something, of course. In this thread, I would like to collect experiences from Naim DAC users who have tested the Mutec in a well defined system and decided against or for it. Best, nbpf   

Posted on: 29 April 2017 by MartinCA

I use the mutec 3.1 USB.  I love it.  Mostly I use it to reclock from my media Pc into my ndac/xps (over a 252/250) and it is a big improvement. I also use it between my unitiserve and the ndac, and it is a slight improvement over a direct connection. I slightly prefer the spdif inputs over the USB connection. 

Overall it is a brilliant leveller of sources, improving all I've tried, which also includes a Sonos and a laptop. 

This week I'm dropping round to a friends and will compare pc/mutec/ndac/555 to nds/555.  I'm expecting it to be a closer contest than my friend is thinking. I'll report back. 

Posted on: 29 April 2017 by nbpf
MartinCA posted:

I use the mutec 3.1 USB.  I love it.  Mostly I use it to reclock from my media Pc into my ndac/xps (over a 252/250) and it is a big improvement. I also use it between my unitiserve and the ndac, and it is a slight improvement over a direct connection. I slightly prefer the spdif inputs over the USB connection. 

Overall it is a brilliant leveller of sources, improving all I've tried, which also includes a Sonos and a laptop. 

This week I'm dropping round to a friends and will compare pc/mutec/ndac/555 to nds/555.  I'm expecting it to be a closer contest than my friend is thinking. I'll report back. 

Thanks a lot, I am looking forward to your report! I have now a M2Tech hiFace Evo (the 2010 model, not the new Evo 2) powered by a TP PSU between a fitPC3 and the Naim DAC. I was wandering whether the Mutec would bring an improvement over the M2Tech. I guess I'll have to try it. Best, nbpf

Posted on: 30 April 2017 by MartinCA

I think the mutec has the better clock, but I like the fact you can use decent external linear power with the hiface.   I opted for the mutec over the hiface and have not regretted it.  But I've not heard the hiface, and to be quite honest I very much doubt if I personally could hear any difference between the two, although I am sure some people would.  I did read a review which claimed that stacking up multiple mutecs makes a diminishing but discernible difference on each addition.  I have to say I am more than a little sceptical about that.