Digital Drive: REVIEW: AudioCom Superclock Accessory by EdM

Model:	Superclock
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$265 USD
Description:	CD/DVD Clock Board
Manufacturer URL:	AudioCom
Manufacturer URL:	AudioCom

Review by EdM ( A ) on March 14, 2002 at 06:35:01
IP Address: 160.79.220.130

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for the Superclock

My reference Muse 8 transposrt had to go in for repair so I dug out my venerable Pioneer Elite PD-59 for duty. It sounds pretty good but after seeing the pitiful clock circuit I decided to upgrade it.
Audiocom's Superclock was designed by John Cheadle and looked like a superior product from others available so I decided to go with them. I found a local source www.referenceaudiomods.com and ordered the unit. This guy is great, I ordered it one day and had it the next!
The next challenge was installing the clock. While the instructions are okay they are not totally 100% clear. They are very good at helping you identify the part of the circuit to work on but then fall down somewhat. In one case they instruct you to remove the existing crystal, capacitors and resistors but then the diagram showing the completed circuit still shows the resistors.
In any case, I would NOT recommend this mod for anyone but the most experienced electronics techs. You have to have very good skills in identifying componeents and desoldering and soldering. That said, I had no problems with the installation.
I mounted the actiual clock board (it's only about 2" X 2") on a piece of PVC sprinkler pipe with a dab of silicon and then used another dab to secure it to the main PCB board in the area right where the old clock was to keep the wires as short as possible.
The instructions detail a test to get the connections right and I perormed this as instructed and it was exactly as described. the PD-59 worked fine as soon as I plugged it in.
Now the result? Well, damned good! As soon as a CD started playing, a new found spaciousness of the music was clearly evident. The "air" around the instruments was wonderfully improved and evident. After a few more recordings I also noticed that piano sounded so much better, the notes were so much more detailed and in perfect pitch. They had a "ring" to them that had been lacking before. This was exactly the reason I had purchased the Muse 8 but now I had nearly duplicated the Muse for $600 ($300 for the PD-59 and $300 for the Superclock.)
All in all, a very good upgrade!

Product Weakness: Need very good skills to install
Product Strengths: Higher resolution, more defined, airy and spacious.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Muse 150 Monoblocks
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Muse 3
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer PD-59
Speakers:	PMC FB-1
Cables/Interconnects:	Empirical Audio
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	All
Room Size (LxWxH):	10 x 11 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Accoustic First
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Dedicated Circuits
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Need very good skills to install
Product Strengths:	Higher resolution, more defined, airy and spacious.