N01/Mexcel 7NDa6100III/10Mhz.
The 7NDA6100III is a 75-ohm cable and it looks like you are using it on a 10 Mhz output from the G-02X; are you using it on one
of the pure 50-ohm output taps from that clock by any chance or are you configuring 10 Mhz over one of the 75-ohm output
taps (A x 2 or B x 2)?
Unlike the K1, the N-01 is specific in its support for only 50-ohm inputs on its word clock input. This means;
- if you are coming out of the G-02X on a 10 Mhz tap at 50-ohm, then routing over a 75-ohm cable then into
the N-01's clock input BNC (50-ohm), you are incurring potential errors and aberrations of the signal by
mixing 50, 75 and back into 50 ohm
- if you are coming out of the G-02X on a 75-ohm tap in bank Ax2 or Bx2, then you are routing 10 Mhz over
a 75-ohm connection which for the cable you are using (being a 75-ohm cable) is better from the source end
(the clock) forward BUT you are taking it into the N-01 which according to its specs on Esoteric's Japan
and US website, expects a 50-ohm connection...based upon this, you are incurring potential errors and
aberrations of sign by again mixing 75, 75 then into 50-ohm
Whether you can hear all this will depend upon the material in question, your system overall and your desire
for the truest playback to the source. Not all material depicts these differences but most (not all) does in
my experience and that of a couple other guys that have chased this question for a long time.
Cable length being short many say removes this concern (supposedly); while you are not using a very long cable,
and many will tell you that 'it should not make a difference', it actually does.
Therefore my recommendations start with you doing the following regardless whether you keep the G-02X,
sell the G-02X and go for a Cybershaft or use the Cybershaft to back up the G-02X with a proven 10 Mhz
master reference OR you try any of the other recognized 10 Mhz master clocks out there (SRS PERF10,
Esoteric Grandiso G1, the master output of the G-01X or other manufacturers products...;
- get in touch with Esoteric and make sure that what appears on their website, i.e. that the clock input on the N-01
is only and pure 50-ohm in nature
- if Esoteric tells you that connection is pure 50-ohm regardless whether it is receiving a Word Clock signal type
or a pure 10 Mhz, 50-ohm Master Clock input, I'd suggest you start testing Shunyata Alpha or Sigmas CLOCK50
cables OR any other proven 50-ohm pure play cable (there are several very good choices out there at higher
or similar price-points...)
- make sure the cables you test are broken in either by someone else or by you
- try 10 Mhz out of the 50-ohm taps on the G-02X only first, run a lot of material you know well on RBCD, SACD (via external
means) and high-rez material in multiple formats streaming into the N-01 and decide for yourself if all you needed
was a great 50-ohm cable on the G-02X (it's a very good low-phase noise OCXO-based clock) to achieve a noticeable
improvement BEFORE you think about buying any other clock....
- proceed from there trying a Cybershaft, Esoteric or other 10 Mhz master clock on its own
- you could also try one of the above 10 Mhz reference-level master clocks backing your G-02X with a reference 10 Mhz
signal,...the results might surprise you...
If Esoteric tells you the website/specs are not fully detailed and that the clock input on the N -01 can truly auto-sense
50-ohm versus 75-ohm inputs, then I would still advocate the tests above BUT I would also move the 7NDA6100 III
cable to one of the G-02X's 'word clock' outputs and try 10 Mhz there as well as other frequencies (22.xxx Mhz 'MCLK')
comes to mind. See what gives you the best results and then and only then, try to determine how to move into pure 10 Mhz
master clock territory with some of the options above.
I hope this has all made sense and that I've made no errors or inconsitencies along the way; it's a very complicated topic
hidden in a simple question as you can see from the material above and this historical testing background I've late out
below. I'm happy to speak via phone.....I'll say for the record I don't work for or get any kind of special arrangement
with any vendor in this game (Esoteric, Cybershaft, Shunyata, etc....), may day job is something else entirely. I can
answer any questions even more completely via phone. Please let me know how else I can help...
***Please see the 'testing story' below which is probably more detail than you ever bargained for...
TESTING STORY (50 versus 75-ohm, proper cables,"does it matter...?");
I was lucky enough to participate in 4+ month dedicated test with 4 our audiophiles around the world, all with different
equipment stacks (DCS, Esoteric, Aurender, and several other vendors' products) and different clocks (DCS, SRS, Sforzato,
Esoteric, Cybershaft) during which time we had no idea of each others' identity, location or equipment and clock
equipment lists. We were all sent the same, uniform-looking cables with only colored tags on them to tell them
apart. All cables were 1.5 meters in length. The only thing that was different on some of the cables were the use
of 50-ohm versus 75-ohm BNC connectors which are easily discernible as to which is which due to a key visual
difference regarding the dielectric around the center tap. As it turned out though, the vendor lead for the testing
had mixed different cable specs (50 and 75) with different connectors so at the end of the test among other things
we found that there were pure 50-ohm cables, pure 75-ohm cables, 50-ohm cables with 75-ohm connectors and
75-ohm cables with 50-ohm connectors. Clocking also spanned 'word clocks' as well as 'master clocks' and clocks
like the G-02X that has taps for both word clock outputs as well as master clock output frequencies...
As an aside, all testers came from some of the same but also different forums. 1 tester did not participate in any
forum at all. We were given strict instructions not to mention we were testing anything related to cables for
50 or 75-ohm clocking or any other aspect of the test. To remove any potential bias from the equation, the
cables tested were NOT production cables or prototypes contrary to what we thought. They literally were
telecommunications high-speed quality cables from a major OEM rated for 50-ohm or 75-ohm with
BNCs applied as mentioned about also from high-bandwidth telecom cables/parts suppliers. All test cables
were enclosed in simple black tech-flex with no markings at all beyond the color tags.
In each and every case, all testers would summarize their multi-week testing with each cable (long enough to ensure
day 1 through day n and "n+" impressions (i.e. from initial connection through full 2-week burn-in and beyond privately
to the test lead and what material was used to test (RBCD, SACD, streaming, etc...) and the cable color-tagged under test.
We were all asked to test across different source types (and all did...). The surprising thing when all was said and done
5 months later was that the notes of each tester were copy-pasted verbatim into a single doc and sent with only first names
mentioned. Some started the test of the opinion that 50 versus 75 should matter and be adhered to (why else would
high-end vendors like Esoteric go to such lengths to cover this in their markings, manuals, etc... after all?!?) and some
started predisposed to the common forum/vendor-speak of the last year or so,...("as long as you are not using long
cables it does not matter,...they won't operate like a transmission line at short lengths,...").
Summary: without exception all testers' experience was more or less of the form that 50-ohm cables on 50-ohm circuits result
in the best overall sound quality, precision, musicality, etc.....AND using 75-ohm on a 50-ohm circuit resulted in degraded
sound quality, less precise and accurate imaging, bass articulation in particular, etc...Furthermore, using a proper 50-ohm
cable on a 75-ohm circuit actually sounded better in several ways that a proper 75-ohm cable BUT not the reverse config.
There were interesting results with 50-ohm cables with 75-ohm BNCs on a 75-ohm circuit BUT the reverse (75-ohm
cable with 50-ohm connectors on a 50-ohm circuit) was to be avoided due to detrimental effects on the sound, imaging,
etc....In short, through this exhaustive test seemed to prove that despite what even Esoteric is saying today, 2 years after
the discontinuation of an Esoteric 8N-A2000 pure 50-ohm cable which is still one of the finest in the world (during whose
manufacturing & sales years Esoteric was singing a very different tune and advised clients that it DOES matter), it seems
that using the properly rated cable on a given circuit DOES make a difference regardless of length due to the frequency
at which these signals occur.
Footnote: After the testing as well as before had me using various high-end 50 and 75-ohm cables from 3 different manufacturers
including 2 coveted and rare Esoteric-Mexcel 8N-A2000s but also a couple of high-end custom builts and 2 stock builts from
2 different/other manufacturers. In all cases before and also after the above 5 months of testing I admit that I always heard
a difference and preferred the 'match the specs and RTFM approach with cables and gear but in the last 5 months I've had the
good fortune of being able to move to the best 50-ohm cable I've used ever, and it's 75-ohm brother from new entries in
Shunyata's Alpha and Sigma "Clock" line and have decided that 50-ohm very much matters where it's called for and for
me, the best out there currently is the Shunyata "Clock50" cables, particularly the SIGMA level. I've heard other vendors
now are making pure-50 and pure-75 cables that are much tighter to the specs but have no recent experience with them.
I will also say that my last day in testing labs or other 'very specific places' where I had any hands on or desire for that
level of details for engineer-level tests, specs, etc....was in the early 1980s. For audio, and the testing above, the results
I'm talking about come from the ear/hearing level of focusing only the music. For my money, I'll stick with what I heard,
i.e. that where 50-ohm is called for and the same for 75-ohm in clocking or other applications, the best thing to do for
the best and most musical and accurate result is to match cables to connection types and make sure you have components
from manufacturers that also properly implement the spec in each case as this is all for naught if they don't stick to a
tight implementation of 75-ohm versus 50-ohm for each application where it's called for.
All FWIW and IMO...
Mark