I might be wrong, but I suspect that it is highly unlikely that Devialet would ever include a word clock input on the Expert amp. It is just a hunch, but it somehow does not fit with the philosophy of the brand.
Another issue is that the external clock would need to be a lot better than the internal clock. The internal clock has the advantage that it can be positioned exactly where it is needed, so no cable losses. So with an external clock you need a very good clock (expensive), and very good cables (low loss, short, and expensive).
Another thought is that the Devialet does have S/PDIF AES3 inputs, where the Devialet can "lock" onto the clock from the source. This is not quite the same a word clock input, an AES3 input is far more complicated than a word clock connection, and needs to be able to deal with the audio signal and clock rates at 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz and so on. However, if you feed the AES3 input the same family rate that the DAC (ADH) is using, then the Devialet can lock onto the clock without having to do any fractional conversions, you should, in theory, get a result very similar to using a separate word clock feed.
The S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs can accept up to 192kHz. There was a Devialet white paper a while ago that stated that ADH native rate is 40bit 384kHz. (348=192 x 2 or 48 x 8) So based on this admittedly very limited information on the inner workings of a Devialet, I would say that if you feed the amp with a good quality "clocked" feed at a 48kHz family rate, then the results should be equivalent to that gained in a word clock equipped set-up.
I must emphasise that I am writing this with very little knowledge of the finer details of Devialet's implementation of the AES/EBU or S/PDIF inputs, so it is just a moderately informed theory on my part. That said, I now seem to be getting VERY good results feeding the Devialet from the REF10 / MC3+USB, using upsampling to 192kHz. So it is just a subjective view and it might sound good for other technical reasons I am not aware of, but maybe there is something in this, and maybe we just do not need a word clock input to get superb results.
When all is said and done, the current Expert Pro range does not have a word clock input, so you have to work with what you have, but that may not be much of a limitation I would say.
Another issue is that the external clock would need to be a lot better than the internal clock. The internal clock has the advantage that it can be positioned exactly where it is needed, so no cable losses. So with an external clock you need a very good clock (expensive), and very good cables (low loss, short, and expensive).
Another thought is that the Devialet does have S/PDIF AES3 inputs, where the Devialet can "lock" onto the clock from the source. This is not quite the same a word clock input, an AES3 input is far more complicated than a word clock connection, and needs to be able to deal with the audio signal and clock rates at 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz and so on. However, if you feed the AES3 input the same family rate that the DAC (ADH) is using, then the Devialet can lock onto the clock without having to do any fractional conversions, you should, in theory, get a result very similar to using a separate word clock feed.
The S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs can accept up to 192kHz. There was a Devialet white paper a while ago that stated that ADH native rate is 40bit 384kHz. (348=192 x 2 or 48 x 8) So based on this admittedly very limited information on the inner workings of a Devialet, I would say that if you feed the amp with a good quality "clocked" feed at a 48kHz family rate, then the results should be equivalent to that gained in a word clock equipped set-up.
I must emphasise that I am writing this with very little knowledge of the finer details of Devialet's implementation of the AES/EBU or S/PDIF inputs, so it is just a moderately informed theory on my part. That said, I now seem to be getting VERY good results feeding the Devialet from the REF10 / MC3+USB, using upsampling to 192kHz. So it is just a subjective view and it might sound good for other technical reasons I am not aware of, but maybe there is something in this, and maybe we just do not need a word clock input to get superb results.
When all is said and done, the current Expert Pro range does not have a word clock input, so you have to work with what you have, but that may not be much of a limitation I would say.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
