In use. Terra's front panel shows quadrants for Group 1 and 2 clock rates. Each has four LEDs marked MCLK/4, MCLK/2, 44.1kHz and close. My question to Alvin was whether the /x numbers are dividers of max or multipliers of base frequencies. The former so MCLK/2 LEDs signify max divided by two so 22.5792MHz or 24.576MHz. MCLK/4 divides by four to arrive at 11.2896MHz and 12.288MHz. Once known, it's perfectly intuitive. Press the 'setup' button to enter configuration mode. Now the 'Group 1' or 'Group 2' button toggles sequentially through the three options of half, quarter and base frequencies confirmed by their LED. This scheme sadly locks the two variable outputs per group to the same clock frequency. One can't set them to different values. For mixed-brand systems that's less flexible than I expected so came as a surprise. But then this isn't a €5'000 component.

Enlarge the next photo with the mouse-hover magnifier to see my Soundaware Terra settings in still greater detail. Math nerds will insist that Group 2's lower left marker is mislabeled. Shouldn't it read 48kHz? Sonically meanwhile, all the numbers added up for instant reclocked tunes.

icOn 4Pro autoformer preamp with fixed active 4th-order/80Hz outboard filter next to it. 

What if any difference did I hear? Having done the downstairs masterclock dance multiple times, I knew exactly what to listen for – focus and depth layering. Think of it as higher contrast ratio or the difference sharpness between sound and silence. Some call it images which pop harder. In my vocabulary it's higher focus and contrast which create that effect. No matter verbiage, it skips tonal balance and soundstage size. It narrows down on how precisely performers render and how specific depth coordinates draw. Look elsewhere and miss the difference especially when it's most subtle.

Going in, the higher our system's resolution, the better we'll hear these ministrations. If the clocks Terra takes control of are equal or superior to its own, we'd expect no difference or slight setbacks. When I wrote my Soundaware D300Pro three years ago, it sold for €2'850 so priced at nearly thrice of Terra. In fact, it even features a clock output to control another component. Would that now squeeze the Denafrips out of the frame? In that case I had the lesser D100Pro to dumb down my digital transport and hopefully its clocks.