Moving the action to loudspeakers duplicated the show. This naturally expanded its effects on soundstaging, particularly so depth layering. The less phase/time-confused your transducers, the more specific depth cues translate. That my subjective reaction to the 2nd stage of these resolution enhancements differed was due to the combination of 1MHz DC-coupled amps and minimum-loss 2-way crossovers. These speakers really behave more like zero-order widebanders except for broader bandwidth and superior HF finesse from an ultra-lightweight horn-loaded precision tweeter. The longer I listened, the more I thought that in this context, Gaia/T+ without clock sync sounded easier and more natural.

The perhaps best way to explain my reaction is to invoke the Shakespearean television production The hollow crown and its two-part center "Henry IV". Jeremy Irons is the aged king. Though the play-as-movie effort is filled with experienced stage actors, Simon Russell Beale's John Falstaff steals the show. His delivery of Shakespeare's outdated language is so contemporaneous as to make its unnatural poetic density seem most natural. All the characters share the same language. Still, our comprehension of them differs wildly. Some wear the language ill at ease like hand-me-downs. Others have mastered it but still feel a bit put on. Only the rarest of them own it as though it's how they converse with their local butcher in 2020 while waiting on their order.

In short, once comprehension is in place—some characters are much harder to follow than others—there's still a difference. Do those who are clearly intelligible seem to perform for the camera by putting on an act? Or does the camera just witness a slice of actual life? In those terms, adding Gaia improved comprehension, period. Whether activating its clock-sync feature then added to or diminished my very personal and subjective sense of naturalness beyond comprehension which, as higher resolution, was already in place… that depended. Did a particular speaker or headphone own that rhythmically precise aspect already to seem somewhat clipped or stilted with extra help? Sir Lawrence Olivier could feel a bit last century.

The great thing about clock synchronization is that a few button presses allow one to turn it on and off. Gauge your individual response, even play it by ear depending on mood and material and how long your session goes. There's no doubt. Clock syncing Gaia is effective so audible. Whether you fancy the effect, always or just sometimes, is entirely up to you. The absolute sound is pure myth. Our personal sound is what's real – to us. And who else must our hifi really please?