Actually, we don't do comparison tests between several devices at Hifistatement. But you can make an exception. I couldn't resist the offer to deal with four USB re-clockers from the Greek manufacturer Ideon Audio from completely different price ranges.

My colleague Wolfgang Kemper had already dealt extensively with the DACs Ayazi MK2 and Absolute Epsilon from the small but fine digital forge Ideon Audio and was extremely positively impressed by both devices. However, during the test of the top model Absolute Epsilon, he was only able to deal with the matching Re-Clocker Absolute Time in passing. We'll make up for that now and take a detailed look at the re-clocker models 3R USB Renaissance mk2 Black Star, 3R Master Time Black Star, Absolute Time and Absolute Time Signature.

As of today, USB is the most common interface for transferring digital audio data from a computer-based digital music source, such as a PC or a special audio server, to a DAC. Almost all DACs nowadays have an USB input. The USB connection is easy to use and can easily transmit PCM data up to 384 kilohertz and higher as well as DSD data up to DSD512, while S/PDIF, for example, stops at 192 kilohertz and DSD64. So far so good – but: As nice as it is that USB supports high resolutions, the connection is fundamentally unsuitable for high-quality music playback. USB was not designed specifically for audio purposes, but to create a universal interface for data transfer between computers and hard drives or printers where timing accuracy is not a priority. If there is an error in the data transfer on the computer, the transfer is repeated until the data transfer is completed without errors.