A symbol synchronizer comprises a distance metric computation module for computing a metric from received samples using a distance metric function within a symbol sampling period and based on a timing signal for each of the possible symbols in a constellation, a control signal computation module for selecting a smallest and a second smallest metrics, producing a difference by subtracting the smallest metric from the second smallest metric, and deriving a control signal from the difference, and a voltage-control clock for producing the timing signal based on the control signal.