Aspects of a digital phase-lock loop (DPLL) with an adjustable delay between an output clock and a reference clock in accordance with phase noise compensation are generally described herein. An apparatus may include processing circuitry configured to, in a first mode, identify a delay element of a plurality of delay elements based on an associated delay value, and set an initial phase difference value to a phase difference value associated with the identified delay element. The processor circuitry may be further configured to, in a second mode, in a second mode, initialize the DPLL using the initial phase difference value, determine a phase error between a reference clock and a feedback clock based on the initial phase difference value, adjust an output clock signal based on the phase error.