What Does Jitter Sound Like? Let's Test

[Don Hills]

Don

It's a shame that you are so far away from Jud in Aotearoa, as otherwise he could try these different software versions with one of your DACs. It's also refreshing to see Software Jittter acknowledged. We shouldn't need to go to extremes with add-on Linear PSUs etc. or further PSU improvements in most commercial DACs. Perhaps we can blame the "bean counters" for most of this, or is it that the typical consumer doesn't know any better than MP3 ?

 

Alex

 

Jud can likely better afford a competent DAC than I can. (A pro video camera is next on my list, not a DAC.)

As for Software Jitter, don't get too excited. I don't believe that any one software player design has the magic cure. There are too many variables: processor architectures, motherboard designs, USB chip implementations etc even before you get into the OS and other program load. A USB "jitter meter" would be useful - plug it between the PC and the DAC, and tweak the software and change cables until the jitter is reduced to a minimum. No listening required. But as you say, we shouldn't have to go to such extremes. The problem is, as I said before, people hear that jitter is a problem and try to fix it at source instead of where it matters.

[Jud]

Don, I don't think it's either/or. PeterSt makes player software and a DAC that many feel is among the very best they've heard (including one forum member, manisandher, for whom it replaced a Pacific Microsonics). He has built his DAC to be immune, insofar as possible, to incoming noise and other PC and cable exigencies. Yet the resulting sound is still capable of being changed by tweaks as fine as adjusting the amount of the file brought into the memory buffer before being played. (John Swenson wrote on Computer Audio Asylum about the mechanism by which this affects the sound of player software.)

 

So I think of minimizing noise at the source and maximizing immunity of the DAC as complementary.

[Don Hills]

Don, I don't think it's either/or. ... He has built his DAC to be immune, insofar as possible, to incoming noise and other PC and cable exigencies. Yet the resulting sound is still capable of being changed by tweaks ...

 

I'm sorry Jud, I won't compromise on this. If there's a truly audible difference, the DAC isn't competent. We're not going to get state-of-the-art performance until we start accepting nothing less.