The importance of being a clock .

[Bencat]

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[Jimbo]

I presume using an LPS on the Mutec means it operates with less "noise" being thrown into the device and you are using the Mutec to re clock the signal before the DAC and therefore lower the possibility of jitter? Just asking to get my head round what is going on.

The timing issues of packets of digital files being transferred from A-B I understand is the main cause of jitter which can also be further upset by RFI and other electrical noise? It is also interesting that other factors also come into play such as correct impedance connectors and cables which I also I understand affect jitter.

With so many issues at play its a wonder we hear anything that sounds like music at all.

Just one more area to consider after accepting the issues that affect digital playback and jitter is that each one of the problems that contribute to jitter ( cables, clocks, connectors , electrical noise etc ) also affects jitter at different frequencies which means that there are many permutations of the type of jitter that is heard which is also dependent on the person hearing it and how sensitive they are to that particular spectrum, if at all?

[Firebottle]

An alternative to a GPS referenced clock is to use an OCXO, an oven controlled crystal oscillator, lower cost but still provides a real uplift to the precision of the soundstage.
I am using one with my Mutec now, with matched impedances on the clock line input.

[Macca]

no digital system will have audible jitter unless it is badly broken. Regrettably this is one of those things that started as a sales tactic many years ago and has since passed into folklore.

Consider that vinyl playback will have several orders of magnitude more jitter than a cheap DVD player. Not only is it baked into the format in the cutting process but more is added on playback. Even with the very best turntables. Do we hear it?

[Firebottle]

Can you define 'audible jitter' Martin?

What I have found with all the approaches that supposedly reduce jitter is that the soundstage/image gains clarity and precision of instrument placement.
I know i am not imagining this as it has been demonstrated to a number of others who also hear the differences.

[Jimbo]

Although there are claims that Jitter can be measured which I am not disputing, its audible effects are very subjective. If you suppose it exists then its manifestation will be experienced differently by any individual. The interesting thing is what folk claim to hear when jitter is removed or reduced. This is highly subjective as it is frequency dependant, very much like our hearing which is very variable.

Get a room full of people and then introduce jitter 'busting' devices/methods one by one and get folk to write down what they hear at each stage/level and I am sure it will make for a very amusing read.

Of course jitter does help unload your wallet as you chase the digital rainbow which always seems to end up with a comparison to analogue.

[Jimbo]

Can you define 'audible jitter' Martin?

What I have found with all the approaches that supposedly reduce jitter is that the soundstage/image gains clarity and precision of instrument placement.
I know i am not imagining this as it has been demonstrated to a number of others who also hear the differences.

I agree with your perception of jitter reduction there Alan. Soundstage and imaging do improve with better clocking. I also think acoustic space in the recording sounds better however I am not sure about tonality. Digital still sounds err digital.

[Macca]

Can you define 'audible jitter' Martin?

What I have found with all the approaches that supposedly reduce jitter is that the soundstage/image gains clarity and precision of instrument placement.
I know i am not imagining this as it has been demonstrated to a number of others who also hear the differences.

A cassette tape playing on a cheap tape deck - that has audible jitter. Most of us will recall what that sounds like.

You are perceiving differences but jumping to the wrong conclusion as to why.

[Jimbo]

Funny to think cassette tape and jitter now. Many young folk probably don't know it even existed - tape that is!

[Bencat]

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