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Jitterbug on USB input of a Digital File player ?

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Posted on July 20, 2016 at 20:20:05
Old SteveA
Audiophile

Posts: 648
Joined: March 27, 2011
I was curious to know if anyone has been using a Jitterbug on the USB cable of an external drive feeding their Bryston BDP player / (Or in my case an Auraliti PK100,which I output to my DAC via a BNC).

My current configuration has been just fine, but I really have no faith whatsoever that USB cables are anything better than barely acceptable for High Integrity Audio reproduction. I seem to recall a time when any "self respecting Audio Enthusiast" would take steps to avoid using this connection in his Audio System. My apologies for being way behind the current Computer Audio learning curve.

My biased (& perhaps ill informed feelings aside) has anyone found any further benefit to using a Jitterbug from a drive into a player rather than a DAC ? Thanks

 

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RE: Jitterbug on USB input of a Digital File player ?, posted on July 21, 2016 at 05:07:31
PAR
"I really have no faith whatsoever that USB cables are anything better than barely acceptable for High Integrity Audio reproduction"

Sensibly sceptical but although your sentiment is correct in regard to some USB cables others are most certainly suitable for audio use at the highest levels. I use the linked cable into my dCS Paganini player. In this case the addition of a Jitterbug degrades, rather than improves, the sound.

In your particular case, however, I am assuming that as the connection is from a drive, the interface will not be from USB A to USB B but from e.g. USB 3 mini to USB A. The cables that are supplied with the drives are often poor - they can even degrade data transfer speeds in normal computing use. Faced with this problem myself I simply bought a few different after market cables on Amazon ( cheap standard ones, nothing fancy, just a few pounds each here in the UK) and swapped them until I found one that sounded decent. It didn't take long. Audioquest do make this configuration for audiophile use if you want to try the expensive route. They are the only audiophile cable manufacturer who do this configuration AFAIK. BTW , Jitterbugs are really made to go at the output not input end so one won't fit a USB 3 mini socket. Furthermore I don't think that the matters that a Jiiterbug or other USB conditioner is designed to deal with necessarly occur in the interface between an external drive and receiving input.

Sorry that I haven't directly answered your question but I think that your assumption is not universally correct.

 

RE: Jitterbug on USB input of a Digital File player ?, posted on July 21, 2016 at 06:42:45
Old SteveA
Audiophile

Posts: 648
Joined: March 27, 2011
Thanks for the response.

I had been using a few Audioquest USB 2 Carbon (mini to USB A) cables with the 500GB portable drives I was using ,but I decided to move up to some (similar form factor) 1 & 2TB capacity drives ((Toshiba). These drives work pretty well for me but don't provide compatibility for use with the (better) USB 2 I was using. (Warning, slight rant here "Ooh ! USB 3 drive that won't allow me backwards compatibility with a higher "Audio" grade cable Friggin PC world arrogance; or is it shortsightedness ; shows it's overinflated ego yet again)

Well, in all honesty the Auraliti doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact it's now seeing 50 cent USB cables rather than the "real" cables it had been seeing. I think I brought this up because I saw mention of someone saying they used one with their Bryston BDP. The sound
I'm getting from my Metrum Hex DAC is rarely less than exceptionally musical at all times .

Being a "Certifiable Audio Nut" looking for any little non invasive tweak I can find goes along with the territory I suppose. Once again , Thanks (& of course I welcome further comments on this )

 

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