Digital Drive Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

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Got Jitter?

Posted by jaydacus on April 2, 2017 at 01:08:06

I just got the Mamboberry LS+ and it is an absolutely incredible board.It is so much clearer than the IQaudio DAC Pro and the HiFi Berry . I've been reading about the use of The Allo Kali Reclocker board with this DAC for even better sound. The Mamboberry already has its own oscillator crystal, the Xpresso Clock. Am I really going to hear a difference if a re-reclock the i2s signal? I have done some research on the effects of jitter and from what I have found I'm going to say I have always had a jitter problem up until now.

Jitter is easier to explain in technical terms than to actually describe in terms of sound. This is what I have found and some of my own observations...

High jitter

-I noticed when I started burning CD-Rs, back when that was a thing, that the copy sounded identical to the original, but was often unpleasant to listen to depending on the media, burner, or speed I used. The copy just sounded "blurry" especially during a long listening session.

-I had an Onkyo CD player that always sounded amazing during the last 25% of the CD. The first 75% sounded good in short bursts, but seemed harsh with an invisible layer of static during long listening sessions.

-Most USB DACs no matter how well built probably have huge amounts of jitter. At least synchronous dacs for sure. I had all the way up to $1500 DAC and they all sounded like crap compared to what I am hearing now. I noticed that the level of crappiness varied widely depending on what computer is was using and even which USB port I used on the computer.

-Jitter is not very noticeable in the lower frequencies. This could explain why music like rap and R&B often sound good on the crummiest systems while other genres that focus more on mids and highs sound awful.

Low jitter-

-It feel like I can "see" into the music more. Like tiny details that were masked by digital noise are now visible. Little sounds I didn't even know were there are now jumping out at me.

-I'm hearing music that is very smooth and seems to flow effortlessly from my speakers.

-Listening fatigue is nonexistent. The hours seem to melt away as I listen to album after album.

-Anyone that favors analog has clearly never heard low jitter digital. Its all of the warmth, openness, and pleasure of analog, but with fine micro details that even the most expensive analog sources would kill. Things like very light cymbal strikes and every subtle nuance of the vocalist's voice.

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