Robin Bowes wrote:
Jitter is the single biggest factor affecting digital audio.
This link [1] explains it rather well.
[1] http://www.jitter.de/english/engc_navfr.html
I'm very skeptical. And that's putting it mildly.
First of all, that page is maintained by a company that sells a rather expensive ($500) solution to the "problem" of jitter. That alone doesn't make it bogus, but it sure does call for close scrutiny.
Sure, jitter exists. If it's extreme enough, you'll hear it. Jitter frequency modulates the audio components with a noise process, and this creates sidebands around each spectral component that effectively smear that component in frequency.
And yes, with a scope you can see jitter on real signals if you expand the horizontal sweep to an extreme degree (5ns/div), as shown on that page. And yes, you can even clean up that jitter with an expensive box.
But can you really hear the difference?
I see lots of anecdotal testimonials from satisfied customers, but where are the double-blind tests? I see no proper scientific evidence whatsoever that the jitter seen on real signals is even audible *at all*. Audiophiles have repeatedly proven themselves capable of "hearing" all sorts of incredible improvements from expensive snake-oil accessories that disappear completely when properly controlled listening tests are done.
James Randi, the well-known magician and skeptic, has had a lot to say about dubious audiophile accessories in his recent commentaries. Check him out at www.randi.org.
--Phil _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
