Ruben
Ruben
Jul 29, 2017 · 1 min read

This is the best explanation I know.. Beware, can be a little ‘geeky’ ;)

(The writer, Charles Altmann is an absolute genius!)

Long story short. Jitter is real! You do not have to be an audiophile or musician to hear the awefull effects of it. It’s very easy to test this claim, assuming you have a decent CD-transport beside your airplay express.

  • Find a good recorded album in tidal / apple music that you also have on original CD (NOT CD-R!!). You can also rip a cd to wav on a pc and play it through from the pc through your dac.
  • Listen to it through your airport express
  • Now connect the Many$$$ CD-transport to the same DAC and hear the diffrence

(if you hear diffrence between coax / optical spdif cables, this is also due the diffrent jitter characteristics of the transporter/reciever chips in your source/dac)

If the CD-transport is performing well, even your wife and goldfish should be able to hear the diffrence in the first 2 seconds, and prefer the cd-player over the jittery aiplay any day or night.

You’ll find: (as Altmann writes):

2) “Less jitter” sounds better, much better!

  • improved ease of listening
  • increased clarity
  • improved high frequency response
  • better instrument separation
  • more information
  • better timing
  • better soundstage
  • improved overall audio performance

Just my cup of tea… ;)

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