How to improve Jitter issue via USB/ETHERNET ?

[PeppaPig]

Bits are bits: there, I've said it.  But I will wager that has nothing to do with the kind of sound quality differences that @Confused has been talking about recently: I trust @Confused would agree they are subtle and not caused by drop-outs due to bit errors.  Over USB or Ethernet, any errored bit will cause drop-out that should be clearly audible, unless Devialet have deliberately engineered their USB and Ethernet hardware and drivers to do something different.  So if there is a sound quality difference it is not caused by "bits not being bits".  There are plenty of proposed mechanisms for such differences, but I'd say the most plausible are in the analog domain.

For example, could it not be that the sound quality differences are caused by subtle differences in grounding, noise injection, etc. that would vary with the number and type of boxes connected, and the cables between them (more or less independently of what the boxes are doing in the digital domain)?  That would explain, without resort to expectation bias, why there's always a change to be heard when changing equipment.  Just because it's "digital" audio doesn't mean these kind of analogue effects are ruled out -- far from it, they may become relatively more significant because they are not masked by higher levels of noise and distortion that would be present in an analogue signal.

Yes, I would agree that the differences I am referring to are not caused by drop-outs due to bit errors.  Noise, grounding and 'leakage loops' are certainly factors.  Although I would say the difference in treble I mentioned is somewhere in the rage between subtle and easily audible, this is what really fascinates me.  I would say it is at a level that could be measured with REW or similar.  I would try this, but the only way to run REW is via AIR or USB.  If anyone out there knows a straightforward way to run REW via a microRendu, then I would be happy to try this objectively, but it is not possible as far as I am aware.   

So, back to the OP's question about jitter.  The first point I would make is that I do not think 'zero jitter' is possible, even the very best audio clocks in the world produce jitter, albeit at fantastically low levels.  Many would argue that modern well engineered digital audio systems have now reduced jitter to levels that are not audible, so it is no longer an issue.  The Devialet's Ethernet and USB inputs use asynchronous protocols, so in simple terms the Devialet's clock is in charge, it is a very low jitter clock, so this is a non issue.

Others are going beyond this, claiming that decent clocks in audio systems reduce noise, (or bad clocks increase it) and that improving the 'clocking' on a USB feed can improve sound quality.  This is a very controversial area, John Swenson (UptoneAudio / Sonore designer) is currently doing some testing in this area, apparently he has put together some unique test equipment to do this.  He has been doing this for a few months now with no sign of him producing any results.  It should also be remembered that digital audio systems need multiple clocks.

This subject has been debated extensively elsewhere, and often includes the statement that there are effects in digital audio due to mechanisms 'not yet fully understood'.  I tend to think this is true, although it is a rather week statement, after all, the 1's and 0's appear to be more than capable of running aircraft autopilot systems, industrial control systems, the internet, space missions, medical scanners, and this kind of stuff.  it's just digital audio that has not yet fully understood these 1' and 0's.

Hi Confused, you said the Devialet internal clock is a very low jitter clock, is that means if I use Mac mini USB into Devialet’s USB, I don’t need Mutec MC-3 in the middle as there is no benefit?