How to improve Jitter issue via USB/ETHERNET ?

[Greg]

Sorry, slightly off topic. @Confused, did you upgrade your mR from version 1.3 to 1.4 and if yes, what was the improvement/change to the sound? Is it worth £165 (approx) cost?

No, I did not upgrade mine.  In fact, the only person I can think of on this forum that did is @ogs

Ok, thanks. What are your thoughts on this, @ogs?

[ogs]

I did upgrade to 1.4, but when I connected it I also started using the USPCB from Uptone. The combination sounded very good and improved a great deal with some break in. I've actually not tried the 1.4 separately long enough to form an opinion on it. I was without the mR for about a week while it was upgraded so it is a bit difficult to know how much better it was after. By starting to use the USPCB immediately I also destroyed all chances to know how the 1.4 performed vs the 1.3

[Greg]

I did upgrade to 1.4, but when I connected it I also started using the USPCB from Uptone. The combination sounded very good and improved a great deal with some break in. I've actually not tried the 1.4 separately long enough to form an opinion on it. I was without the mR for about a week while it was upgraded so it is a bit difficult to know how much better it was after. By starting to use the USPCB immediately I also  destroyed all chances to know how the 1.4 performed vs the 1.3

Ok, thanks for your response. I’ll probably not upgrade unless someone comes up with a convincing reason to do so.

[ogs]

@Greg The sound quality from the mR 1.4/USPCB is certainly several notches up from the 1.3. I've mostly used the Supra USB cable with the 1.3, but have tried other solutions too - mostly DIY. I'm being careful in describing the sound of the 1.4 as the USPCB also contributes, but there is no doubt that the 1.4 upgrade is worth it. More refined and detailed, but keeping the same pleasant tonal balance as the 1.3. As the clock is the same as in UltraRendu I would guess the difference in SQ is rather small. I have not heard the UltraRendu though... whether it is as good as the SOtM sMS-200ultra is also an open question.

[PeppaPig]

thanks for the information shared here.

to be honest, i still don't know what is jitter, and how it sounds when having a lot of jitter and minium jitter. can someone describe?

even BOSE soundBar mini, i don't feel any jittering at all, it sounds smooth, but of course the sound quality isn't good. so what is jitter??? can any one give a very good description? thanks.

[thumb5]

For a technical answer to the question "what is jitter", here's the Wikipedia entry.

For some ideas on "what does it sound like", try this article by Serene Audio. Note that as the article says, they're using extremely high levels of jitter to make it audible - levels that are probably many, many thousands of times higher than you would encounter in well-designed equipment.

[Greg]

@Greg The sound quality from the mR 1.4/USPCB is certainly several notches up from the 1.3. I've mostly used the Supra USB cable with the 1.3, but have tried other solutions too - mostly DIY. I'm being careful in describing the sound of the 1.4 as the USPCB also contributes, but there is no doubt that the 1.4 upgrade is worth it. More refined and detailed, but keeping the same pleasant tonal balance as the 1.3.  As the clock is the same as in UltraRendu I would guess the difference in SQ is rather small. I have not heard the UltraRendu though... whether it is as good as the SOtM sMS-200ultra is also an open question.

Thanks @ogs. I’ll give it a bit more thought. TBH, the difference in sound between my mR 1.3 and roon Air Ethernet is very close into my 220, and (unusual for me) I can’t specifically identify where the difference is other than I know it is there. The only thing I can say is I feel I enjoy the music more through the mR, so maybe going for 1.4 would bring a productive improvement. Many thanks for your help.

[Confused]

An interesting, if stupendously overlong, thread has emerged on CA. Unless you have vast amounts of time to kill, I would suggest reading the first page or two, then jump to the posts from 26 March 2018, which start from page 54.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forum...-red-pill/

Bits are bits, yes, but bit perfect can sound different.

[Jean-Marie]

An interesting, if stupendously overlong, thread has emerged on CA.  Unless you have vast amounts of time to kill, I would suggest reading the first page or two, then jump to the posts from 26 March 2018, which start from page 54.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forum...-red-pill/

Bits are bits, yes, but bit perfect can sound different.

Fascinating, thanks for pointing this out. 

I’m only half way through the thread, and now would like to understand in detail the setup, and in particular the software player used as well as audio PC. 

Assuming that everything remains bit perfect, this would only leave (as far as I can think of) as mechanisms to explain:
1) Timing related variations
2) Electric perturbations induced by the difference of interface and protocols from which the PC is getting the bits and transmitted either through the USB interface or though the power circuit. 

Those visitation would then have to affect the behavior of the DAC (most likely) and / or the Amplifiers (less likely) in an audible manner. 

Jean-Marie

[Confused]

An interesting, if stupendously overlong, thread has emerged on CA.  Unless you have vast amounts of time to kill, I would suggest reading the first page or two, then jump to the posts from 26 March 2018, which start from page 54.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forum...-red-pill/

Bits are bits, yes, but bit perfect can sound different.

Fascinating, thanks for pointing this out. 

I’m only half way through the thread, and now would like to understand in detail the setup, and in particular the software player used as well as audio PC. 

Assuming that everything remains bit perfect, this would only leave (as far as I can think of) as mechanisms to explain:
1) Timing related variations
2) Electric perturbations induced by the difference of interface and protocols from which the PC is getting the bits and transmitted either through the USB interface or though the power circuit. 

Those visitation would then have to affect the behavior of the DAC (most likely) and / or the Amplifiers (less likely) in an audible manner. 

Jean-Marie

They were using XXHighEnd as the software player.  This is developed by "PeterSt", who is a regular poster in the thread.

I agree with your thoughts in points 1 & 2 by the way, but it will be interesting to see if they ever manage to objectively measure or prove the precise reason.

You have my respect if you are reading the entire thread!  There is an awful lot of bluster and nonsense to read, although maybe it's worth it for the odd gem of good information that does gets occasionally posted.