The jitter discussion is not about lost bits. The way SPDIF works (or better: as it was originally supposed to work) the source (here usually the Squeezebox) drives the clock for the DAC, NOT the device which does the actual conversion. Since the DAC is essentially a low-pass filter (OK, I'm exaggerating but that's at least it's filter characteristic) and low-frequency modulation in the clock signal can end up in the final audio signal.
Whether this is an effect that could actually be heard is debatable because phase jitter is a HIGH FREQUENCY signal (if you look at it's effect on filters), not a low frequency signal. The discussion is moot anyway these days because most modern DACs re-clock the signal anyway (that is: they buffer the input and use their own internal clock) so whatever happens before the DACs buffer will be 100% lost anyway so optimizing there is just a perfect way of completely wasting your money. -- pippin --- see iPeng, the Squeezebox iPhone remote and *New: iPeng for iPad*, at penguinlovesmusic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ pippin's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=13777 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84742 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
