Do the Jitterbug !
Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 3:50 pm
Here's my entry for the smallest audiophile system ever ! Fits on a CD case.
.. and something this small just doesn't have the right to sound as good as it does.
Okay, so what is all this stuff ?
Front left a Raspberry Pi 2B in case (single board - no add-on's), middle: an Audioquest Jitterbug, right: a Nuforce uDac3.
In my search to make a small headphone system to listen to via the in-house LAN I tried attaching a Roland USB DAC to a Pi. This worked fine but the SQ fell a bit short. Looking for improvement I ordered a Cambridge Dacmagic XS, only to find out that it is no longer distributed in the Netherlands.
In frustration I scanned the webshops for an alternative for about the same price and came up with the Nuforce uDac3; a DAC, headphone amp, RCA pre-amp and USB-SP/DIF converter in one tiny box. And I spotted something else that had caught my eye a while ago, the Audioquest Jitterbug; a USB filter / noise reduction unit. Why not ? So I ordered that as well. Getting both for roughly what the Dacmagic XS costs.
As you can see, the uDac3 is minute, really, but it feels solid and well-made with a nice, chunky volume pot. Plugged in to the Pi via USB the whole thing is powered by a 3A wall-wart and running the new test version of Volumio 2 the OS automatically finds the Nuforce. Grado SR80's in and Music!
Immediately the quality of the uDac3 over the Roland unit is apparent (and my Fiio X3 as well). Wider soundstage, better definition and imaging, a lot less grainy. Stunning, in fact.
But wait - there's more. That Jitterbug thingy. It is a sort of USB extension plug with a socket on the back end. For putting in between a computer and any USB DAC. The point is that computers are noisy buggers - all sorts of loose electronic rubbish wandering about all over the place and causing general disturbance and digital mayhem. Also, USB was not designed as an audio medium - it is a universal data transmission system which doesn't cater particularly well to the specific needs of hifi. USB audio tends to sound flat, dry and lifelesss - which is the effect of jitter subtly disturbing the synchronisation of the sound signal. Now there is an answer to that.
The Jitterbug has circuitry to remove the electronic 'noise' and to check and correct the data packages being sent to the DAC. Does it work? Yes it does - and you can hear it! With the Jitterbug in place the already great sound of the uDac3 blooms and fills out. Instruments get more solid and the sense that everything in the mix exists in its own space. Suddenly it feels like you're plugged into a large and expensive rig and not a couple of things you could fit into a biscuit tin.
I'll be trying various combinations over the coming weeks but those looking to try and get more 'life' and musicality out of their computers might want to investigate the Jitterbug, a cheap little upgrade.
Right, I'm off to enjoy some music!
.. and something this small just doesn't have the right to sound as good as it does.
Okay, so what is all this stuff ?
Front left a Raspberry Pi 2B in case (single board - no add-on's), middle: an Audioquest Jitterbug, right: a Nuforce uDac3.
In my search to make a small headphone system to listen to via the in-house LAN I tried attaching a Roland USB DAC to a Pi. This worked fine but the SQ fell a bit short. Looking for improvement I ordered a Cambridge Dacmagic XS, only to find out that it is no longer distributed in the Netherlands.
In frustration I scanned the webshops for an alternative for about the same price and came up with the Nuforce uDac3; a DAC, headphone amp, RCA pre-amp and USB-SP/DIF converter in one tiny box. And I spotted something else that had caught my eye a while ago, the Audioquest Jitterbug; a USB filter / noise reduction unit. Why not ? So I ordered that as well. Getting both for roughly what the Dacmagic XS costs.
As you can see, the uDac3 is minute, really, but it feels solid and well-made with a nice, chunky volume pot. Plugged in to the Pi via USB the whole thing is powered by a 3A wall-wart and running the new test version of Volumio 2 the OS automatically finds the Nuforce. Grado SR80's in and Music!
Immediately the quality of the uDac3 over the Roland unit is apparent (and my Fiio X3 as well). Wider soundstage, better definition and imaging, a lot less grainy. Stunning, in fact.
But wait - there's more. That Jitterbug thingy. It is a sort of USB extension plug with a socket on the back end. For putting in between a computer and any USB DAC. The point is that computers are noisy buggers - all sorts of loose electronic rubbish wandering about all over the place and causing general disturbance and digital mayhem. Also, USB was not designed as an audio medium - it is a universal data transmission system which doesn't cater particularly well to the specific needs of hifi. USB audio tends to sound flat, dry and lifelesss - which is the effect of jitter subtly disturbing the synchronisation of the sound signal. Now there is an answer to that.
The Jitterbug has circuitry to remove the electronic 'noise' and to check and correct the data packages being sent to the DAC. Does it work? Yes it does - and you can hear it! With the Jitterbug in place the already great sound of the uDac3 blooms and fills out. Instruments get more solid and the sense that everything in the mix exists in its own space. Suddenly it feels like you're plugged into a large and expensive rig and not a couple of things you could fit into a biscuit tin.
I'll be trying various combinations over the coming weeks but those looking to try and get more 'life' and musicality out of their computers might want to investigate the Jitterbug, a cheap little upgrade.
Right, I'm off to enjoy some music!