Listening to the Audioquest Jitterbug

Thetiminator said:

I received mine this morning and have been A/B'ing it this afternoon and here's what I found on my system:
I listened with the JB plugged in between my USB cable and the USB input and then with it just plugged in to a spare USB port right next to the one in use.

Firstly, the difference with it plugged in at the end of the USB cable wasn't subtle, it wasn't one of those situations where you had to go back and forward time and again to spot the difference. With the JB in situ the sound was immediately smoother, with fatter bass and there was a change in the imaging.

With the JB plugged into the spare USB socket I couldn't detect any difference.
So was the change for the better? Afterall, opinion seems split as to whether the JB is junk or the 2nd coming....my opinion is that it's somewhere in between. Here's why:

In my system which is pretty well balanced the sound became too smooth, losing bite, snap and dynamics. This smoothness also just took away that last degree of clarity that makes voices sound real, though they did gain a kind of breathy quality that was quite attractive. The bass became fatter and a tad more extended but lost its tightness and tunefulness along with a decent amount of slam. The bass also lost its lowest octave, or at least appeared too, though it may have just been masked by the beefier bass slightly up the scale. The differences I was hearing weren't huge, we're talking 5% here but just enough to tilt the balance one way or another. There were quite obvious changes in the imaging, sounds that usually were in one place of the soundstage were coming from a different area, which was interesting. It wasn't necessarily better or worse in this regard, but there were differences for sure. Adding in the loss of clarity and transient snap the soundstage wasn't so clearly laid out with the JB in place. But here the differences were quite small, you would have to concentrate to notice them.

So in my system it's not a keeper. With it in place, and for what I look for, the sound wasn't as good, but by no means was it bad. I could imagine that in a different system with a different set of priorities or a system that needs a bit more smoothness or a kick up the pants in the bass department it could be just the job. I can see why some are raving about the JB, if it had arrived 3 years ago and with the system I had at that time I would bet that it would've been a huge keeper. Of course results will vary between systems and personal preferences, and of course just as many will slate it as foo without trying it. But imo it would be crazy (for the price of a trip to the cinema) not to give it a go if you think your system needs a touch of what it does do to the sound. I could see how a lot of people might find it very impressive.

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Jeffy said:

I hear the same thing you do in my system and do not like the Jitterbug. I, however have the new Regen and like it a lot.

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Billy Shears said:

Its interesting, we all seem to agree that the main area of impact is a reduction of glare in the Midrange and High frequencys.
What equipment are you using with it?

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Billy Shears said:

I could have posted this in the other thread but it has become so toxic I do not want to pour more oil in to that fire….

Listening to the audioquest jitterbug:
I borrowed a Jitterbug last Friday to try with my Hp Laptop running Jriver 20, RAM Playing files through the Chord Hugo connected with MIT Avt MA interconnects to my Amp.
The reason I was keen on trying this device is because although my DAC has sophisticated Jitter-reduction, Chord introduced Galvanic isolation of the USB input only in the HUGO TT and the 2Qute dac but due to limited space NOT in the Hugo. So even though Amirs Measurements suggests the jitterbug is not a conditioning device I thought if there is any chance of hearing a difference then it would be in this setup.
Well after a entire evening of AB Testing I am left a little frustrated, but not for the reasons you are probably thinking….
The improvements I heard with the jitterbug in place were minimal and it took me some time to be absolutely sure of what I was hearing.
With the Jitterbug there was:
- Slightly reduced sibilance which gave a more natural presentation
-Slightly blacker backgrounds
-Slightly better image dimensionality


The differences with just one jitterbug in line with the dac where way smaller than what you can expect from using a high end usb cable.

So you would think this is one upgrade I could live without right? The problem is that that 2% reduction in sibilance and gain in ease meant that over the course of a entire evening it was the difference between getting listening fatigue and not getting listening fatigue.

It has been some time since I have listened to only digital in one session and if digital was my primary source I would be trying to add two more jitterbugs to see if the difference is greater. But only AFTER I have upgrade all my cabling and software!

At 499$ you are being ripped off. At 49$...well you will ultimately have to be the judge of that.

The Spartan-6 FPGA in the HUGO

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