What does Jitter sound like?


I keep hearing the term jitter used to describe a kind of distortion that is especially problematic with CD Players.

What does Jitter sound like?
How can I identify it?
hdomke
I suggest disposing of theory & gambling a few hundred dollars on a simple clock upgrade and report back to the forum.

What would you suggest that would be a few hundred dollars and would make an immediately obvious improvement? I have four mega-changers, a Blu-Ray player and some standalone CD players stacked in storage...I have more than enough gear to make a controlled A/B comparison from the listening position using a remote (if it is simply jitter correction). For a few hundred I would be willing to dispose of theory.
Shadorne, I suggest speaking with Kyle at Reference Audio Mods 951-780-2869 about a Superclock for one of your devices. The SC4 retails for $300 and there are probably cheaper used or old-stock SC3s. I have no experience with budget players, but reportedly he has had decent results with Oppo and others under $500.
Shadorne, I like where you're going with this. I think your results would make a very interesting read, and I whole-heartedly support the experiment! I think a good A/B switching with zero lag would be the best way to hear jitter and describe exactly what it does to the sound, other than "de-vinylize" it.
I think a good A/B switching with zero lag would be the best way to hear jitter and describe exactly what it does to the sound

I can't do pefectly zero lag as the DSP amp takes two seconds to switch some pretty clunky relays - but this is close enough. I also would need to run it through my DSP amp as this has a multitude of inputs (toslink or SPDIF) and precise volume level matching capability. If the improvement cannot be heard through this DSP with AKM AK4382 192Khz/24 bit DAC's and a Crystal CS3310 analog attenuator and Burr Brown op amps then it is probably not worth the trouble as I would also need to upgrade this amp which is probably several thousand.

If I need to go to completely separate signal paths then it negates the possibility of A/B ing properly without moving and while seated at the listening position (with a remote in hand). If this were the case, then I am not really sure I could give up the convenience of the DSP unless the difference was truly impressive...