Review of Audioquest JitterBug - USB Data & Power Noise Filter.

[roamling]

I got two JItterbugs today and put them in the back of my Vortexbox, one for the USB cable feeding my ifi micro iDSD and the other Bug went into an empty USB port. I dont even know what happened but something did happen. The soundstage was deeper and i could hear more instrument separation straight away. It all sounded a bit more livelier and more engaging.
 
So I am not going to take the Jitterbugs in and out and try to compare what happens with only one or none, i just leave them were they are. Th only thing I can tell for sure is that the sound in my system seems to benefit, so I am happy with that... time will tell.

 

[manishex]

Would it help my audio GD DAC with USB32? I don't have anything else cleaning the signal except my gigabyte motherboard which has a special USB port for DACs for fluctuations

 

[ahendler]

The Jitterbug did nothing for my Master 7. with the USB32. The two things that did the most were a Melodius USB converter and the Intona galvanic isolater.
Alan

 

[xaznxeclipsex]

Bought the jitterbug at bestbuy last night, it filled my powered speakers full of static sound. Same with my headphone dac/amp. Going to return it tonight. 

 

[PANURUS]

I prefer ferrite on usb cable.

 

[RyuX84]

So i finished my small little project because the Jitterbug had some issues in its original state:

1. my DAC was not recognized by Windows when connected VIA jitterbug
2. on one port it was working but the sound was distorted

 
So i decided to have a look at the PCB and furthermore decided to replace the choke inductor with higher quality parts from würth elektronik.
After that i resoldered everything with silver solder and soldered a silver conductor cable directly to the PCB with proper shielding and a short cable length.
 
Now i have a real improvement!
 
Tomorrow i will also make a similar cable, same length, same conductor without the jitterbug for a head on head comparison.
 

 
 

 

[leeperry]

dang those bugs sound bad IME, really bad lol "look ma' no more transients I'm so awesome"

 

 

[canali]

thought i'd share.
 
seems from the look of the 2 presentations (see links below) at the recent CES by Audioquest,
that the popularity of the Jitterbug is causing them to investigate developing more products related to line conditioning and signal integrity.
 
also at the beginning of the 2nd quarter there will be 2 new Dragonflys
(with upgradeable firmware) along with a blue tooth (beetle) dac.
 
the first (vimeo) link is by the ever informative John Darko during their official release during CES 2016
 
https://vimeo.com/151709852
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUj4SAhm6RY
interesting interview with the president on these products and aims.
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/audioquest-bugs-out-new-dragonfly-black-dragonfly-red-and-beetle-dacs
 
enjoy!

 

[castleofargh]

well the reasons of the jitterbug success were false claim and cheap price. you can never go wrong in marketing when you can get a product with those 2 at once. I'm sure most of the purchases were from people who were a little curious and thought "what the hell it's so cheap, I will just try one".

 

[canali]

  well the reasons of the jitterbug success were false claim and cheap price. you can never go wrong in marketing when you can get a product with those 2 at once. I'm sure most of the purchases were from people who were a little curious and thought "what the hell it's so cheap, I will just try one".

have you ever considered sharing those thoughts with audioquest,
given you're confident of your claims against theirs?
 
it would be most interesting to hear their reply

 

[castleofargh]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/777003/review-of-audioquest-jitterbug-usb-data-power-noise-filter#post_11834189
you believe there is a credible answer to the claim of warmth when dealing with passive components in the digital signal path?

 

[canali]

  http://www.head-fi.org/t/777003/review-of-audioquest-jitterbug-usb-data-power-noise-filter#post_11834189
you believe there is a credible answer to the claim of warmth when dealing with passive components in the digital signal path?

i'm not a technician.....listening to a source, as we all well know on here, can be very subjective.
 
and if you do have a very competent tech background, then i think it's fair to put your refutation out to audioquest:
if the jitterbug is a smoke and mirrors BS gadget, then let them respond accordingly to your argument.
 
 I'd like to think that they have a pretty good reputation and thus, hopefully,
aren't trying to mislead and swindle their clients into buying one of their lesser $$ products with a 
'what the hell, it's cheap...not much of a risk here' attitude.  
maybe you're right, castleofargh. I don't know.
 
i think skeptics like you play a very good and integral role for the rest of us with little or no tech backgrounds,
doing the pseudo science policing.
 

USB Data & Power Noise Filter

Dual Discrete Noise-Dissipation Circuits

1. Reduces the noise and ringing that plague both the data and power lines of USB ports
2. Measurably reduces jitter and packet errors
3. Improves dynamic contrast, warmth and resolution

 

[castleofargh]

 they're not selling snake oil, the product does something, and while we could debate how useful it is on most systems, it's still something. a filter for the 5V makes a lot of sense if your DAC doesn't seem to do it well(=bad DAC IMO, a DAC should be built thinking that it will be plugged into dirty usb sometimes), but a low pass filter on the data path? in my head all you can do with a low pass is to turn almost square wave signal into more curvy stuff. that's pretty much what all expensive high speed USB cables try to prevent. so it makes me wonder.
still speed isn't a problem with most digital audio signals, and maybe that ends up making the DAC chip to do something differently(maybe slower rise makes for less ringing at the top that may or may not matter). I really have no idea. but then are we supposed to avoid usb cables that allow for higher speeds to connect audio gears? ^_^ that could be a fun conclusion.
 
but the point is, they really do something for both the data and the power source.
now I still stand by my post about the warmth statement. IMO marketing went too far with this. measurable stuff, I trust they did and it's fine. warmth though?  even more so after reading the stereophile measurements for jitter. now I really have no idea how that would be possible.

 

[milosingh]

But if they claim it will help you in many/most cases especially with the more expensive stuff, then it is snake oil.

 

[castleofargh]

IDK. I call everything you stick between a computer and a DAC a "magic box", that's how little love I have for those band aid solutions. there isn't one of those products that couldn't be integrated into a DAC, so if I go with the axiom that DAC engineers aren't idiots. if such solution had universal benefit, they would use it in their products right? like galvanized stuff, external power supply, reclocking, noise filtering attempts etc etc. all could help for some problems or not(some might actually degrade the fidelity in some cases). so overall, I go with the idea that if a DAC needs one of those stuff to perform well, and it doesn't have it, then maybe the guy who made the DAC wasn't all that good.

that's how I think, I would sooner change my DAC, or maybe if the computer was really super sucky, get a new usb card or get into a solution that doesn't use USB(optical?), than buy those usb add-ons(and I posted the same kind of rant on the wyrd's topic and a few others, I'm not focused on this little guy, I really just dislike them all ^_^).
 
now just like the wyrd, and other stuff, it's perfectly possible to have one such DAC that I would judge defective with average to poor USB, and get a real improvement with a magic box. so is it still snake oil when it does help a few guys? I don't feel that way. to me snake oil is a placebo and never does anything.
the main problem with those products is how much the general information we get can be divorced from the possible impacts it would have on most systems. when a car has a tire problem, the repair guy will surely try to sell you a lot of useless replacements, but he won't start telling you to add 4 more tires because the car will work better with 8 wheels, or a second oil tank. nobody works like that, we look for the problem and we replace the defective part. only when people absolutely refuse to change their system even though it has problems, should they maybe look into band aids. that's when those products make the most sens IMO. but they're at best solutions for specific problems, not magical sound upgrading boxes. that much is sure.
 
maybe people are to blame for so often seeking solutions to problems they don't have? ^_^