[Duncan]

I'm a convert...

I have two of these, one for my desktop, and one for my portable setup - almost impossible to do a recordable a/b comparison (at least it is with my setup), however - the feeling of improvement (especially the warmth that others have mentioned) is well appreciated by me...

It may well end up being snake-oil to many, but - even if it is, then I'm glad I got suckered in

 

[RelayerCR]

I've used jiterbug with my laptop and a Nuprime uDSD dac/amp. Then I tried at home connected between my computer an a Nuforce u192s and after this my dac Parasound Zdac, finally a Musical Fidelity v-can. USB Cables and Power cables by Pangea Audio, interconnect cables by DH Lab, power conditioner Furman.

Results: this small audioquest toy improved the sound, my systems with Jitterbug produce more details and a more bodied sound.

So I have Schiit modi and magni, I still have not tried the Jitterbug with these stuff, I'll let you know what happens with schiit.

 

[fjrabon]

So, after a good experience with the Dragonfly Red, i picked a couple of these up.  I was in my office when they arrived, so I put them in on my office setup, a 2015 macbook pro going into a Grace m9XX in high power mode through a pair of modded THX00s (lawton stage 1 + E-MU Ebony cups).  
 
And my first reaction was "oh god, I just wasted money on snake oil, there is absolutely no audible difference here."  It wasn't that big of a deal because, really, $80 isn't that big of a deal to waste money on in this deathly hobby.  But it was certainly disappointing.  I went back and forth, making absolute sure of my impression, as best as I could.  It obviously wasn't blind A/B, but if there was an audible difference, I certainly couldn't hear it.  
 
Next, when I got home, I tried it with my "walk the dog" setup, my dragonfly red, out of my iPhone 128 GB 6S+ streaming apple music through my beloved pair of $10 innateck IEMS (Serisouly, I love these things, to me they're the IEM equivalent of the KSC75 in that they can beat IEMs 10 times their price).  And... Well, I thought I heard some improvement.  I was skeptical though because 1) I was walking the dog along streets, and while my IEMs cut a lot of ambient noise, it isn't a black background 2) While I do like Apple Music quality wise quite a bit, it's not my most solid source, and not something I would typically use as reference evaluation source material. 3) I was walking.  But it at least got me thinking "well, maybe it's not so great with other stuff, but maybe it just works really well with Dragonfly's own stuff, like they have some shared secret sauce when put together.  
 
So, then, when I got home I fired up my casual listening home rig: Older Dell laptop that I only use as a music hub -> AudioEngine D1 -> HiFiMan EF2C with Voshkod tubes -> HiFiMan HE400i.  Yes, there was an audible improvement in the blackness of the background, and thus the dynamic range of the amp.  A tiny amount of harshness also seemed to be lifted as well, leading to a bit smoother sound.  As I was listening to Miles Davis Kind of Blue sound as rich and full yet snappy and dynamic as I've ever heard it out of that setup, I started to think...
 
My work setup has a macbook, which only uses a single USB out per USB hub.  The Grace m9XX has various levels of power conditioners.  When in high power mode it uses a completely separate line for power and a separate line for data.  It has a very advanced USB controller.  If what the Dragonfly Jitterbug does is fix problems, it was likely that the combo of the macbook and Grace were fixing those problems in the first place.  
 
The Dell, on the other hand, has an external hard drive attached on the same BUS as the DAC uses, and probably not the cleanest USB in the first place, as it's relatively close to the CD drive and charger jack.  The AudioEngine D1 can only be powered by USB bus.  In a lot of ways, this setup was where the jitterbug could do the most.  
 
The Dragonfly Red will likely be where this gets used the most, because this experience may have sold me on a Wyrd for my casual home setup.  My takeaway is that this product may be unnecessary on some setups that have already gone through great lengths to have clean USB.  But it will make an audible improvement if: 1) Your DAC is USB bus powered 2) you are using a laptop with questionable USB implementation (multiple USB jacks per bus/ jacks close to noise or heat generating parts, etc).  3) a combination of the above.  
 
This experience may have also convinced me to upgrade the dell on my casual listening station at home.  

 

[Duncan]

I have to say that I hate USB 3.1, why reinvent the wheel?

Anyhow, my FOTM DAC, the LG hi-fi module, with a convenient eBay adapter is finally able to use the jitterbug, and it really thickens up the sound with this, this is the most apparent is my setups...

Must listen more, but considering the number of parts that I have to swap to bring the jitterbug in or out of the chain makes it impossible to directly a/b.

 

[Lohb]

I'm using split power and data USB line already off a Macbook Air with 2 ferrite core clip-on parts added as well.

external battery pack

 
Will Jitterbug bring anything more as the background is already pretty black using this method (I removed the 5V pin from the USB plug that goes to the Air...)
Maybe improve the data-out line in some kind of tonality filter way with that signal going through the JB ?
 
Edit : Oh well, just picked one up anyway. Give it a shot.

 

[stuck limo]

 My wireless mouse receiver, my wireless keyboard, my WiFi antennas. All in a box bouncing around signals all over. That can't possibly be good for any of that. Plus my wifi wasn't very good in there. So I wanted to move it all outside the cabinet. And also away from all my other gear.   

I literally read this as "wife" and I agreed with your assessment.

 

[Smileyko]

  I bought a Jitterbug yesterday on a whim. I thought even at $79 here in Australia, I wouldn't be jumping out of a window if it made no difference. Furthermore, I don't use a USB DAC and I had planned to simply stick the thing in - of all places - the USB port I use for my mouse on my PC! So not in any audio or "data" path at all!
 
After installing it inline with the mouse USB port - and doing absolutely nothing else, I was still expecting it to make absolutely no difference whatsoever. After all, I've been pretty careful building up this PC to work extremely well with music.
 
Well blow me away it did make a difference - and a noticeable one. Not a big difference but definitely a worthwhile one and one that would likely be noticeable even to a less critical listener (I was listening via my Xonar ST soundcard via headphones).
 
The most noticeable difference was that I was able to get the same enjoyment and clarity listening at a lower volume - subjectively around 2 - 3 dB lower than without the jitterbug installed. The sound is clearer and more sharply defined but without any side effects. There is just no need to turn the volume up anymore and that takes some getting used to in itself. This especially welcome given I listen to 99% classical where the dynamic range is extremely high and you need to hear everything from a string being struck on a harp 40 feet away to an orchestra playing absolutely flat out.
 
The other bonus is that the differences between my high resolution 24 bit material and my CD standard material, though still easily noticeable, is not as big as it was before. By that I mean the CD standard material is much more pleasant than it was before - improving more than the 24 bit stuff (which still improves).
 
I will likely just use the one Jitterbug even though my PC has two USB buses. In any case, unless I start using extension cables the Jitterbug is too large (thick) to be used on a port that is vertically adjacent to another.
 
So I'm totally and pleasantly surprised by this little gadget. It makes me worry that if things like this can improve the sound of a setup that I have already gone to considerable pains to be as noise-free as possible right from the wall socket, what else is there to tweak...This is certainly by far the most cost-effective tweak I've ever bought.

Most Thankful. I will go get one today here in HK.

 

[Mediahound]

My updated review:
 
This made the mids a bit more 'present' in my system and does seem to reduce any perceived digital noise.  I'm using it in conjunction with the Uptone Audio Regen.
 
Note, you will likely only notice a benefit if your system is already quite resolving since any improvement with this is quite subtle. 
 
This was designed by Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio and Garth Powell formerly with Furman, now at Audioquest.
 
It does improve things and can be used in conjunction with other USB devices such as the Schiit Wyrd or Uptone Regen. 
 
I wouldn't go crazy and install this in every single open USB port as Audioquest would have you do, but the one in my Mac to USB DAC chain does improve the audio for me. For the price of one unit, I'm happy with the device. 
 
The back of my DAC is a bit ridiculous now but it works well with a couple of decks of cards supporting it:
 

 

[BarDash]

I don't know if this has been mentioned before but AQ says you can plug the JB into a USB port that's connected to an external drive that has your music files on it. I keep all my music including Flac, DSD and MP3's on an external SSD and just plugged in a JB in the USB port... Still listening to see if I hear a difference.
Has anyone else tried this? Thoughts?

 

[figgyburn]

Just got one of these.it definitely gives music a more warm sound and cuts a bit treble so it seems to me just to be a equalizer in all but name.i can see it helping treble happy headphones.'im amazed that there were people saying they did not hear any difference with the jitterbug.i have aged cloth ears and the difference is substantial to me.anyway at the small price you can "suck it and see".

 

[Lohb]

  Just got one of these.it definitely gives music a more warm sound and cuts a bit treble so it seems to me just to be a equalizer in all but name.i can see it helping treble happy headphones.'im amazed that there were people saying they did not hear any difference with the jitterbug.i have aged cloth ears and the difference is substantial to me.anyway at the small price you can "suck it and see".

It is synergy dependent. For my DAC architecture it made the treble brittle.

 

[MX400]

Dragonfly Red and Jitterbug with the Dragontail are well worth it for mobile DJ's or PC enthusiasts! 

Fast, easy and mostly cheap priced, very high quality audio output..

Studio listening:
Mixer: Alto ZMX 122FX (built in FX processor turned off)
Speakers: Klipsch - ProMedia 2.1 Speaker System (mixer mids @ 25% - 45% from 0, bass at 30% - 50% from 0, treble @ 50% from 0.
Cabling: Livewire Elite Interconnect Y-Cable 3.5 mm TRS Male to 1/4" TS Male 

Thinkpad t430s (w8.1) onboard sound, to Creative SB1240, to Dragonfly Red, to Dragonly Red w/ Jitterbug, and the journey upgrading each time.. has been pretty amazing..
Song files, even 128k bit-rate sound drastically upgraded and improved on the Dragonfly Red w/Jitterbug.

When I take the Thinkpad to performances with the Dragonfly Red, on larger stage speakers, the difference is very noticeable. The SB1240 did a better job routing the audio to the mixer than the onboard sound, properly separating L/R channel and low pass for the physical control boards on mixer and 'pass through' board on sub. But the Dragonfly Red takes everything to a completely new level, mids are cleaner and don't blare, for example.
 
I've had to listen to songs and mixes, thousands and thousands of times, over and over again, in lots of settings and different speakers and setups. At the price of what a Dragonfly Red and Jitterbug will offer, paired with the right equipment, I say it's well worth it.
 
For MSRP $267?

Dragonfly Red, $200
Jitterbug, $50
Dragontail, $17

...Can't go wrong here. Compared to some of the really expensive sound processors that run for over $1K that DJ's lug around, just to achieve "stable interconnect" for stage/venue equipment? The Dragonfly Red and Jitterbug achieve a lot of that, easily, as a bypass; just blows my mind.
Doesn't replace microphone processor(s) for DJ controllers or sound mixers, but that's a different subject. 

I just read the manual for the Jitterbug, and it recommends that end-users should plug in two Jitterbugs at most per device, one per USB controller, if I'm reading that correctly. People are posting that AQ wants customers to potentially plug the Jitterbug into every port of a computer, and that seems absolutely ridiculous.
And if audio sounds worst with the Jitterbug, it's probably because of the many different variables involved.
Like someone mentioned earlier, Jitterbug + Dragonfly, will yield, personally, the best results for audio listening output where listening experience can be appreciated or needed, per-user.

Dragonfly Red will speed up the music without tearing it unless the song was already torn in the first place, it just becomes much more audible. But with the Jitterbug, it resurfaces the clarity of the audio to allow DJ's to better hear every split second of a song or sample, you'll hear even more details or flaws in the sound files.
Can save a lot of time, cuts down on potential mistakes during split second splices from sound interference, all without having to shell out extra hard earned cash on expensive, unnecessary hardware upgrades.
For PC enthusiasts or mobile DJ's that want extremely reliable audio output? Look no further, Dragonfly and Jitterbug are a great pair.

Worth it? YES...

 

[hearhead]

Has anybody attached the jitterbug to a CAYIN i5 via an OTG cable? Would there be audible differences?

 

[hearhead]

  Has anybody attached the jitterbug to a CAYIN i5 via an OTG cable? Would there be audible differences?

 
Or any other DAP.... 

 

[Soundizer]

I have been using the Jitterbug from my iMac via USB into the Chord Mojo DAC for audio. It does clean up the sound noticeably. Audioquest suggest trying another Jitterbug in parallel for possible further improvement, but clearly state on the brochure not to have more than two Jitterbugs connected.

However i am experimenting and trying optical out into the Mojo to minimise any possible RFI/EMC interferences.

I still have USB from my iMac Computer to the Chord Mojo purely for powering it. My question is should I still use the Jiiterbug as am only powering via USB and not sending audio via USB?