First, many thanks to Sir Rob Watts for building such solid products. To be able to feed 16-bit instead of 32-bit Toslink into my Hugo₂ is amazing. I believe most DACs nowadays need to convert to 32-bit before proceeding. And to be able to handle Clock Frequencies near the lowest common denominator. I don't run the standard 44 kHz Clocks like mainstream products / streamers, I run the highest-performance reference low phase noise super low MHz Frequency optimised purely for Redbook use. I believe in High Quality Well-Mastered Sources, not High Resolution Sources. Too many HiRes/DSD/etc/ gimmicks, I just want purity. I like to keep it simple because I have a niche use case of being CIEM-only, Redbook-only, Toslink-only, etc. and keeping my chain within a certain "Goldilocks"-zone. I don't want to get too crazy and out of control which can easily happen in the Summit-Fi world. It's also amazing that pre-emphasis and de-emphasis are built into Chord DACs. I have not had a chance to test, but since I'm a Redbook fanatic, I will try one day.
Jitter is a very small part. It's about the quality of the source and attempting to re-create what the Artist originally intended. For I, since I was an 80s kid, I try to re-create a Time Machine to take me back to that early 80s era. With the help of high performance state of the art external clocks and Chord DACs, it gets me there. I can close my eyes and the sound is Analog as can be given current technology and it takes me back to that 80s era. But you can only do this when your entire chain is super transparent then feeding it well-mastered sources from original 80s recording before sound processing became a thing. I exclusive run only WAV as it's audibly transparent once your chain gets to a different level. If you run WAV on a Apple Dongle, there's not much difference. The higher up your chain in getting super transparent, the more you notice the little things can make a big difference.
For example, I only use specific Masterings such a this (the CD design is easily recognisable by Purists):
To be able to listen to these Artists in a well-mastered format as purely and faithfully possible is a dream. So much media out there that were never well-mastered back in the day makes me sad. It just makes me appreciate more, but the costs of well-mastered media is rising.
Imagine if you had a Goto CD Player that plays Redbook really well. You don't worry about Jitter. You might worry about upgrading the clock in that CD Player for the highest performance possible. You treat the CD Player independent of the DAC. I don't understand the obsession with everything having to revolve around the Chord DAC instead of focusing on the chain as a whole. For I, the Chord DAC is just a conduit to translate from a high performance digital player source to it's fullest. If you feed the Chord DAC 128Kbs MP3 Audio File, it's going to translate that the best it can. If you feed it a highly-optimised clocked source that faithfully reproduces what the Artist intended, the Chord DAC will translate that to it's fullest. GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage-Out). For I, I built a Time Machine to bring me back to early 80s so I couldn't be happier.
A clocked source to a FPGA DAC is more a dcS philosophy and implementation than Chord philosophy. That's why 95%+ of dCS users purchase a Clock along with their dCS DAC as one could not live with just a basic dCS DAC alone once experiencing the Clock effect. I just try to combine both worlds to Max my CIEM experience. There are no chains that are built specifically for CIEMs in mind so I'm glad to build the most robust possible in this modern age. I'm trying to simulate old school well-mastered sources with modern technology to the fullest extent. Any DAC > Hugo₂ is overkill in power and having to throw an amplifier in the mix, so Hugo₂ pretty perfect for my use case. It helps clarify my chain because I'll definitely go crazy with a DAC > Hugo₂. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a dCS alone or a Chord DAC alone.
I get the same results as a "dCS external clock + dCS DAC" with my "State of the Art external clock + Chord DAC". Sure, the basic Chord DAC can stand on it's own, but "Clock+Chord DAC" takes me to another world (Time Machine) like it would with a dCS chain.
I experience the same as dCS Marketing speak:
When an MSI laptop with Toslink OUT is used, jitter is never discussed. When someone is using a Toslink Streamer with Average basic Clocks, jitter is never discussed. I think jitter is mentioned only as a defense mechanism for something unknown. For these other Toslink solutions, all I see are cheap embedded clocks and solutions. Why not use high performance clocks instead of the cheap stuff on your Toslink source? dCS does it. I also combine with a high performance realtime low latency Audiophile OS and the transient response is taken to new levels. The Chord DAC definately does it's job and can handle a modern high performance feed. So it can be a bit hypocritical to mention jitter when ANY Toslink source also employs clocks, but I understand that this can be such an unknown territory. Just follow dCS's example. dCS users don't mention jitter as they know they are using high quality not AliExpress gear.
This chain performs so well, I started investing in Ultra Capacitors to slowly upgrade the Power in the next few years. Of course, they are passive power supplies that don't run off Mains. I would never use Active Power Supplies with Chord DACs. I don't believe in gimmicks like LPS and 1TB files for each track / song, I believe in solid fundamentals. I'll upgrade the power on the Clocks @16V to Ultra Caps with 9000 Farad one day.
For now, I'm focusing on the world's best 5V @ 3000 Farad power supply:
I'll build 3.3V, 5V @ 3000 Farads this Summer and 12V, 15.5V @ 9000 Farads in the upcoming years. I wish I could build a 12V for you Summit-Fi guys this year, but Ultra Caps get pretty expensive. For this solution, the Mains is always plugged-in to recharge the UltraCaps when low. So maybe 3 minutes a day running 24/7 depending on use. It then goes back to full-time optical isolation mode which 100% cuts off from Mains during performance use. I think it's dynamic up to 1000Amps, so it's will handle dynamic swings beautifully. Solid Core wiring of course... I don't cut corners. Zero regulators for 3.3V, 5V, 12V and 15.5V, just pure goodness.
For clocks, it's about keeping it's composure even with high dynamism and fast attacks. It's about placing vocals and instruments in a properly spaced SoundStage. The high performance clocks do their job and the Chord DAC does it's job. I would only be concerned about jitter on cheap Toslink clocks / embedded clocks like MSI Laptops, Chromecast Audio, AliExpress devices, Average Hi-Fi Streamers, etc. With a dCS clock or high performance clocks, jitter is about political not performance.
This Soundstage is not much of an exaggeration as Spatial Audio is properly placed within an large Soundstage. Depending on the Mastering of course. I run Japanese Masterings too as a good amount have low noise floor. But one only experiences this once their chain is tight. The precision, layered Bass I did not expect with external clocks, but it's welcomed.
Another advantage is being to able to listen @ super low volumes with zero to very low noise floor and zero fatigue while retaining all the details. So for ear health reasons alone, this chain is easily justifiable for my use case. Average HiFi clocks are bright and fatiquing, state of the art are just smooth and clean.