What is "digitis"?

[gevorg]

The word "digitis" is commonly spread around audiophile circles, and many manufacturers proudly claim that their products posses no such thing, but what exactly is "digitis"? Can it be measured? Does it have certain properties that can be clearly defined and recreated? Does it relate to "Loudness War"? Is it just overemphasized highs? Or its a derogatory name for neutral sound that reflects the quality of the recording instead of coloring it?

 

[TheBigCW]

Digitis is a complex disease where you randomly start spurting ones and zeroes, and cannot stop until your internal clock is replaced. (wink)

But in all seriousness, according to Google, Digitis are fingers.

 

[leeperry]

agressive digital-sounding trebles...it's far more complicated to get a natural vynil-like sound for instance.

 

[nick_charles]

Digititis is a meaningless made up word used by vinyl lovers and jitter device manufacturers, there is no scale to measure it, it has never been scientifically identified using any serious testing, there are no DBTs to show the existence of such a phenomenon , in short it is a non-word and an absurdity.

If it has any basis whatsoever in empirical reality it might be pointed back to the very early digital recordings where engineers falsely compensated for faults that digital does not have but that the analog recordings of the time had. But then they adapted ....

No modern digitizing of analog source causes such problems, digitized LPs are audibly indistinguishable from the source, this has been tested again and again, no harm is done by digitizing.

It is all out and out nonsense.

 

[Slash47]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick_charles /img/forum/go_quote.gif Digititis is a meaningless made up word used by vinyl lovers and jitter device manufacturers, there is no scale to measure it, it has never been scientifically identified using any serious testing, there are no DBTs to show the existence of such a phenomenon , in short it is a non-word and an absurdity. If it has any basis whatsoever in empirical reality it might be pointed back to the very early digital recordings where engineers falsely compensated for faults that digital does not have but that the analog recordings of the time had. But then they adapted .... No modern digitizing of analog source causes such problems, digitized LPs are audibly indistinguishable from the source, this has been tested again and again, no harm is done by digitizing. It is all out and out nonsense.

It's just a term used to describe harsh high-mids/highs with little definition. A lot of low-fi cd-players and soundcards have it, it's mostly to do with a crappy PSU for the ic's. I don't think people use it with what you described in mind anymore.

 

[leeperry]

nvm, nick_charles always likes to show up as the robin hood of urban myths...all the cables sound the same, jitter does not exist, there is life on Mars, yada yada

many crappy soundcard/cd players give harsh and agressive trebles, some ppl call it "digitis"...as opposed to a more natural/balanced set up that wouldn't have such forward agressive trebles, and give a mellower/more laid back sound.

 

[mshan]

Digital distortion that fatigues the ear quickly?

 

[anetode]

Refers to the great Digitus Manus, one of the first heroes to fall in the Loudness Wars started some twenty years ago after the discovery of dynamic range weaponry. While few have seen Digitus (some even consider him to be a myth), those who had were compelled, paradoxically, to tear off their ears in momentary rage. Unfortunately his poor victims wound up losing all sense of rationality and now spend their time warning naive audiophile that Digitus' ghost still haunts the nearest sound-making appliance.

 

[leeperry]

buggy decoding/audio conversions can also lead to a bad case of agressive trebles...compare Reclock b55 to b58 to hear what this is all about, the float32>int conversions where slighty buggy before.