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Audioquest Jitterbug - Any Success Stories Out There?

J English

J English

Super Member
Trying to decide whether to sell off my AQ Jitterbug - I can't hear that it's doing anything for my lower end DAC experience. Bought it to pair with a Schiit Fulla that has a lot of line noise at higher volume, but unfortunately when plugged in series with the DAC, my HP laptop at work no longer recognizes the DAC, and when plugged in parallel to the USB bus, seems to have no effect. I tried it with one of my Apple laptops, and it actually degraded the sound from the Fulla, though it did not prevent recognition.

(The Fulla does have that line noise, but once signal is present, I can't really hear it, and the overall DAC/amp experience with the Fulla is good, compared to my other modest DACs. I think frankly my favorite one is still the Hot Audio (Canadian) "Dac Destroyer" that I bought for $40.)

Before I throw it up for sale - does anyone have any positive pairing stories? From all of the writeups on it, it seemed that it had the ability to improve line noise more than jitter, but I'm not finding that to be the case.
 
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It has worked very well ridding my laptop of line noise especially when charging. I am using it with a Dragonfly v1.2 though. Not sure why your computer wouldn't recognize the DAC when using the Jitterbug it is a passive device.
 
HVHiFI said:
It has worked very well ridding my laptop of line noise especially when charging. I am using it with a Dragonfly v1.2 though. Not sure why your computer wouldn't recognize the DAC when using the Jitterbug it is a passive device.
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Mike, does your laptop have USB 2.0 ports or 3.0 ports? I'm thinking my work one has 3.0 ports and that is causing the recognition issue, somehow.
I still hear all of the USB line "chatter" when the Fulla is plugged in and the Jitterbug is plugged in alongside..
The other thing I've heard that sometimes works better is to get a powered USB hub?
I like the Fulla overall but I gather it has no filtering capacitors, so the line noise is a lot more evident than say with my Fiio E7.
 
I'm using USB 2.0 ports so that may be the case. I know they are a little more expensive but have you considered the Dragonfly?
 
Received the Audioquest Jitterbug yesterday ... hooked it up to my entry level HP Laptop (purchased last month) usb out> AQ Forest USB > Schiit Audo Modi 2 Uber > AQ Evergreen RCA to Yamaha Integrated Amp.

Works great ... definite improvement ... not subtle ... night & day musical nirvana :no: but noticeable.
 
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Sounds like a decent accessory for laptops ... any experience with conventional "big box" computers? Seems like a pretty inexpensive item ... if it actually works. The ad copy is impressive ... reduces USB jitter, removes parasitic resonance, presents a more dynamic and vivid musical experience, it slices, it dices, it makes your farts smell better!

(I may have embellished a bit - in any case, AudioQuest seems to be impressed with it.) ;-}

Reason I ask ... most of the complaints seem to be about line noise. I found the perfect solution here, installing an add on board to my HTPC, creating a new USB channel that draws juice directly from the power supply and bypasses the system buss entirely. The only two items plugged into that are my ADC and DAC. Works like a charm, eliminating all sorts of hash caused by my other USB accessories. Just way too much competition for resources. Biggest culprit was the wireless mouse and keyboard.

Another BIG improvement - if you're a Windows user, the WASAPI sound system included with W7 with incremental improvements in W8 runs rings around Direct Sound for digital audio. Next best thing to bit perfect according to the reviews. It also makes most digital equipment plug 'n play, excepting those that insist you use their proprietary drivers. Upgrading to W8 here over XP really made my Maverick TubeMagic D1+ sing.

Oh. I see they say you can also "stack" the thing "in parallel" (?) for additional benefits? Not sure how you'd go about hooking up to one chain "in parallel" ... Not sure I'd trust an engineering team that doesn't know the difference between parallel and series either ...
 
Never got my gitterbug or ifi working with the tenor USB chip found in my maverick tubemagic DAC. They are both collecting dust :(
 
Mine works well in addition to the USB Regen. The Jitterbug adds clarity and a little sizzle to the top end. Didn't have any unwanted noise to start with that I was aware of.
 
SWL3600 said:
Mine works well in addition to the USB Regen. The Jitterbug adds clarity and a little sizzle to the top end. Didn't have any unwanted noise to start with that I was aware of.
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I didn't have any unwanted "noise" ... like you get with analog (pops, clicks, hiss ... etc) either ... just a flat ... "mater of fact" ... type of sound that was improved w/ the Jitterbug. My presentation is more "musical" and engaging now.
 
I've found my jitterbug to be a worthwhile investment. So much so that I ended up getting a dragonfly and a dragon tail as well. It makes the music have better presence and clarity. The effect is subtle to very notable depending on what your using it with.

I've had trouble with my MacBook recognizing DACs depending on where in the chain it is. But I been able to figure out configurations that always work. Even if they were not the most convenient. I might sell the other two items but I doubt I'd ever sell the jitterbug. My understanding is the the better the DAC the less likely that this would be needed. But as it stands I'm not quite up for a $5,000 + DAC.
 
If your laptop has two USB sockets, putting a Jitterbug in each means they are in parallel. If Audioquest said "stack" and "parallel" in the same sentence, yeah, that wasn't smart!

Newbie but not green,
Jim

[QUOTE="... they say you can also "stack" the thing "in parallel" (?) for additional benefits? Not sure how you'd go about hooking up to one chain "in parallel" ...[/QUOTE]
 
A friend of mine came over to my place and brought his AQ Jitterbug so I could try it out on my system before buying one and it made quite an audible difference in my setup (MacBook Pro to Chord Qute EX via AQ Forest USB cable); it kind of "raised" the sound stage, lifted everything up!

For the price it's sold, best improvement IMHO...
 
I have two of them plugged into my VortexBox server, and they do seem to improve the sound. Also tried one in line with my Dragonfly 1.2 on my laptop at work, and that also improved things. I need to order another one!
 
RichPA said:
I have two of them plugged into my VortexBox server
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Is your Vortexbox connected directly to your DAC or is it used as more of a NAS? Mine is used as a NAS outside of the media room, but I have wondered about such an improvement on it considering that the music starts there.
 
I just got my jitterbug last night and hooked it between my hp desktop and Modi DAC. I had been experiencing a certain raspiness in the mids at certain times worse than others. For me with only one full evening so far I found it to be a great improvement, not only in completely eliminating the raspiness, but bringing out the sound stage considerably. For the first hour I just focused on the changes, playing my goto music for revealing how well everything is playing. I'm not that great at descriptions of sound quality but it was not quite, but almost like hearing it brand new. Overall I think it was a great investment!
 
In the end, I sold mine off for $36...just could not get it to improve things on my work setup, which is where I need it. Have not made up my mind about the Schiit Fulla yet. It sounds good but I know that noise is in there, which bugs me.
Glad it is in fact working for some of you...the guy I sold it to was pleased...he indicated that he could hear a difference and that it improved things!
 
blownsi said:
Is your Vortexbox connected directly to your DAC or is it used as more of a NAS? Mine is used as a NAS outside of the media room, but I have wondered about such an improvement on it considering that the music starts there.
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Mostly used as a NAS, ethernet to router to modded Sonos Connect, and that's how I heard the improvement. Also connected directly to the DAC via USB for those rare occasions when I play a high-res download (which Sonos can't handle)
 
Same general idea as the JB, got this Schiit Wyrd today and inserted between the usb cable from the nas to the dac. Too early to tell if it's really doing anything but those led lamps on the front of it are way too bright. They should have an option, say for $9.95, to include some sunglasses with it.

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