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There seems to be much greater jitter going over the USB for reasons I don't quite grasp even though it's been explained to me on numerous occasions. Take a look at the "January" issue forum, there is an ongoing discussion about this very topic.
On a sarcastic note, maybe the problem is not having a audiophile USB cable.
Probably the reason is the software handling of the data.
You mention that the reviewers would have optimized their computers, but often applications provided by many software companies (microsoft and anyone that wants to play along) limit users ability to control details. As long as MP3 works all is good.
Right, Windows Media Player is notoriously bad in this regard. There are a number of high end solutions for playing back audio files on a computer...Foobar2000 and WinAmp being two of the most readily available ones. Both of these players have a NUMBER of plugins available that allow for bit accurate playback...where as Windows Media Player will run the audio through the kmixer and will upsample the audio to 48k.
I'll head over and look at the ongoing discussion in the current issue forum.
Jitter seems to be the general consensus. From what I gather, the Wavelength is the only USB DAC that deals with the jitter issue. I don't have any first hand experience with it.
I am thinking the USB trend is marketing. It is a connector almost all computer users are framiliar with at this point.
I guess I must be jitter-resistant. In my office I used to have a sound card but I tired of it and bought a USB driven external DAC. It's a Silverstone EB01. It was very inexpensive (less than $100) and it sounds fine. It sounds a lot better than the sound card it replaced. I listen at lower volume on this machine so maybe I am missing something bad without noticing it.
I was thinking about buying a DAC1 USB but not after the review. Not at 12 times the price.
Now if I was using this to drive my main system that would be another thing. But in my office and in my lake home I use the Silverstone with no noticable suffering. YMMV... (and sorry, I know such an inexpensive device can't be taken seriously. Unless it says "Oppo" on it...)
Silverstone EB01 Manufacturers Page
My computer case for my custom computer is a Silverstone and it is terrific. I am framiliar with that Silverstone unit. They are known as an outstanding maker of high-end computer cases, fans, power supplies and accessories.
I wouldn't be surprised if they made a nice little DAC.
As for jitter, my understanding of jitter is that it won't make your music sound bad, per se, but jitter is one factor that makes a digital source not sound as good as it could sound.