AudioQuest JitterBug USB Filter Review

[VintageFlanker]

Really admire how patiently folks are replying to the Dr. I'm wondering if everyone here is aware of this thread:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-your-ears-audioquest-dragonfly-cobalt.23081/

You mean this:

Cultists ? Wow, that's something. This one sounds much more like (bullshitism) religion to me...

OK, @Dr Schweinsgruber, may I ask the point of your membership here? Not afraid of being "contaminated", hum?

Appart from "measurements don't tell the whole story cause I do hear a difference" that we all did read a million times...

 

[MaxBuck]

Then I’d suggest you stay away from scientific discussions based on fact rather than fantasy.

No controls means you’re playing make- believe. And that has zero value in technical discussions. Less than zero, actually.

Thanks for your suggestion, but I think I'll stay here.

The notion that unless we have "proper controlled experimental design" we're "playing make-believe" is just wrong. Do you conduct controlled experiments before buying a washing machine? An oven? How about an automobile? One can argue that automotive performance is better described objectively than audio reproduction, yet no one insists on turning laps at Watkins Glen behind the wheel of competitive models with blind camouflage of the cars' exteriors and interiors before making a purchase decision.

Look, I get how important objectivity is here, and I value this site for making all these data available to help us build excellent audio systems. I don't buy into the flowery, unsupported prose that audio hucksters try to sell. But at the same time, I don't see how condescending and insulting language (see bold above) is really helpful in persuading people to stick to the numbers. And perhaps unlike you, I don't believe the numbers are quite capable yet of completely solving the problem of "how to achieve the best sound in MaxBuck's living room."

 

[MaxBuck]

I share your view about controlled experiments - as an individual consumer I lack the time, equipment, patience, and expertise to conduct them (which is why I'm glad there are sites like this).

But what I don't get about the "If I like the sound of a product, after carefully considering the measured performance and price, I'll buy it" statement is, how do you listen to everything that falls within your budget and measured-performance parameters before you buy it?

Oh, I can't. But then, I don't feel like I need to. My personal buying decisions have been made primarily on performance-per-dollar on the electronics end (DAC, power amp, preamp), convenience and performance on the streamer, and performance and listening to selected products on the speakers. I know this might be suboptimal, as I haven't been able to audition Revel or Focal speakers (and I would've liked to). But I'm very pleased with the KEFs that I ended up with. They seem to measure pretty well, and I like the sound much better than competing models of Paradigm, Martin Logan, Goldenear, Definitive Tech, B&W and Klipsch. That's sufficient for my purposes. (Plus wife loves the KEFs. If I'm honest, that might be the bottom line reason for the purchase. )

 

[SIY]

Thanks for your suggestion, but I think I'll stay here.

The notion that unless we have "proper controlled experimental design" we're "playing make-believe" is just wrong. Do you conduct controlled experiments before buying a washing machine? An oven? How about an automobile? One can argue that automotive performance is better described objectively than audio reproduction, yet no one insists on turning laps at Watkins Glen behind the wheel of competitive models with blind camouflage of the cars' exteriors and interiors before making a purchase decision.

Look, I get how important objectivity is here, and I value this site for making all these data available to help us build excellent audio systems. I don't buy into the flowery, unsupported prose that audio hucksters try to sell. But at the same time, I don't see how condescending and insulting language (see bold above) is really helpful in persuading people to stick to the numbers. And perhaps unlike you, I don't believe the numbers are quite capable yet of completely solving the problem of "how to achieve the best sound in MaxBuck's living room."

Poor analogies don’t transform make-believe into useful evidence.

 

[MaxBuck]

Poor analogies don’t transform make-believe into useful evidence.

Personal preference isn't make-believe, no matter how many times you repeat this stuff. Music, food, wine, and other aesthetic pleasures are fundamentally experiential in nature. And if someone's preferences are biased, that's neither surprising nor avoidable.

We do the best we can to be objective, but at some point we just like what we like, regardless of what the numbers might tell us. (But I won't try to tell anyone that a Gigameister 4000 power cord, Firefly USB filter, or anything else, will improve the sound coming out of their system without having objective measurements to support it.)

 

[SIY]

Personal preference isn't make-believe, no matter how many times you repeat this stuff. Music, food, wine, and other aesthetic pleasures are fundamentally experiential in nature. And if someone's preferences are biased, that's neither surprising nor avoidable.

We do the best we can to be objective, but at some point we just like what we like, regardless of what the numbers might tell us. (But I won't try to tell anyone that a Gigameister 4000 power cord, Firefly USB filter, or anything else, will improve the sound coming out of their system without having objective measurements to support it.)

Sonic claims are either validated or not. If they are unaccompanied by evidence, they’re make-believe.

 

[danadam]

Do you conduct controlled experiments before buying a washing machine?

No, but I also don't go then and write on forums how much softer my clothes are after washing them in that washing machine vs the other.

 

[MaxBuck]

No, but I also don't go then and write on forums how much softer my clothes are after washing them in that washing machine vs the other.

Ha! Good one.

Don't believe the washing machine forum and this one will have much membership overlap.

 

[garson]

Personal preference isn't make-believe, no matter how many times you repeat this stuff. Music, food, wine, and other aesthetic pleasures are fundamentally experiential in nature. And if someone's preferences are biased, that's neither surprising nor avoidable.

Personal preference is ok, but that doesn't mean that one thing is better in any way than the other.
It is subjective and not universal truth.

I am pretty ok with saying "I prefer this over that", but I do not put equals sign between that and "This is better than that".

 

[amirm]

I don't understand this black and white thinking. Of course are both needed, measurements (quantity) and listening (quality). Both have value and are complementary. The more information the merrier. But...

The only black and white thinking I see is subjectivists dismissing measurements of any value. "Trust your ear they say."

Fully two thirds of my reviews have listening tests in them. The entire field of psychoacoustics is based on listening tests. So your statement above is completely false.

What you mean is that you should be allowed to have any listening impression be correct. Well, sadly, in audio when differences get smaller and smaller, the rate with which these observations become invalid grows exponentially. We can trivially show this to be true yet folks prefer to not be told this. The hobby is dominated by males who want to be right at all cost so best to dismiss audio science, misposition it as being anti-listening, etc.

What is your PhD in by the way? I want to see if I can criticize everything you learned in school and your profession based on my lay understanding. Given your position, I should be very welcome by you in that.

 

[amirm]

Example1: I recently purchased the Topping L30 amp. I was unaware of its positive measurements here at ASR, it had been recommended to me by other sources. It didn't do it for me, sonically. It had no bite and the midrange was overly lean with my HD 600s and the iems I had tried it with. I sold it.

So, you made a mistake, improperly analyzing its performance. It happens when you dismiss audio science and proper subjective evaluation of such devices.

Before selling it, you should have had a loved one test you a few times to see if you can even tell it apart from another DAC with volumes matched. If you had done that, you would have been worlds ahead of where you are in valid facts in audio. Instead, you sank deeper in the mythology in audio. You might as well confuse water for a glass of wine then. Your mistake is on that level of confusion.

 

[amirm]

I had sold the L30 on Canuck Audio Mart...and asked the buyer for his feedback. He has some high-end gear.

"...
My initial reaction [of the L30] was less positive, but that seems to be largely from the Topping E30 DAC I was trying out as well. I was surprised at how subjectively poorly it acquitted itself, compared to a variety of other DACS that objectively should have been less impressive or equivalent.

I will likely not keep the Toppings, as they've not lived up to the fevered reaction from some camps and reviewers..."

Ah, the plurality of opinion making it right. I suspect there are millions of people who did not believe in wearing masks or efficacy of vaccine. Is it your informed opinion that all the medical researchers should have said, "oh wait a second, we must be wrong. let's ditch the mask and vaccine."

There are indeed thousands and thousands of people like you. There are so many of you that there are new industries set up to sell you all kinds of audio tweaks with zero sonic value. That is not at all a debate. We exist because of folks like you exist.

So there was no need to provide this "evidence." All you did is show what a sad state of affair we still have with audiophiles. They won't spend 10 minutes doing a blind test to see if their outcomes are real. Instead, they spend days, weeks and months arguing with us to convince us of impossible things...

 

[Dr Schweinsgruber]

There are indeed thousands and thousands of people like you.

Thank god .

You might as well confuse water for a glass of wine then.

I wished...life would be much cheaper and nobody would have to measure my liver values .

So, you made a mistake, improperly analyzing its [Togging L30] performance

I have had a Luxman L-410 amp since 1986. And I always liked its sound. Now I am scared somebody could measure it and make me "unenjoy" the music I heard with it for the last 35 years. What a horrible prospect. Or tell me I have alway listened wrong...

What is your PhD in by the way?

Earth Sciences.

I suspect there are millions of people who did not believe in wearing masks or efficacy of vaccine. Is it your informed opinion that all the medical researchers should have said, "oh wait a second, we must be wrong. let's ditch the mask and vaccine."

Hmmm...so much lack of coherence can be confusing. I got my two jabs, my wife works in the local provincial health lab, and a colleague of mine died of covid.
https://www.audioreviews.org/remembering-thomas-wilson-alias-the-hungrypanda-jk/

There are so many of you that there are new industries set up to sell you all kinds of audio tweaks with zero sonic value.

I have to disappoint you. My only desktop headphone amp is a Schiit Magni 2 U which I bought 2nd hand for $50. And my best dac is the Khadas T2P. And then there are the TR-amp and the ifi Audio nano BL. And my best headphone is the HD 600. I am a mobile guy with a phone, dongle, and an iem (none of which is expensive). I don't even like the term audiophile as it is pretentious imo.

 

[amirm]

It is certainly "job security" for many of us....

 

[THW]

"overly lean midrange" funny, none of my earphones or headphones show this with L30. Almost as if empirical impressions should be taken with a grain of salt...... sorry man but no way you would hear whatever you think is there in the midrange if you did a controlled listening test.

I, too, can plug in two devices and write some blurbs about what I think sounds different in a non-volume matched, non-blind A-B test. Is it repeatable, verifiable, true? I'd be hard pressed to hear the same thing the day after lol.

about as verifiable as saying the AK-47 was in service in WW1.

when will they understand... just saying a bunch of stuff doesn't make it real. I can say I believe that elves exist as well, doesn't make it real...

 

[THW]

I had sold the L30 on Canuck Audio Mart...and asked the buyer for his feedback. He has some high-end gear.

"...
My initial reaction [of the L30] was less positive, but that seems to be largely from the Topping E30 DAC I was trying out as well. I was surprised at how subjectively poorly it acquitted itself, compared to a variety of other DACS that objectively should have been less impressive or equivalent.

I will likely not keep the Toppings, as they've not lived up to the fevered reaction from some camps and reviewers..."

Previously, I had used the EarMen TR-amp with my 600s...which sounded better to my ears. So I saw no need to buy another amp.

https://seanolive.blogspot.com/2008/12/part-2-differences-in-performances-of.html

amount of data does not matter if it is all unreliable. unreliable data is only good for one thing: fodder for the garbage can.

 

[Sal1950]

How about an automobile? One can argue that automotive performance is better described objectively than audio reproduction, yet no one insists on turning laps at Watkins Glen behind the wheel of competitive models with blind camouflage of the cars' exteriors and interiors before making a purchase decision.

What? That's one of the dumbest statements I've ever heard made here. LOL
If I was interested in buying a high performance car. I would want to read the lap times of what a couple pro drivers were able to achieve compared to a few other comparable brands before making my purchasing decision.. This is exactly what we keep telling you, don't let your eyes, wallet, or pride tell your ears what they hear. If you want a high performance audio system pay attention to the objective performance, odds are you'll never get there with gear designed with other priorities at the top of the list.

On the other hand, if the sound of a 19 year olds boom box is what you prefer, feel free to let you ears and emotions guide you.

I have to disappoint you.
"Not all that matters can be measured. Not all that can be measured, matters!." Audio Precision's Jonathan Novick paraphrasing Albert Einstein.

None the less, the atom bomb works pretty damn good.

 

[Dr Schweinsgruber]

Dr Schweinsgruber said:
I have to disappoint you.
"Not all that matters can be measured. Not all that can be measured, matters!." Audio Precision's Jonathan Novick paraphrasing Albert Einstein.

None the less, the atom bomb works pretty damn good.

Agreed. And both statements do not contradict each other at all as you want to make it. They are unrelated. Einstein did not say science wasn't working (that's what you allude to), he was pointing out limitations of scientific methods.

 

[danadam]

Einstein did not say

Yeah, he probably didn't: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/26/everything-counts-einstein/

[...]
In conclusion, the attachment of this quotation to Einstein is tenuous. There is no evidence that he crafted it, and the evidence that he wrote it on a blackboard is weak.

QI believes that the preponderance of currently available information indicates that William Bruce Cameron combined two phrases to create the adage. He also seems to have coined at least one of the two phrases that were combined. In addition, current evidence suggests that the full two-part adage was created after the death of Einstein.

As to "Not all that matters can be measured", most often then not it is just unwillingness to measure by the claimant, i.e., by doing a blind test, or unwillingness to accept the results of the blind test that say there's nothing there.

 

[AudioSceptic]

For anyone who doesn't already follow Archimago's reviews, here's a review of the Jitterbug FMJ. <https://archimago.blogspot.com/2021/07/measurements-review-of-audioquest.html>

Well, what a surprise!