msb Ilink vs. wadia 170i ipd docks

>> How could two different publishers come up with
>> different measurements that are so different? 115ps is
>> very low and 3000ps is very high. That's really weird.

Nrostov, it's not so weird afterall - jitter is a difficult measurement to make. The setup has to be carefully done so that you are not measuring the equipment by mistake. If the person taking the measurement is not experience there could be a host of pilot errors. Altho JA of Stereophile often gets bashed on AA for his measurements, he does state the perils of making jitter measurements in the vignets of the articles. If you have a Stereophile issue that covers a CDP review his comments on this matter might be published. Most of the time people make jitter measurements using a 1KHz tone - it's much harder with program material.
Also, what units is the jitter measurement - RMS jitter? pk-pk jitter?

Hey Guys, I love my transport so much that I am doing the following mods too it(see below). It will be interesting to see how it compares to my Lector transport and the MSB after they are done. The new clock put inside will reduce jitter below 2ps. This is lower than the MSB's claim of 7ps. Plus I will now be able to plug my Shunyata Python into the power supply. Anyway see the upgrades below.

Wadia 170i Transport mod done by ASi Teknologies. The following upgrades will be done: Power Supply Replacement and Upgrade-I will now be plugging in my Shunyata Python into it.
Ultra low impedance capacitor replacements DEXA UWB (Ultra Wide Bandwidth)
Ultra Low Noise Voltage Regulators Internal Wood Damping High Quality Vampire RCA Connectors for Digital output, DEXA Neutron Star Flagship Clock Upgrade
Here is a link to the site if you are interested in upgrading you Wadia: http://www.asi-tek.com/wadia2.html

Nrostov,
did Wadia ever get back to you re. how much jitter they actually have in their i170? I remain interested in this bit of info. Thanks.

I believe that Hot Rod Audio Mods (HRAM) also mods the i170 along those same lines (as does GNSC & maybe a bunch of others).

>> The new clock put inside will reduce jitter below 2ps.
>> This is lower than the MSB's claim of 7ps.
does the jitter really have to be sub pS?? I know that lower is better but beyond a certain low number, it makes no further difference (besides it being a marketing gimmick to charge more money!). Do you/anyone else (Audioengr?) know what that low number is??
Thanks.

My God, this is the Squeezebox, Empirical Audio, Wavelength Altmann thread all over again, jitter figures, lowest jitter ever, direct connection vs spdif, internal conversions mods mods etc. etc.
I got an early version of the Squeezebox, then got the best modded version and when the excitement cooled down I compared the highly modded Squeezebox running direct with only WAV files harvested with EAC, against my old Musichall cd25 the cd player was sooo much better as a transport it was ridiculous.
I finally got a Forsell transport....
Dont get me wrong I am all for playlists and downloads and computer or Ipod. I always said after listening to the Forsell transport, When I find something that is better then I will get into computer audio again...
I have kept my eye open!
Turntables have had trouble beating the Forsell.

There were sooo many threads, squeezebox replaced my DCS rack, Wadia etc..

I will try the Wadia against the Forsell soon...

I guess the ultimate will be when we can download high resolution files directly into a memory player (like the Ipod 32mhz) or maybe a one box internet player wich connects downloads stores and plays high resolution files is the answer.
Something like the Altmann, high resolution direct from internet with no upsampling...but firewired to the DAC, without spdif which seems to be the devil!!!

Jsadurni,
>> I got an early version of the Squeezebox, then got the
>> best modded version and when the excitement cooled down
>> I compared the highly modded Squeezebox running direct
>> with only WAV files harvested with EAC, against my old
>> Musichall cd25 the cd player was sooo much better as a
>> transport it was ridiculous.
I believe that you ran an experiment with the wrong sort of device for a transport. I have read in another thread in another forum that the SB was basically not upgradeable in sound. This particular owner tried a bunch of mods: upgrading the power supply, upgrading parts, damping, Bybee filters & the like. If I remember correctly he did not replace the DAC (I think it's an AKM DAC?). He tried very hard to upgrade the sonics but finally gave up.

Now, I have not run any experiments w/ the modified i170 but I have a feeling that this gadget might be more amenable to sound upgrades after mods & it just *might* change your mind. Just a recommendation - (I have not done this myself). Looks like you are already on the job of doing the comparison soon.
DO post your results in this thread at the appropriate time. Thanx.