Mr Winer -- if you had taken the time to read the full thread you would have seen discussion of test data showing the effects of vibration on jitter in CD playback. While we can have a discussion as to whether this is audible it seems there is no discussion as to whether the effect of vibration is real
http://www.industrial-electronics.com/DAQ/optical_discs_digital_data_and_vibrational_jitter_effects....
I had neglected to read that piece Folk. Thanks for that. I have a few thoughts. First, the correlation between jitter and digital fidelity or musicality is murky. From personal experience, I have owned DACs with high and low jitter and musical enjoyment does not always track with specs. I know people argue all day about what thresholds of jitter are audible, etc and how to effectively measure it and correlate those measurements is no small matter. Second, the findings referenced by Meitner and the author are interesting, but when crystal oscillators were embalmed in ceramic, "you could hit them with a sledge hammer and it doesn't cause any jitter." Similarly, the author clearly demonstrated that well designed electronics were essentially impervious to vibration from the loudspeaker. Finally, a CDP is a poor test subject for the realm of digital and vibration as it incorporates a mechanical element. Most of us (including myself) are now streaming digital media. It would be interesting to repeat such testing within that paradigm.
ps as a complete aside I was amused by the following in the WSJ today - if science is struggling to tell us how to brew a cup of coffee is it any surprise we have difficulty measuring the reproduction of musicAs a coffee nut, I celebrate that particular struggle. Counter Culture is based out of NC....
http://www.wsj.com/articles/milk-or-sugar-in-your-low-viscosity-liquid-dynamic-scientists-seek-the-p...