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How can I tell if I need a better clock for my DAC?

I was interested in the responses to a related post by leemaze this week, saying that a Synchro Mesh was a good way to improve a DAC with subpar jitter.  I have a Cambridge CXU, with an inboard DAC; how could I determine how much jitter it has? 
128x128cheeg
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
is it safe to assume that the   manufacturer has dealt with this in making the one-box unit, making the transport section and DAC function together in a way that keeps jitter to a minimum?

Certainly not.  If this were the case, I would not have modded CD players for 10 years and got paid handsomely for that.  I don't mod anymore.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

tooblue
1,953 posts
 
@gdhal, so if you agree with my analogy then you would have to agree that reducing jitter, no matter how that is done, like reducing stress, that is a good thing.
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gdhal
1,641 posts
 
so if you agree with my analogy then you would have to agree that reducing jitter, no matter how that is done, like reducing stress, that is a good thing.
@tooblue 

Yes, I do agree that reducing jitter - no matter how - is a good thing. 
tooblue
1,953 posts
 
Just wondering while we are talking about it, I still have an Audio Alchemy DTI, which I used between a Magnavox CD650 player used as a transport and a PS Audio Digital Link gen ll dac and it definitely made an improvement in that set up. Would that be a viable option or am I reaching?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

The Audio Alchemy DTI and DTI pro both use two or more CS8412 S/PDIF receiver as a PLL to reduce jitter.  The Pro is a lot better.   It will reduce jitter, but not like a good resampler such as the Synchro-Mesh.  Worth a try though.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

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