altman attraction dac vs empiracle dac1 12s

Herman - the jitter is undoubtedly lower with the JISCO on based on what you are hearing, but I believe you are probably getting sibilance from the analog output stage and DAC filtering when the HF clarity and dynamics finally come through. The higher jitter when the JISCO is off tends to mask this by lowering the dynamics and creating a kind of "fuzz" in the HF's, so it is perceived as "smoothness".

The ultimate goal is to have low jitter (good clarity) as well as low sibilance and smoothness from the analog section.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Thanks Steve,

My assesment has now changed. Since my last post I got a new set of Duos (check my system) with the Omega upgrade, brass stands and multiple 225 woofers. All the edge is gone. A really incredible transformation. The increase in resolution from the Jisco circuit now doesn't cause any adverse side effects. The Altmann, or should I say the whole system, now sounds incredible.

Great news, Herman. Congrats!

Herman - good for you. I occasionally get this result with customers that purchase more clear and extended sources than they have used in the past. These improved sources sometimes exacerbate other system problems from preamps to speakers and even cables. It can be difficult to locate the offending component.