Managing Jitter And Wander
Simply put, jitter causes distortion and/or raises the noise floor.
It can degrade the performance of an audio network, both in the digital domain and ultimately in the analog output of the devices in the system.
In severe cases it can result in a total loss of sync. (See Reference Clock vs Jittery Clock figure below.)
Because D/A and A/D converters rely on the reference clock to correctly interpret the digital data going in or out, an irregular digital clock actually changes the analog waveform.
The effect is most noticeable in the high frequencies where the most subtle audio cues, such as depth and location Information, reside.
The result ls a loss of detail, or a certain “harshness” about the sound. (See Signal figure below.)
Jitter can accumulate as the clock is re-transmitted from one device to the next, resulting in wander. (See Wander figure below.)
