The Problem with Jitter

Jitter, or clocking errors, occur when samples of a digital recording become misaligned due to having several clock references in separate components - common in car audio.

While the file is transmitted between components and converted from a digital file to sound you can hear, each sample references a point in time and uses an internal clock to determine when that data should be played. Using CD as an example, 44,100 samples must be aligned to the original recording each second. If any of these samples deviate from the exact moment in time they are supposed to play, you experience jitter - subtle distortions and loss of music detail.

When considering the incredible sampling rates High-Resolution audio is capable of, i.e. 384,000 samples per second, the problem of jitter can become even more dramatic. With the new Master Clock Management System at the heart of AlpineF#1Status, all transmissions and conversions are completely synchronized by referencing a single “master clock,” virtually eliminating all jitter in audio transmission.