In beginning my quest to make a $ensible upgrade to my existing 
Carver CD player I have run across a couple terms/items I don't fully 
understand in relation to the digital world.
        First. I presently have the Carver CD player the followed their 
"Digital Time Lens" technology with "Soft EQ". The Soft EQ has a very warm 
and pleasant effect on older CDs and some of the newer ones that are of 
lesser recording quality. I assume from my manual that the "Digital Time 
Lens" is the forerunner of the "Soft EQ" where it synthesizes that portion 
lost from the
"L-R" during the record process and replaces it. ??????
        Next. I have run into several terms to describe the digital cables 
that run between pieces (transport/DAC/AJ etc). I see 
"coaxial...RCA...Coaxial RCA....Optical....and others that are just describes 
by letter abbreviations. Then there are some proprietary formats like the one 
Audio Alchemy uses that cuts out one complete conversion in transporting the 
signal from Anti Jitter to DAC. The "digital resepticle on the rear of the 
Carver CD player looks like nothing more than an RCA patch cord plug, as does 
the rear of the Laser Disk Players I have looked at. Whats what? And more 
especially: What is the best format and the one I should be looking for in 
the transfer of the signal?
        I see the jitter factors listed for DACs equipment with anto jitter 
circuitry as being ".50" and the majority of the external units between .35 
and .20. What is a level I should be concerned with and is this factor like 
THD in that at some point it becomes meaningless, inflated/deflated. depends 
on how it is tested and with what other equipment, etc? To date the 
explainations I have read have been wishy washy and uninformative. Not much 
help to someone who needs to (in this case) get the "LEAST" bang for the 
uck.
        Digital cables, while expensive, offer less choices for length than 
do the high end patch cords. In my system I could easily get by with .5/.6 
meter cords. As I understand it, digital is less apt to loose signal over a 
distance than analog and that insulating the digital cable is more of a 
concern. Is this why there seem to be less choices or have I overlooked 
something?
        I am looking at Audio Alchemy gear right now as a possibility. 
Although having very weird demensions and being butt ugly, they have really 
made a name for themselves in the digital field with $ensibly priced higher 
end equipment. I am just used to the old "big iron" days where butt ugly was 
allowed and even desirable in high end, but it had to be big....naw..very big 
and weight more than 50 pounds(US) per piece of equipment to be even 
considered "good". Audio Alchemy has numerous products that measure 8 inches
wide and weigh less than most speaker cables. Combine these with the new 
speakers Carver is working on and we will end up with huge high end sound 
coming from a clock radio, two strings and two soup cans. SOmehow it wouldn't 
be the same.
Happy Thanksgiving!
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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