# Further discussion about configuring Diretta **URL:** \ **Category:** Tinkering\ **Created:** [January 13, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://community.roonlabs.com/t/further-discussion-about-configuring-diretta/313616 "2026-01-13T03:33:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 9
**Author:** ![Marian](https://community.roonlabs.com/letter_avatar/marian/32/5_5575768a8748004e209b776fc1b2916d.png) [@Marian](https://community.roonlabs.com/u/Marian)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://community.roonlabs.com/t/further-discussion-about-configuring-diretta/313616/9 "2026-01-13T07:57:44Z")
> [@Matthew\_Arndt1](#): > > The **DAC clock remains the sole authority** for audio conversion timing. So we agree that Diretta does nothing to improve conversion timing, so all talk about jitter is irrelevant. > [@Matthew\_Arndt1](#): > > Diretta operates **upstream of the DAC** , controlling **when audio data is delivered** , not **how the DAC clocks it out**. If the data is not delivered properly and there are buffer over- or under-runs, the audio will simply glitch, so that’s obviously not the case, with or without Diretta. > [@Matthew\_Arndt1](#): > > The Target observes buffer fill level and playback progress (derived from the DAC’s consumption rate via ALSA/USB feedback), then **requests data from the Host at precisely paced intervals**. That’s exactly what the DAC does with USB. The connection works at a steady, pre-negotiated rate, and the rate adjustments are ever so small. There’s no need to do that yet again at the network layer. > [@Matthew\_Arndt1](#): > > The Host sends packets **only in response to these requests** , preventing burst delivery, jitter accumulation, and OS scheduling noise from reaching the DAC input buffer. If any noise reaches the DAC’s input buffers, it’s a bad DAC. And even if that was the case, a simple isolator would do the job just fine, without any OS tweaks. > [@Matthew\_Arndt1](#): > > Diretta **stabilizes data arrival timing** so the DAC’s own clock works under optimal, low-stress conditions. I have absolutely no idea what “clock stress” is. It’s a TCXO/OCXO/etc. running at a _fixed frequency_ and having an extremely low jitter. > [@Matthew\_Arndt1](#): > > Think of Diretta as ensuring the DAC is always fed **calm, evenly timed data** , allowing the DAC’s internal clock and PLL to operate in their most linear, lowest-noise region—without ever touching the clock itself. With async USB, there is no PLL. The clock runs at its own pace at all times, and if nothing touches it, then nothing stresses it or causes it to freak out or have a panic attack. Everything you’ve said so far has been said many times already, one way or another, and I’m getting a little tired of responding to these successive waves of unproven claims and loose technical terms. If you want to convince me there’s any merit in these theories, you need to back them up with some kind of objective evidence, as I did when I debunked them. --- _[View the full topic](https://community.roonlabs.com/t/further-discussion-about-configuring-diretta/313616)._