When you get a noticeable stuttering effect, either the source is hesitating for a split second, or you're getting actual dropouts.
This could be happening in the computer or in the Oppo.... and isn't the sort of thing that the Wyrd is likely to fix.
(However, you're currently using HDMI, and the Wyrd is USB... so it's sort of an "apples and oranges" sort of thing.)
This is VERY unlikely to be a handshaking issue (possible but very unlikely).
Generally, when it comes to computer equipment, handshaking issues just plain aren't very common.
It's also VERY unlikely to be a jitter issue.
Small amounts of jitter generally aren't audible, or result in a very subtle "blurriness" in the sound stage, which is barely audible.
Huge amounts of jitter could cause actual data loss, but this virtually never happens in real life, unless you have actually faulty equipment, so I wouldn't even suspect it.
The only thing I can think of that would cause this as a "data lass issue" would be a bad HDMI cable, a bad graphics card, or a really bad HDMI driver... all of which are somewhat unlikely.
Since it seems like you're planning to use the Ego anyway I would try connecting it directly to the computer and see if the problem goes away.
This is a very different signal path (so, for example, if there's some lag in your current HDMI drivers on the computer, that will be gone when you switch to USB, which uses different drivers).
I would connect the Ego directly to the computer and see if the problem persists.
If the problem isn't there when you use USB, then it probably has something to do with the computer's HDMI drivers or your graphics card.
It could also be the Oppo having some sort of issue (but that seems unlikely).
If it isn't there when you use USB, then it won't matter to you, because it's gone.
If it happens when playing files directly from your hard drive, then it could be that your computer is too slow, or that something is distracting it.
If the computer is really slow you may simply need a faster one.
Antivirus software is also notorious for slowing down your computer.
Or your hard drive could be fragmented - causing the actual reading of the music file to hesitate now and then (defragging the drive might help that).
However, a wide variety of things can also distract the computer, causing it to drop its audio output while "paying attention to something else"... this seems by far the most likely cause to me.
Playing music is a "real tie process" - anything that stops the computer from paying attention to it, for even a split second, can cause a dropout or stutter.
Try disabling, at least temporarily, ALL PROGRAMS YOU DON'T NEED, and especially updates and downloads, which use a lot of resources.
Or, if it only happens occasionally, you could start by watching what else is going on when it happens....
Does it happen when your A/V program is doing an update?
Does it happen when you try to copy files while playing music?
Even relatively fast computers can have trouble "doing two major things at once".
Another thing to notice is what sorts of files it happens with.
(If it happens with high-res files but not 44k files, then that points specifically to running out of resources.)
I notice an occasional m-m-m Max Headroom effect when playing ripped and/or downloaded music. Is this jitter? Or handshaking? Or something else?
At the moment, I have my computer connected, via HDMI, to Oppo 103, using the 103's dac.
If I were to eliminate the Oppo and put a Schiit Wyrd between my computer and my little Ego, would actual 'decrapification ' and subsequent s.q. improvement take place, or will the Ego alone do that, making the Wyrd redundant?
