This work demonstrates that a significant improvement of the timing resolution, simultaneously keeping coincidence count rate high enough, can be achieved by use of the state-of-the-art ultra fast 8-bit digitizers which replace the traditional analog timing modules. Performance of the digital spectrometer in conditions of a routine measurement is compared with that of the same detectors connected to the analog setup. It was found that employment of the digital setup leads to an improvement of timing resolution from 169 ps for the traditional analog setup down to 146 ps for the digital setup. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.