[Elephas]

I'm looking for an AES/EBU cable to connect an RME HDSP 9632 and my CEC DA53 DAC. I don't need a long cable, about 2 meters or 6 feet is fine.

There seem to be many options, including:

Apogee Wyde Eye
Belden 1696A
Canare
DH Labs Silver Sonic D-110
Enigma Audio Dragoman
Hosa
Mogami Gold 3173
Neotech NEDI-4001
River Cable DigiFlex Gold Pro
Van den Hul
Zaolla ZAES

I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.

 

[slwiser]

I just ordered a Canare DA-206 AES/EBU 5 ft. from Bay View Pro Audio for my connection between my computer with the RME Digi96/8 Pad with AES/Breakout cable and it should be coming in with my Lavry DA10 this week. This cable if fairly thick, about a quarter of an inch in diameter.

I don't know about them myself but the guy at Bay View told me that of the several he has this is the one he would recommend.

What does he know? I don't know, but more than me. I will see.

There are lots of these questions ask and discussed over at Audio Asylum under cables asylum (forum).

Example for your Silver Sonic (DH Labs) D-110 AES/EBU review:

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?...37218&review=1

Delete the reference in the search for everything except AES/EBU and you will get 200 hits in the Cable Asylum alone:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search...=&forum=cables

 

[Jeff Wong]

I much prefer the Illuminati Orchid AES/EBU cable, but, I have used the Apogee Wyde Eye extensively and recommend it highly. It's inexpensive by comparison to many AES/EBU cables, but, gives you considerable performance. The highs are a little grainy by comparison to something like the Orchid, but, it's also less than a tenth of the cost. The Wyde Eye S/PDIF cables are also a great deal.

 

[grandenigma1]

Blue Jeans Cables also make a very nice and simple digital cable from Belden 1800F which is quite nice and very flexible... they are nothing to look at but are pretty cheap and use quality parts.

 

[NeilPeart]

I use the Belden 1800F AES cable - it's simply a quality Belden cable with Neutrik terminations that assure the required 110ohm impedance of AES (they also function very well as balanced analog interconnects thanks to their very low capacitance and well-implemented shielding).

 

[slwiser]

I am not an electrician but the Canare cable has an extra PE fibre rod running the length of the cable that is touted to ensure the appropriate impedance for the run of the cable. The theory is that this keeps down impedance mismatching between connectors and anywhere else in the cable length. I guess they think enough about impedance mismatching to make an extra effort.

http://www.canare.com/index.cfm?obje...ECCDD67DCC2B4C

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas I'm looking for an AES/EBU cable to connect an RME HDSP 9632 and my CEC DA53 DAC. I don't need a long cable, about 2 meters or 6 feet is fine. There seem to be many options, including: Apogee Wyde Eye Belden 1696A Canare DH Labs Silver Sonic D-110 Enigma Audio Dragoman Hosa Mogami Gold 3173 Neotech NEDI-4001 River Cable DigiFlex Gold Pro Van den Hul Zaolla ZAES I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.

I wonder what kind of quality CEC DAC's USB input represents? I know it's not direct I2S, but does it support ASIO/ASIO4All or KS?

I've been doing some extensive comparisons of digital inputs on the Hagerman Tech Chime DAC, and my preference in order of decreasing preference:

1. Empirical Audio Freeway with DIY 12V SLA battery PS--by FAR the best sounding option.

2. HagUSB USB-spdif converter--Sounds pretty darn good for a unit that relies on 5V power from the USB cable without external PS.

3. Spdif output from my Lynx 2B soundcard--various people have compared Lynx digital out to other pro cards such as RME and usually prefer the Lynx. However, this would be my last choice sound-wise. It really sounds like spdif after switching from those USB boxes. The Empirical converter simply blows it away...

 

[Elephas]

Thanks to everyone for your input.

I'm going ask local audio shops if they have Belden or Canare available. The Blue Jeans cables are attractively priced, and have international shipping on their UK site. If the local shops don't work out I'll try Blue Jeans.
--
I've upgraded from the 1212m to an RME HDSP 9632, and am using its AES/EBU output with a generic DIY AES/EBU cable and its coaxial output. Both sound the same with the CEC DA53, and I'm wondering if a better AES/EBU cable will improve the sound.

Jon L, the CEC DA53 with the usb-audio.com driver sounds very good. I've used foobar ASIO with it as well as iTunes and both work well. The USB input sounded very similar to an E-MU 1212m's optical outputs. I haven't compared it with the RME's optical outputs yet, but suspect that they sound similar with a slight edge going to the RME.

I think the Empirical Audio USB products are interesting, and I'm surprised it would sound so much better than a Lynx's SPDIF output.

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas Thanks to everyone for your input. I'm going ask local audio shops if they have Belden or Canare available. The Blue Jeans cables are attractively priced, and have international shipping on their UK site. If the local shops don't work out I'll try Blue Jeans. -- I've upgraded from the 1212m to an RME HDSP 9632, and am using its AES/EBU output with a generic DIY AES/EBU cable and its coaxial output. Both sound the same with the CEC DA53, and I'm wondering if a better AES/EBU cable will improve the sound. Jon L, the CEC DA53 with the usb-audio.com driver sounds very good. I've used foobar ASIO with it as well as iTunes and both work well. The USB input sounded very similar to an E-MU 1212m's optical outputs. I haven't compared it with the RME's optical outputs yet, but suspect that they sound similar with a slight edge going to the RME. I think the Empirical Audio USB products are interesting, and I'm surprised it would sound so much better than a Lynx's SPDIF output.

When you say you used "foobar asio" with DA53, does foobar recognize DA53 under ASIO dll output(not ASIO4All, waveout, directsound)?

I should also add that my "blows away" comment pertains to comparisons on my big, ugly speaker setup. Via headphones, these things always sound less distinct just like DAC comparisons..

 

[Elephas]

With the usb-asio driver, the CEC DA53 is identified in WinXP as "Audio Device on USB Bus" and volume in the control panel is disabled.

foobar 0.8.3 settings for ASIO are:
Output data format: 16bit fixed point
Output: ASIO (exe version) using ASIO plugin foo_output_asio(exe)_053.1
ASIO (exe version) Device: usb-audio.de ASIO driver

Kernal streaming also works.

 

[palchiu]

Maybe try a Bogdan's XLR, could be a nice choice.

 

[Elephas]

I got a Mogami 3173 110 ohm AES/EBU cable with Neutrik XLR connectors made by a local audio shop. It is being used with my RME HDSP 9632's AES/EBU breakout cable and connecting to a LavryBlack DA10.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Thaddy]

edit: Nevermind! Enjoy the cable

 

[Elephas]

Er, I missed that, but if it was another suggestion, please keep them coming. I'm open to a cable "upgrade"

and maybe others will find this thread useful.

 

[rickcr42]

you may find this useful :

http://bwcecom.belden.com/College/Techbull/TB65.pdf