[daffa]

My new Bel Canto DAC2 will arrive soon. I will pair it with my Philips DVD player or my Ikemi (as the transport). Could anybody suggest me any good cable to feed the DAC2 with signal from my sources? My budget is around $175. I am thinking about the cable from Digital Precision (i2) but looking also for other cables in the same price range.
Thanks

 

[dougbrad81]

Hi Daffa,
a couple other members here reported good results with a glass toslink cable when used with the bel canto dac 2, such as the ebay one
http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=61140284&ssPageName=L2
or from cable america
http://www.cablesamerica.com/product...6001&sku=40010

i have the one from cables america. i have compared it only to a illuminations d-60 digital cable, which sells for about $200. to me the cable america glass toslink is the better choice. detail from the two cables were about the same, but the glass toslink delivered a 'fuller' sound, and soundstage was expanded a bit. also for about $30 dollars the value can't be beat.

 

[DarkAngel]

Yes the $25 glass toslink is seriously good from Cable America (I have a couple) it will surpass many very expensive RCA digital cables.

Now my current reference RCA digital cable is the new Stereovox HDXV which retails for $100, just slightly better than glass toslink when used with Dac 2. (this is cheaper version of I2 cable)

HDXV

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

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[eyeteeth]

I am without personal experience but I thought conventional wisdom had Coaxial cables uniformly better than Toslink? It would be a shame to undercut too much the performance of a $1290.00 DAC with a $25 cable.

 

[Gergor]

I've been using the cheapie wyde-eye cable since day one. I actually thought it's quite good, so I have never got around to upgrade it. I'd pay attention to this thread for an upgrade coax cable.

 

[davidmiya]

I hate to burst you guys's bubbles. But I haven't heard any earth-shattering differences between digital cables. My $200 Transparent Coax sounds the same as my $20 Radioshack Gold, which sounds almost the same as a single interconnect, which sounds almost the same as my Toslink monster cable.

If you can show me a cable that REALLY makes a difference, I'd be very impressed... I use the DAC2 btw...

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by davidmiya I hate to burst you guys's bubbles. But I haven't heard any earth-shattering differences between digital cables. My $200 Transparent Coax sounds the same as my $20 Radioshack Gold, which sounds almost the same as a single interconnect, which sounds almost the same as my Toslink monster cable. If you can show me a cable that REALLY makes a difference, I'd be very impressed... I use the DAC2 btw...

Your Monster toslink is plastic fiber..............the toslink linked above is "glass" and sounds much better, for $25 give it a shot you will not be sorry.

 

[MagusG]

I don't own one, never heard one, but if I had the Bel Canto, I would get a Zu Ash digital cable, I can't tell you why, I guess I'm just a zu fanboy.
-Mag

 

[Zoomie]

I have only tried CinemaQuest Optilink 1 toslink, Bolder Cable and Zu Ash. Both coax cables where much better than the toslink, which I am fairly certain is not glass. The Zu Ash seemed a little more detailed that the Bolder, but they were pretty close.

 

[davidmiya]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any opinions on the digital cables made by Acoustic Zen?

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally posted by davidmiya Out of curiosity, does anyone have any opinions on the digital cables made by Acoustic Zen?

I have one of them, it's a nice enough cable but I have never compared it nwith any others to see about sonic differences. One thing I'm a bit unhappy about is that the cable appears to be coming apart even though it hasn't been moved or abused since I got it. OTOH, I have dealt with them on repairs before and they are great, I'm usre it'll be a simplae matter of sedning it back and them fixing it for free.

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by davidmiya Out of curiosity, does anyone have any opinions on the digital cables made by Acoustic Zen?

I used the AZ Mc2 for a couple years but sold it when "glass" toslinks appeared and offered superior performance at a fraction of the cost.

Also the Stereovox HDXV is better cable for much less money if you want RCA digital.

 

[jhawk22]

I went from using a better cables silver serpent coax cable to a monarchy audio dr-1 which is 1/2'' in dia. I didnt think there could be audible differences with digital/optical cables but I decided to try it out anyway.

The difference is not subtle. The silver serpent compares as extremely bright to the monarchy cable. The dr-1 seems alot more balanced with less harhness,better lowend, more clarity, and presents a more 3d soundstage. My only complaint is it is not very flexible and weighs nearly 2 pounds. Seems like it can easily damage the input connectors if it is not positioned properly.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

I'm another fan of the glass toslinks and even at $25 I'd imagine they sound better than anything under $200. If you want to spend more I've heard good things about Van Den Hul's formula.