[mikel51]

In my quest to turn my PC into a high quality audio source, I just ordered a perpetual technologies P1A and Bel Canto DAC2. Right now, I am using the DAC built into my M-Audio Delta 410 sound card, and I want to axe the breakout cable and use the spdif output on the back of the card. Currently, I only have 1 homemade digital cable, but figure I should get a matched pair so that I can tell if the PT-1A reclock for low jitter helps the sound quality from the Bel Canto.

Two reasonably priced digital cables that have caught my eye are 1) DH Labs DH-75 cable (available for $60-$70) and 2) Canare LV-77S cables with Canare 75 ohm termination (available for ~$20-30 from multiple cable makers on ebay). Both seem well reviewed. The Canare makers make a big deal of using crimp connections and true 75 ohm RCA connectors. The DH-75s have a silver coated copper connector and are well reviewed for an under $100 digital IC.

Has anybody made a direct comparison of these technologies, or do you have any other suggestions for the "best cable" falling within this price range?

 

[stryker]

I've also read very good things about the Stereovox HDXV which is about $100 new. I am considering it for my setup.
www.fatwyre.com has it.

You could also try www.bluejeanscable.com for their Belden 1695A which I have and is well-reviewed by some folks around here. It's only $16.95 plus shipping and 30-day return policy. Can't beat that.

 

[krafty]

I really like the Cardas High Speed Digital ~ $85. In my system it sounds perfect.

The Stereovox is supposed to be a steal at less than $100.

 

[Sean H]

I have the Stereovox HDXV and it is indeed a fantastic sounding cable but what kind of length would you need to reach from the card to your DAC? If you need a very long cable, or even if you don't for that matter, I echo Stryker's Blue Jeans Cables Belden 1695a suggestion for massive value here. The hype you read about Canare's crimp RCA is something a lot of people agree on. The pin on their RCA's is supposed to have a 75 ohm impedance character where other types of RCA connectors don't carry this character which can theoretically muck up the sound. SPDIF audio is based on 75 ohm and so you want that impedance character to remain constant from the SPDIF output , through the connectors, along the cable (75 ohm coaxial digital cable) and into the receiving end. Some believe Canare's RCA's (RCAP's they call them) are an absolute must for digital audio RCA cables. Canare believes a crimp style termination is best for this type of signal transmission and I believe they explain why. Thing is you must use a fairly expensive Canare crimp tool to terminate them properly which is some of the reason why big cable manufacturers don't use them as they just aren't set up for this type of manufacturing/construction of the cables. Blue Jeans recently started using a computer operated Canare style crimp tool. Belden 1695a is highly touted over at Audio Asylum as being an excellent coaxial cable for digital. How Blue Jeans can offer a Belden 1695a based cable with Canare's for only ~$16/1m length plus shipping amazes me. It is an excellent sounding coaxial cable, I own two of them myself.

Not a huge fan of the Canare LV77-S coaxial cables, not as good sounding as the Belden 1695a. It doesn't have Teflon insulation for one thing.

 

[mikel51]

Sean--great info--thanks. How would you rate the difference between the Blue Jean 1695s and the Stereovox HDVX. Both would be withing my budget. The run from my PC to DAC is within reach of a 1 meter interconnect. My goal is richness, smoothness and lack of sibilance in sound.

 

[Sean H]

I was fearing you would ask that question.

I tell you what, I will do a direct A/B comparison between them today and let you know.

 

[stryker]

Hey Sean,

Don't wanna hijack [or crap on] this thread but this is cable-related and I must mention the new arrival of my Ack! dAck! Must say its very nice but I need to give it more time. Not as bright or aggressive on the attack as my (now just sold) DAC 1 but detailed and smooth. Perhaps too smooth for my taste and my 600s, but not bad considering its price tag. We'll see. Do you think the HDVX and a DIP would brighten the highs a bit and add some attack to things? I could live with that.

 

[Sean H]

Hi Stryker - There could be some benefit from this discussion within this thread.

Congrats on the dAck! It is indeed very smooth and has a bit of a character that takes some getting used to. I liken it to the sound of vinyl myself, which is very different if one has been listening to primarily digital for some time. Don't let that fool you, what you are hearing is a lack of digital grunge, background noise and an edginess around notes. I've learned that often times some of that sparkle or aggressiveness that so many like is attributed to AC grunge alone and what likely is the effect digital filters/oversampling has on the sound. If your dAck! is brand new from Ack! give it time to break in, the caps alone need a LOT of time. I just had my dAck! upgraded to current status recently which involved new output caps and noted after a good 100 hours or more the sound has really opened up and become more extended. Just gloriously quiet, fluid, pure sounding music it produces. What are you using for the digital cable? This can make a huge difference. With the addition of the DIP and the HDXV I did note a further opening up of the sound, more detail, tighter and more cohesive overall, more extension at the extremes. The more open sound does bring out the treble a bit, not really elevating it but allowing more treble clairty, detail and such.

I have a slew of digital cables right now - two Blue Jeans Belden 1695a's, HDXV and an Ack! Industries BNC digital cable which is basically a 1695a based cable with Canare BNC's. I had the HDXV on my transport before the DIP and the Ack! cable from the DIP to the dAck!, which sounded good, but swapped them not too long ago and noticed the sound blossomed and opened up further so my suspicion is the HDXV is better (at least in my system in the position after the DIP) than the Belden based cable. But I intend to compare them and post a little impression for mikel51. Hope that helps.

Hope the dAck! works out. BTW, got my PPA a couple weeks ago, you haven't heard a PPA yet if you haven't heard one with a linear power supply! I will have diamond buffers installed in a week or so.

 

[Sean H]

Quote:

Originally posted by mikel51 Sean--great info--thanks. How would you rate the difference between the Blue Jean 1695s and the Stereovox HDVX. Both would be withing my budget. The run from my PC to DAC is within reach of a 1 meter interconnect. My goal is richness, smoothness and lack of sibilance in sound.

Okay, just did a quick little comparison. I clearly prefer the HDXV. Now, that said we're not talking earth shattering differences here and certainly not anything like 5 times the performance as the cost difference would suggest but we all know it doesn't go like that. Basically with the HDXV in place, again between the DIP and DAC, I hear a little more quiet background and with that I hear what seems like a more pure, clear, clean and coherent presentation of the music. Tonally I found the Belden 1695a based cable to be ever so slightly cooler sounding with a tad bit more of an up front rendition of instruments in space. The HDXV seems to have a bit more depth and what seems like a little more accuracy in portraying spatial ques. Looking specifically at the spectrum I found the bass to be about the same, midrange is comparable with the edge going to the HDXV again sounding a little cleaner, more full and with more depth. The treble is where I hear a fair amount of discernable difference where the HDXV has a bit more of a sweeter and more delicate treble that sounds cleaner to me. Resolution and detail is very comparable. It's slight albeit noteable their differences but appreciable in my system.

I would say based on what you are looking for in what you described I believe the HDXV has the edge if you are willing to make the investment. The HDXV is a great sounding cable. However that said because their differences are fairly narrow looking at it from a broad perspective this says a lot about the Belden 1695a cable and the unbelievable value the Blue Jeans option represents at 1/5th of the price. One certainly can't go wrong here either. It's interesting that I have found impressions of the HDXV all across the board it would seem where people at Audio Circle have said it can sound a tad bright or quite detailed and then others at Audio Asylum and even Ack! Industries say (even in their ad for this cable on their upcoming new web site) that the HDXV has a bit of a more relaxed and sweeter sound with a fuller midrange. Perhaps some of the comments about it sounding brighter were from people who had not broken the cable in, I don't know as I never would characterize it in that way and agree much with Ack!'s assessment of it. I recall I did put a good couple hundred hours on mine before really listening to it though too.

The HDXV has a high cool factor as it's very thin and looks very cool, and a lot of people don't know it is in fact a BNC terminated cable that comes with some really nifty cool BNC > RCA adapters. Anyway, hope this helps. Wow, lot of hijaking and long posts on my part today. Make note: Must get a life.

 

[mikel51]

Cool thanks for running the A/B comparisons Sean.

I wrote to Stereovox and they tell me that there are no dealers in the San Francisco area, and suggested that Fatwyre.com could help. Fatwyre is charging full list price, so I sent a note to the dealer that is sending the Perpetual Technologies digital processor, who carries Stereovox, to see if he might give me a better deal on a pair of these cables. If I don't find a deal, I may get the Blue Jeans cable and keep my eyes open for a deal on the upgrade.