I normally don't make comments on these forums, but on this Q&A I just had to. Looking for a docking station for an Ipod with a digital output (might try the Pure i20), and I stumbled upon this. I've been selling high-end hifi for over 35 years now, so I kind of have a clue. Right off the bat, my favorite digital so far is the Transparent Reference (that I've heard to date). Now of course they have the Reference XL which should easily blow that away too. Tried a bunch of them over the years...Cardas, XLO, Audioquest, Kimber, Acoustic Zen, even Kharma (hang on to your wallet), and countless others...
Cables, once and for all, make an ENORMOUS difference, digital cables being no exception. With even a modest system and someone with just half-decent ears, the difference in digital (analog, and yes POWER) cables is DEMONSTRABLY, REPEATEDLY, AND CLEARLY OBVIOUS. Time and time again (and it doesn't take a rocket scientist) anyone who remotely cares can tell. Heck, even my wife, who doesn't know the first thing about audio, and doesn't quite frankly care, can tell. Getting a good digital cable is like getting a new digital source or DAC...it's that big. This whole thing reminds me of the days of Julian Hirsch (1980s) at Stereo Review, who claimed that two well-made amplifiers say 100WPC each, (should) sound identical, at least he couldn't tell. Kind of like all houses look the same, all cars drive the same...you get the drift.
A S/PDIF (digital coaxial cable, which by the way is far better than optical) cable MUST have an exactly, or very near so, 75 ohm impedance end to end including connectors, otherwise you get reflections within the cable, increasing error rates and ultimately sound quality. The copper purity, sliver coating (or not), dielectric, shielding, winding configuration and tension, crystalline structure, EVERYTHING, will have an effect on a cable's sound. Some cables are brighter, some duller, some faster, some slower and all the ad nauseam verbal diarrhea the magazine reviewers can muster. Better or worse should be clearly audible, not all people get it, but they're all DIFFERENT.
The good news is there's some (not a lot of) pretty darn good, reasonably priced digital cables out there. The worse news is there's even more expensive (some outrageously so), CRAPPY cables out there. Good designers and not so good ones. Good products and not so good cash cows. Just like everything else.
Go, PLEASE GO, to a reputable dealer with decent products, and go TRY different cables. LISTEN, with your own ears, not someone else's. After all, you're the one buying it and living with it. Good dealers will even let you take them home to try them in your favorite lazy chair. You'll be amazed, I promise, at the difference. And please, like I ask my customers, support your local dealer who cares and don't just go buy it on the internet from someone who has no knowledge, overhead costs, or frankly gives a crap. He's just selling you a box and making money, undercutting those of us who do care, give good service, and help people. By the way, the Transparent I mentioned is about $1500, and their new flagship is surely almost double that...
www.transparentcable.com
I'm sure to get comments, some good, some not so good. "Electrical engineers" especially. That's life. I've said my peace, hopefully some of you will go and hear it for yourself. Thanks for reading. Amen.
Crispy
St. Louis, MO
