Review of the Oyaide DB-510 – An "analog sounding" digital cable

[SoupRKnowva]

So i thinking about getting one of these, but my dac doesnt have BNC, just RCA. I know everyone says that bnc is better, but isnt that only because BNC is perfect 75 ohms? Supposedly the oyaide rca connectors are perfect 75 ohms as well, so shouldnt it not matter which you use? Im planning to pair it with a Hiface and my Audio GD dac19mk3

 

[IPodPJ]

How about one of these for AES/EBU?

OYAIDE ELEC,co,.ltd.

Actually, at $1100 for a 1.3m pair, it's extremely pricey. What you can do is buy the wire used in it, the FTVS-910, for $255 per meter, throw on some nice connectors and call it a day. And that's still very pricey.

I could have Peter at DHC basically replicate that for me with SCSCag OCC silver wire from Cryoparts.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoupRKnowva /img/forum/go_quote.gif So i thinking about getting one of these, but my dac doesnt have BNC, just RCA. I know everyone says that bnc is better, but isnt that only because BNC is perfect 75 ohms? Supposedly the oyaide rca connectors are perfect 75 ohms as well, so shouldnt it not matter which you use? Im planning to pair it with a Hiface and my Audio GD dac19mk3

I have a "modded" dac19mk3 with both RCA and BNC input. I find that with the same cable, the BNC is slightly better RCA (more low level details and less stress to the sound).
But a good RCA cable sounds better than a poor BNC cable. In fact, I even tried the BNC Oyaide cable with a cheap bnc to rca adaptor and it sounded better than any other cable I tried in my system (whether they were BNC or RCA).
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about BNC vs. RCA.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoupRKnowva /img/forum/go_quote.gif So i thinking about getting one of these, but my dac doesnt have BNC, just RCA. I know everyone says that bnc is better, but isnt that only because BNC is perfect 75 ohms? Supposedly the oyaide rca connectors are perfect 75 ohms as well, so shouldnt it not matter which you use? Im planning to pair it with a Hiface and my Audio GD dac19mk3

You will not regret it. I have the Oyaide DR-510 (RCA version) and it's very good.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about one of these for AES/EBU? OYAIDE ELEC,co,.ltd. Actually, at $1100 for a 1.3m pair, it's extremely pricey. What you can do is buy the wire used in it, the FTVS-910, for $255 per meter, throw on some nice connectors and call it a day. And that's still very pricey. I could have Peter at DHC basically replicate that for me with SCSCag OCC silver wire from Cryoparts.

Kosmic.us sell it at $620 which is a great price.
I don't think Peter who is a great builder can match the Oyaide AR-910 at that price.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about one of these for AES/EBU? OYAIDE ELEC,co,.ltd. Actually, at $1100 for a 1.3m pair, it's extremely pricey. What you can do is buy the wire used in it, the FTVS-910, for $255 per meter, throw on some nice connectors and call it a day. And that's still very pricey.

That cable looks very nice indeed

As for the pirce, since it is for digital you can just buy a single cable (no need for a pair). The price is $620 for a single 1.3m here Oyaide AR-910 Pure Silver Balanced Interconnects | KOSMIC.us. But I admit it is very expensive and those connectors might be overkill. Buying the FTVS-910 wire and pairing it with some neutrik XLR connectors could be a good alternative.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I could have Peter at DHC basically replicate that for me with SCSCag OCC silver wire from Cryoparts.

I am not sure that it is easy to replicate it : besides the purity of the conductors, there seems to be other factors in making a good digital cable : impedance, dielectric, shielding, dampening of the vibrations, ... So it probably won't be the same

Edit -- I just saw rosgr63's answer ... and it seems we were thinking the same

Edit 2 -- I looked at the DHC site and they seem to be selling a nice coaxial digital cable (the "Reverse Primer" OCC Silver Digital Coaxial Cable). It seems that it uses top notch conductors and shielding however, there are 2 things that grabbed my attention : it is not specified as being 75 ohms compliant and it uses a ferrite to filter out noise. A ferrite can indeed filter out the high frequency noise but it also slows down the square wave of a digital signale : a digital signal is basically rapidly changing square waves at a very high frequency (Mhz range depending on the bit and frequency) ... I wonder if it is a wise idea. For example, Kimber used a ferrite for its first usb aftermarket cable but after much criticism it removed them from their new silver usb cable.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Edit -- I just saw rosgr63's answer ... and it seems we were thinking the same .

Great minds think alike!

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosgr63 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You will not regret it. I have the Oyaide DR-510 (RCA version) and it's very good.

thanks for the info everyone, slim.a you dont have the rca version though right? you just used the adapter?

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoupRKnowva /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks for the info everyone, slim.a you dont have the rca version though right? you just used the adapter?

That is right, I have the BNC version and used an adaptor. My guess is that RCA should as good if not better than the BNC + adaptor I tried.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is right, I have the BNC version and used an adaptor. My guess is that RCA should as good if not better than the BNC + adaptor I tried.

thats what i was thinking as well

 

[RickEC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is right, I have the BNC version and used an adaptor. My guess is that RCA should as good if not better than the BNC + adaptor I tried.

That answers my question too. BNC is only at my DAC, not at my CDP. So, according to Slim.a's experience, the RCA ones should be a better choice. Right Slim.a?

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickEC /img/forum/go_quote.gif That answers my question too. BNC is only at my DAC, not at my CDP. So, according to Slim.a's experience, the RCA ones should be a better choice. Right Slim.a?

Yes, buying the RCA version should work well in your case. The only reason to buy the BNC version is if you are planning to upgrade your transport later with one that has a BNC ouput. If it is not the case, the RCA version should be a good bet. By the way, rosgr63 (who recommended me the Oyaide cable in the first place) has the RCA version which peforms better in his system than the other rca cables he has (stereovox xv2 and Zu if I remember correctly).

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not sure that it is easy to replicate it : besides the purity of the conductors, there seems to be other factors in making a good digital cable : impedance, dielectric, shielding, dampening of the vibrations, ... So it probably won't be the same

He could do it, I'd just need to buy him an ohm meter. The cheapest one I can find is a little over $100.

AES/EBU is a lot easier to make than a coax cable. It's just a shielded twisted pair, polyethelene tubing (or your choice of materials), with a foil wrap as a drain wire. Of course you can also use some layers of dampening, which I would do.

If you notice in my signature I have "Double Helix Cables Binary CX" digital cable coming soon. I am working with him on designing one, so I took the liberty of naming it too.

(The CX is roman numerals for 110). The coax version will just be called Binary.

I'm not sure yet if we will design it from scratch or find some nice shielded twisted pair to build layers upon. A good starting point will be to get some Belden 1800F, try one stock with some dampening and one stripped down with some other things done to it.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, buying the RCA version should work well in your case. The only reason to buy the BNC version is if you are planning to upgrade your transport later with one that has a BNC ouput. If it is not the case, the RCA version should be a good bet. By the way, rosgr63 (who recommended me the Oyaide cable in the first place) has the RCA version which peforms better in his system than the other rca cables he has (stereovox xv2 and Zu if I remember correctly).

That's right, I have used Stereovox XV2, Zu Firemine, BJC.

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif He could do it, I'd just need to buy him an ohm meter. The cheapest one I can find is a little over $100. AES/EBU is a lot easier to make than a coax cable. It's just a shielded twisted pair, polyethelene tubing (or your choice of materials), with a foil wrap as a drain wire. Of course you can also use some layers of dampening, which I would do. If you notice in my signature I have "Double Helix Cables Binary CX" digital cable coming soon. I am working with him on designing one, so I took the liberty of naming it too. (The CX is roman numerals for 110). The coax version will just be called Binary. I'm not sure yet if we will design it from scratch or find some nice shielded twisted pair to build layers upon. A good starting point will be to get some Belden 1800F, try one stock with some dampening and one stripped down with some other things done to it.

Peter at DHC is very honest and a great builder. If he says he can build a cable equivalent to Oyaide then I am sure it will be so.