Looking for really fine cables at really low price

Regarding use of the Belden 8402 as a digital cable, keep in mind that its "characteristic impedance" is specified as 52 ohms, which will result in a considerable mismatch to the impedances of the digital components it would be used with. I would expect that to result in its sonic performance in digital applications varying considerably from system to system, and in some cases even among different lengths of the cable when connecting the same components.

In any event, glad to read of so many positive experiences with the Belden and WE cables. And it all reinforces the points several of us have made in past threads about the weak correlation that can be expected between cable performance and cable price.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al, help me with your last post. My current Sablon is 75 ohm and this sounds better thus far. 52 ohm vs 75? Not much difference and you seem to be saying it is a poor match!

Meant to say the Belden sounds better.....

Well, RCA connectors do not conform to the "strict" 75 ohm adherence that we read about as being so important in digital. We also read to never use twisted wire as a digital cable, but my Sablon is twisted wire, not coax, and it sounded far better then the true coax cables I had tried before.

I guess there are several camps of thought regarding digital cable builds and what is ideal. I let my ears tell me, but it is somewhat confusing that the math would suggest to not use twisted wire or 50 ohm, but the ears say otherwise? Help?

Hi Bill,

In the analog domain 52 ohms vs. 75 ohms is, as you appear to be saying, an insignificant difference. However when it comes to digital signals, the effects which come into play at the very high frequencies which are present to a significant degree in their risetimes and falltimes (those terms referring to the transition times of a digital signal between its two voltage states, which in the case of digital audio signals involve significant frequency components extending to tens and perhaps hundreds of MHz) 52 ohms vs. 75 ohms is a considerable mismatch. The reason being that at those frequencies "RF transmission line effects" come into play. Which result, in the case of a significant impedance mismatch, in signal reflections bouncing back and forth between the connected components, causing some degree of distortion of the waveform as received by the destination component.

Whether that waveform distortion will result in sound that is subjectively better, worse, or the same than if the impedance mismatch did not exist will depend on a great many complex and essentially unpredictable variables involving the technical characteristics of the signal, the cable, the length of the cable, both of the connected components, and (from a subjective standpoint, at least) the rest of the system.

My point is simply that such a mismatch can be expected to cause the sonic performance of the cable to be inconsistent and not very predictable among different systems, and very conceivably also among different cable lengths.

In any event, enjoy! Best regards,
-- Al