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HDMI cable for I2S

Well, the old upgrade itch had to be scratched, and even though it's a little behind the times now, I've invested in a refurbished PS Audio PWT and a used PWD MKII for my redbook CDs. The former is currently being assessed by the folks at PS Audio because it seemed unnaturally noisy when I received it, and the DAC hasn't actually arrived yet but should be here in the next day or so. So now that I can connect the two via HDMI using the I2S protocol, I need to stir up the old question of whether I'll get any advantage by shelling out some money for a high-quality HDMI cable? There's been a lot of verbiage devoted to this debate, but I would like to hear some real-world experiences. Have any of you compared different HDMI cables in this application, and did it make any difference? Of course one can carry this to its logical extreme, but I was thinking more along the lines of Audioquest Carbon (I use the coax versions of these in my system and think they're very good) or even their very modestly-priced Pearl cable. There's a Wire World Silver Starlight 7 available here on Audiogon just now, but I just can't work out whether it would make an audible difference over a standard (read: cheap) high-speed HDMI cable. Thanks for any input you may have on this.
BTW, speaking of logical extremes: http://www.audiolab.com/audioquest-diamond-hdmi-digital-audio-video-cable-with-ethernet/?utm_medium=...

cooper52
justinm
31 posts
 
Hi and sorry for the delay, I’ve been trying to give the Vodka a little time to break in if that’s even necessary for hdmi? Anyway I’m really psyched to have the PWD2 back in my rig and have been listening to the aq vodka for a little over a week, I haven’t tried switching back to the mono price yet but will do so this week and report back next week with results. On another note, unfortunately I couldn’t hear a huge difference between my old AA DDEv3/DTIv2 when switching back and forth with my recently acquired PS PWD2/PWT. There is a slight gain difference between the 2 with the AA dac being a little louder, so this may have gave inaccurate results? In saying this my speakers are definitely the weakest link and may not even be accurate enough to make an appropriate comparison. I like building speakers and have a pair of the older cheap 2way “Andrew Jones pioneer budget speakers for now until I get my latest project finished. Cooper52 thanks for the heads up on the Pangea that’s very helpful info for all. I have a feeling I might get the same results with the vodka vs monoprice, will see? Best Regards
justinm
31 posts
 
I just wanted to give a quick summary of my comparison  on a 1m mono-price vs 2m Audioquest vodka hdmi cable. I really didn’t hear a huge difference between them. They both sound really good to me and I am second guessing myself on weather or not I really heard a difference or not? I think the vodka was slightly better and will be leaving it in and throwing the mono price back in the spare back up drawer. I think the vodka sounded a little more refined overall, like a slightly smoother and detailed tube upgrade. To my ears, which are no where as finely trained as most of you on this forum, I couldn’t hear enough of a difference to spend the extra cash. It may have a bigger impact on video but Ill never know because my home theater projector uses a 30ft run of mono price up through the wall and 2 meters will never reach from the ceiling to the equipment rack. Cooper52 sorry for kinda butting in this thread and wasn’t trying to hijack it in anyway, just wanted to share a little similar experience since we’re all usually looking for the biggest bang for our buck.
cooper52 OP
187 posts
 
justinm, thanks for your posts and for sharing your experience with the cables. I'm still really on the fence about spending some serious cash for a significant upgrade to the HDMI cable, as it sounds like this would make only a minor difference. I was wondering if you had experimented with different power cables in the PWT/PWDII combination? Did this make any difference?
I'm trying hard not to blame my speakers for the things I dislike about this setup. That conversation is over in the Digital section of the forum.
cooper52 OP
187 posts
 
Update: am currently trying out a Transparent Audio High Performance HDMI cable I found here on Audiogon and initial impressions are that though it sounds slightly smoother than the Pangea, there's not a huge amount of difference. Not really an incentive to climb further up the upgrade ladder here, I think.
allhifi
59 posts
 

Hey Coop's: Amazing differences. Spotted and purchased a used Gustard U-12's (spdif converter) and experiment i2S OUT (over HDMi) into X-20pro (Gustard DAC).

Eventually I connected but had  only a generic 15-ft. Hdmi. U-G-L-Y  (lol -the sound).

Not sure of its contribution (i2S or cable quality) I decided to purchase the AQ 'Pearl' and 'Cinnamon' (both 2-m -as I thought I could use elsewhere if proved unsatisfactory. Yeah right ! 

Started with the 'Cinnamon' and OMG -you kidding me ? Another layer of dimensionality, tonal realism, articulation and layering that astounded me -and continues to. 
 An audiophile (on the i2S topic) stated he'd never go back/use another digital cable type -it's clear to see why now.
Furthering SQ descriptor's, the sheer sense of focus,definition musical flow/rhythm from an eerily silent background presents 3D-like sound projections mesmerizing to experience. And this, from 128 Kb/s Internet 'Streams'. 
Today, some 72-96 hours run time has settled the cables tonality.

I believe a 0.6m AQ  'Carbon' or 'Vodka' may be warranted for further exploration. All in all, a remarkable (and most welcome) discovery.

pj







                                                                                                                                                    
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