HDMI cable for I2S

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.

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.

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.

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







                                                                                                                                                    

Hey coop52:  For sure i2s (over HDMi) is both an excellent data transmission protocol -and SQ also influenced by 'quality' of HDMi cable.
My set-up (computer audio/Streaming) is both recent and modest; Pi3B (AQ Carbon USB to), Gustard X-20PRO DAC/w usb input. Prior to purchasing the AQ Carbon USB cable, SQ was very AM Radio-ish (using generic usb cable). AQ CArbon = OMG, Hi-Rez hi-fi. Not kidding.
Months later, I thought I'd try the HDMi input  on the Gustard (X20pro DAC). Not having a HDMi 'transport', I thought perhaps I'd pick-up a spdif converter offering up i2S (Gustard U-12). With a 15-ft generic (lol) HDMi, although far from excellent, was doing something (quite positive), so I thought it would be worthy of further exploration/experimentation.
So, some cheapy AQ Pearl (2.0m) and model up Forest (2.0) HDMi cables it was. Forget the Pearl, OMG -the 'Forest' HDMi) from U-12 (over HDMi) to i2S DAC was/is amazing !      (I'll creep up the AQ line (next is Cinnamon -on order), then Carbon, then Vodka -the highest I'd consider for my set-up.)
But low/behold, my brother let's me use his Vodka (1.5m) HDMi (just last night).Is it better? I think so. But, it sat (unused) for a couple months, and I'm not certain it even has the requisite break-in time. So, (only getting it last night), I'll run it for a while and report back (if I remember).

What is very clear however, is the immense SQ gains going i2S -even with a very modest Audioquest 'Forest' HDMi. I'd imagine 'Word Clk' (over BNC) offers similar/superior SQ (vs. i2s).
Yet, even with the $50.? AQ 'Forest'  (HDMi), SQ has never been better. It is excellent.
pj