Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Audiolabyrinth....I cut and pasted my response from someone else who asked my opinion on the PS Audio forums awhile back.I tried a couple PSA cables and did not care for them. So I figured with all the great reviews,I would try the platinum 7. I loved it from the getgo and have never looked back.


“For my system and my tastes, the WW just sounds right. There are no frequency's that stand out one over the other to draw attention to the listening experience, ie; pulling you away from the enjoyment of the music at hand. The body and structure of a good/great recording holds up very,very well. This cable has a wonderful natural/organic characteristic to it...Just right imo.

Details of the bass,mid and treble are killer and with that detail comes the amazing ability to see deeper into a mix with zero etch or bloat that will grow fatiguing after a while. This is a silver wire..but totally lacking in the silver brightness that many dislike.

With that being said…the WW does require some run in time out of the box. The attributes of silver wire [some brightness] do come through in the initial phase of listening, but give it time and things do settle in superbly if I do say so myself. I could not change the WW if I wanted to…its that good! 

And this coming from a hdmi skeptic before hearing and ultimately believing that hdmi cables do make a huge difference… as much as any other cable in your system., maybe even more so.”

@ aolmrd1241, Thankyou for a great detailed response,  them traits  is exactly what I'm looking for in a cable.  How long is your cable?, I'm thinking half meter would work, I probably should do the full meter?, so what would be your estimated time of burn in for the cable to fully bloom?

I stack my DS/DMP combo so I use the 12 inch length.From what I gather via David Salz the shorter the length the better for best sound quality from hdmi.So,since I stack,why spend the extra money if not needed. Burn in time? 100-150 hours seems to be the sweet spot...

aolmrd1241,  Thankyou for your help,  I'm pulling the trigger on the wire world platinum starlight 7  hdmi cable tomorrow,  have it in a few day's ☺

I’ve been following this thread from the beginning and finally thought to add my 2 cents worth .
Audiolabyrinth I had owed the PS Audio Direct stream dac senior along with its partner the Direct stream player which finally convinced me leave vinyl .
I want to mention my experience with trying I2s HDMI cables , the supplied PS Audio cable that came with the Direct stream player was quite good and thought to try the cable in my ModWright Oppe 205 for a Rock concert event and plug in a generic HDMI cable I purchased from BlueJeancable.com that was being used in my video gear .
What a surprise, how is it that a $18.00 cable perform so well with the PS Audio components, my favourite music sounded a tad better , could it be a component and cable burn in issue as the PS Audio components were purchased new ,...
Further investigation I found the speaking human voice sounded more human , more realistic then I’ve heard ever before from these old Mark Levinson and Chesky CDs I use sometimes for evaluating .  

 Interesting with further listening over a period of time switching back and forth with PS Audios .supplied I2s cable proved the $18.00 cables merits .
Occasionally speaking with other owners of PS Audio components I never brought this cable comparison up during any conversations however I did end up purchasing the WireWorld Platinum Starlight HDMI cable testimonials from others .
Months later I thought to try that cheap $18.00 cable against one of the very best ,.
The $18.00 cable held its own very well and past along everything the Starlight did however I prefer this $18.00 Tartan cable for its fuller more even sound .
Just like most here I’ve burnt through piles of money chasing better sound however this is just one little thing you can easily check out for yourself purchased from Bluejeancables.com Tartan cable Type CL2 Shielded 28AWG 20276 ,.