2. digital
  3. 139886-13434

Why does my DAC sound so much better after upgrading digital SPDIF cable?

I like my Mps5 playback designs sacd/CD player but also use it as a DAC so that I can use my OPPO as a transport to play 24-96 and other high res files I burn to dvd-audio discs.

I was using a nordost silver shadow digital spdif cable between the transport and my dac as I felt it was more transparent and better treble than a higher priced audioquest digital cable a dealer had me audition.

I recently received the Synergistic Research Galileo new SX UEF digital cable.  Immediately I recognized that i was hearing far better bass, soundstage, and instrument separation than I had ever heard with high res files (non sacd),

While I am obviously impressed with this high end digital cable and strongly encourage others to audition it, I am puzzled how the cable transporting digital information to my DAC from my transport makes such a big difference.

The DAC take the digital information and shapes the sound so why should the cable providing it the info be so important. I would think any competently built digital cable would be adequate....I get the cable from the DAC to the preamp and preamp to amp matter but would think the cable to the DAC would be much less important.

I will now experiment to see if using the external transport to send red book CD files to my playback mps5 sounds better than using the transport inside the mps5 itself.

The MPS5 sounds pretty great for ca and awesome with SACD so doubt external transport will be improvement for redhook cds


128x128karmapolice
mzkmxcv
777 posts
 
@boxer12

Speaker cables will result in power loss and sometimes frequency response deviation in the bass (damping factor).

Output loss will be well below 1dB, and in most cases below 0.5dB, so no, speakers cables won’t affect soundstage width.
boxer12
8,656 posts
 
So say's you (& your textbook), nothing more. 
leemaze
330 posts
 
@audioengr thank you for the recommendation. could you explain what the Toslink cable you recommended does differently and how you’ve experienced it’s superority? Just curious, as you mentioned you didn’t have a way to test toslink jitter. Thanks!
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

leemaze - the Toslink I recommend uses a high-quality polished plastic fiber.  I experimented with many glass fiber cables, but I realized that this plastic cable just sounded better.  Usually it's the light distortion in the cable that causes signal degradation due to imperfect polishing of the ends or imperfect polishing of the outer fiber.  This cable evidently delivers the light with less reflections and distortions. It may also have to do with the index of refraction of this particular plastic.  It is unlike other plastic cables.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

genez
220 posts
 
While I am obviously impressed with this high end digital cable and strongly encourage others to audition it, I am puzzled how the cable transporting digital information to my DAC from my transport makes such a big difference.

Though the impulses are digital by nature, the way they are transferred through the cable is still electricity.  Some cables apparently do a better job at preserving the integrity of those digital impulses. I found the same phenomena to be true also with USB cables.  Once we get out of our heads that its only 'pluses and minuses,' we can begin to find out what sounds better for our taste in sound. People have become hindered by the "digital mystique" that started in the launching of the digital era. Its not only about +'s and -'s.
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