2. cables
  3. 975720190

Why do digital cables sound different?

I have been talking to a few e-mail buddies and have a question that isn't being satisfactorily answered this far. So...I'm asking the experts on the forum to pitch in. This has probably been asked before but I can't find any references for it. Can someone explain why one DIGITAL cable (coaxial, BNC, etc.) can sound different than another? There are also similar claims for Toslink. In my mind, we're just trying to move bits from one place to another. Doesn't the digital stream get reconstituted and re-clocked on the receiving end anyway? Please enlighten me and maybe send along some URLs for my edification. Thanks, Dan
danielho
rja's avatar
rja
2,371 posts
 
I have never used Toslink but I have used glass cables and found sonic differences even in these.
cocoabaroque
36 posts
 
Maybe the differences in sound can be attributed to thick, heavy cables damping analog resonances on the transport or DAC. There may be mass-loading thing going on here. Also, its possible that in a high rez system and an undamped, sparsely furnished room, the cable may change room acoustics and wall reflections slightly.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
the differences between digital cables may have as much to do with the cables as the listeners.
caliaripaolo
26 posts
 
After 11 years this thread is still alive. I didn't read all the response but I try to give you my contribution. I think The hirez music could have impact on the digital cable position into the system chain. The high frequencies and the amount of bit resolution need of cable capable to maintain the impedence between entire path. So, I think which digital cable could affect sound not as well as PC cable, for example, but in consistency way. Recently I had to replace Stealth varidig with Oracle MA. The difference was not like night and day, but in term of "resolution ".
lvhjr1
3 posts
 
This is a topic that gives me a flashbacks to circuits 101, 35 years ago. It was a difficult concept to grasp, even after completing 5 Calculus and 3 Physics courses, but let's simplify it into one expression, dynamic change. Any time you change the signal characteristics the sound will be different; that is the inherent nature of sound produced from electrical pulses. Digital cables are required to be Impedance matching at 75 ohms. There is no exact 75 ohm Impedance, since it changes with frequency and can be altered by materials and construction. The acceptance of the change is in the ear of the listener as to what sounds better. Coaxial cables will have more variation for interpretation.

In my opinion, optical cables should be a more stable pulse. However, most listeners feel that they are to brittle sounding. This is probably true unless you have a very smooth tuned DAC circuit converter. This leads us back to your personal taste as to what is more accurate. Comments are welcome.
More to discover