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
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,317 posts
 
"The digital cables are carrying "analog" signals."

Yes, but the signals are completely different in design and play by a different set of rules.
marqmike
841 posts
 
I am with Mapman. If I remember right the 'digital' in digital signals means digits. And we have 10 digits on our hands right. I think the signals are sent by sign language. Well the, they would sound different depending on how good of a signer sends the signals. Elementary Watson. Hope that helps. Signing off from mooshound lodge for now. If you don't find me handy hopefully you find me funny. Don't worry I kept my day job.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mapman, to cut to the chase, at least in my system when I had a digital cable, copper outshone silver, whereas for the interconnects it was vice versa. Both the interconnects and digital cable were Audioquest Lapis Truth, same construction, dielectric, etc. Just the conductor was different. YRMV.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
It is a system thing. Cable that works perfect in one system might be bad in another. It comes to characteristic impedance matching and quality of the shielding. Characteristic impedance is affected not only by geometry of the cable but also materials. Anything that changes inductance or capacitance of the cable might change characteristic impedance resulting in reflections on impedance boundaries producing jitter - adding noise to music.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,592 posts
 
Mapman, are you saying digital signals in a coax cable for example are harder to mess with than pure analog signals, and so theoretically the cable construction should have less impact on the resulting sound? I.E. It is harder to mess up coded and sent 1s and 0s than the analog wave forms of a bass drum or a cymbal in transit through a wire. I have found differences in the sound performance between different USB and HDMI cables, but those are different animals than coax.

kn
More to discover