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Best Digital Coax for Tube System under $300

I have been very lucky with the advice that the Audiogon folks have given me.

I am now trying to find the best digital IC that I can find for under $300 to connect a Teac VRDS Transport to a Valab non oversampling DAC. The DAC is feeding a Jadis Orchestra Reference with some great Gold Lion KT88 tubes and a pair of Mazda 12ax7s tubes. Speaker cables are SR Tesla Accelerators, Amphenol polished glass toslinks between Teac and Valab and Gabriel Gold Revelation MK2's from the dac to the Jadis. I love it so much.

Here is why I need to find a great digital IC. I just discovered that even though my Valab dac has inputs for toslink, usb and coax, I cannot run both usb and toslink at the same time.

I don't like the toslink out of the Mac Mini that I need to attach to my dac, so I am using usb to connect which is my only other choice. Since I cannot switch between toslink and usb, but I can switch between usb and coax, I need to find a great coax. Why can't life be simple?

I am going to email Steve to see if he makes a GG coax cable. I really like the Gabriel Golds.

Anyone else have a suggestion? Thanks in advance.
128x128mattzack2
2chnlben
595 posts
 
You must include the Stereovox XV2 on your short list.
mattzack2's avatar
mattzack2 OP
175 posts
 
Thanks guys... so far, my short list is the Stereovox xv2, the VD Master 3.0, the Synergistic Research and the Kimber D60. I have a call into Steve at Gabriel Gold also. He only has digital cables in the Rapture line, so they may be a little more than I want to spend at this point, unless they are noticably better than the others.

I wish I could a/b these cables, but most likely I can buy the Virtual Dynamics with a return and refund policy and I think Steve will let me audition the GG's, but I think the others are you buy it, you own it. So, as anxious as I am to buy, I need to get a little more homework in.

Anyone who has compared any of these would be very welcome to add their comment in this thread.

thanks again.
mattzack2's avatar
mattzack2 OP
175 posts
 
I just ordered Virtual Dynamics Master4.0 digital rca cable that VD is running a special on. It was a little more than the $300 that I wanted to stay under, but with a 45 day return policy, I think it is worth a try.
mattzack2's avatar
mattzack2 OP
175 posts
 
I am using a Virtual Dynamics Master Digital Cable while awaiting my Master 4.0 digital cable. I have to admit that it is more than I had hoped for. The music that I hear now seems to have a lot more emotion in the secondary instruments. They are much more alive and proud sounding, not competing with the primary instruments, but complimenting them in a fashion that makes them sound like they are joyously playing all by themselves.

Virtual Dynamics assured me that if I am this happy with these cables, that I am in for a bigger treat when the Master 4.0 digital cables arrive.

Just a few weeks off for them now.
jp1208
502 posts
 
Why not try the Valab digital cable?
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