Is there a better quality Firewire cable?

Tbg,

"...digital cables also matter"

Please explain to me how a cable that is only passing 0s and 1s, and has error correction on the devices connected at both ends (in the case of FireWire), can possibly affect the end result? Jitter (timing issues) are not cable dependant, so how else can you explain what you think that you hear? I'm not trying to be a jerk - the science just doesn't add up.

Br3098:

Seems to be a lot of relevant discussion here regards USB cables (of which there appear to be more audiophile permutations than firewire); there seems to be a quite a bit of consensus that there are audible differences.

I tend somewhat to cable skepticism (though considerably less so after Chris Hoff of BPT auditioned some of his excellent stuff in my system last night), but I thought I could detect a pretty significant difference between a "stock" usb cord and the entry level Locus Design.

Does your worry about the science not adding up extend to all cabling, or do you think there is special reason for skepticism in the case of the newer digital applications?

Best,

John

Br3098,

Putting the science aside for a minute, have you listened to different digital cables? Who knows why scientifically, but there is a difference, at least to me along with a lot of other people.

One key factor may be this, as explained to me by a manufacturer:

"A cable is much more than the wire. You can use the best wire in the world, but if the wire connection to the connectors is not done well, the cable won't be good. A cable starts where it connects to and receives the input signal. The connector, the connection, the wire and the shielding and grounding determine if the signal passed in is the same as the signal coming out and entering into the receiving component."

There is definitely science in that, so maybe it's that aspect that determines "the sound quality" more than whether the wire is cheap copper, better copper or silver.

Tbg has an extremely nice system, so the highest quality Firewire will be audible.

Chuck

Krell man, well said. I was hoping to avoid the "bits are bits" discussion.

Gents,

I understand your reluctance to avoid a "bits are bits" discussion. And I appreciate the fact that some of you claim that you can hear a difference between digital cables. I can't. Given a cable that can make a good connection to the FireWire (or Toslink, or coax digital) port there can only be a difference if something is terribly wrong with a given cable, or the cable is affecting the upstream or downstream processing.

One of my old physics professors used to say "If you can't explain it, you don't understand it. And if you don't understand it, you cannot be sure what it is that you are actually observing."

So surely one of you can explain to me or have a theory as to how a digital signal can be subject to subtle and random errors? Yes, I'm a differential digital cable non-believer. But I'm willing to be convinced if someone can make a convincing argument. That's all.