2. digital
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Length of digital cable?

Picking up where I left off a year ago, somewhere on the net I ran into a recommended length of 18 ft of digital cable between transport and D/A converter. Various lengths were discussed and one source was very confident of the 18 ft length to successfully resolve jitter. And the Beldon 1694A was recommended. For $30+ or whatever I gave it a shot and was surprised by the quality of sound, and I swear on a stack of owners' manuals that this length with this brand of cable resolves jitter. The sound is rock solid gorgeous.

The Beldon lies behind the system mostly in a coil, and I think coils are probably not ideal. I'm wondering if anyone has found a shorter length that works. Al suggested 8", but I was unable to make it work because the components aren't close enough. I know that 1 ft" doesn't work and that 1 meter doesn't work.

Part 2: Does length of ethernet from computer to avr also affect jitter? My sister who is a computer person and not an audio person set up my avr with computer using cat 5. The sound quality is bad. I'd like to get good sound quality with computer as source down the road but need advice on how to get it.
arnettpartners
arnettpartners OP
312 posts
 
ok. This site is screwing up. It won't let me respond.
arnettpartners OP
312 posts
 
Update: I bought the 4-ft digital cable with RCA adaptors from Empirical Audio that Steve recommended. Break-in is typical with a rough patch after about 24 hrs. It emerges hrs later with a very broad soundstage and becomes light and airy, sounding more like live music. It's probably 75% broken in now, and the highs are quite controlled; guitars sound steely; sound in general sounds cleansed--really not what I expected. Transients are delightful.

I don't have another high end cable with which to compare; it costs less than the Cardas Lightning 15 and the better Audioquest. No question that it is extremely cost effective in the SQ it produces and strikingly illustrates that cable should be treated equally with other components.
Steve has recommended other products that will get me world class sound, but I probably can't handle world class sound at the moment. I'm too overwhelmed by the SQ I have now.

Thanks to Al and Steve for catching me up. Audiogon is a valuable source thanks to these gentlemen and many more members.
camb
164 posts
 
Steve, I understand one can't make a true 75 ohm digital cables with RCA connectors. That's the advantage of using BNC connectors, right - that is the BNC connectors allow for a true 75 ohm cable? So if you need to use RCA adaptors on the BNC cable, doesn't that negate the benefits of a true 75 ohm BNC to BNC cable?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Camb - Its true that RCA connectors are more like 45 ohms, but if you use good 75 ohm BNC adapters like I do, the effect is negligible. If you have BNC on either the output or input device, you can use the native BNC which is better.

The benefit is really the cable itself and how it is terminated to the BNC and shielded. It cannot be just any 75 ohm BNC. The BNC must be designed specifically for that particular cable to avoid an impedance change at the cable termination.

If you terminate to an RCA, it is very difficult to avoid a big impedance discontinuity because it is never a good match for the cable.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
camb
164 posts
 
Thanks Steve,

I wish more manufacturers offered a BNC option. RCA still seems to be the norm, unfortunately.

Cam
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