about stereophile magazines recommendation of belk

So I'm clear, are you a "snobass" if you advocate using expensive cables to transmit a digital signal between a computer and a DAC, or are you a "snobass" if you make fun of people that do? I want to make sure I'm both calling, and being called, the correct names. ;)

>>07-12-11: Rdavwhitaker
or are you a "snobass" if you make fun of people that do?<<

Actually that would be a horsesass.

Hope that helps.

If in fact there are any differences, I see no reason to expect them to be anything other than random and unpredictable, with little or no correlation with price, and with little or no consistency from system to system. Any sonic differences would be dependent on the type of dac (asynchronous/non-asynchronous, etc.), the length of the cable, the impedance accuracies of the computer and dac, the risetimes and falltimes of the computer output, emi/rfi sensitivity of the components in the system, ground loop susceptibility of the particular components and the particular setup, the particular computer hardware, extraneous background processes that may be running in the computer, etc. etc.

While some things in audio may cause a sonic difference, that doesn't necessarily mean that a sonic character should be attributed to them.

Regards,
-- Al

i apologize to everyone for my hasty snarkyladen remark. no , i don,t have a 30,000 dollar system. yes i have been an enthusiast for 40 years [and industry rep for many high end companies for 15 years] and my goal this time around was to put togeather a system for little money that provides great sound reproduction. i know it is not a porshe. i am using emotiva amp, pre and cd, magnepan, murrow audio cables, furman and musical fidelity mac and pure music products with great results in my opinion. i am working with trying to get the best computer performance without spending thousands of dollars and read about the belkin cable that sells for 29 bucks but can be bought for a measly 6 bucks on amazon. right up my alley of budget/performance goals. i was asking about the belkin gold and it being balanced according to the stereophile reviewer. i did not know what a balanced usb cord is so i asked if anyone could tell me if i had the same one that was reviewed. i am not open to any patronization from anyone who writes "are we really to the point" and advice of go to "walmart". i don't say "wow spend more money on components" to anyone. this may work for some who just throw money at this hobby but i have found some money and time spent on room treatment and small adjustment like better ac receptacles and room treatment and isolation tweaks can yield much more impressive gains than getting on the gear changing rollercoaster. i appreciate those who added some levity to my unfortunate thread. and i guess the belkin works ok because i havn't run shrieking to change it back yet. still enjoying music tho.....i also am regretful for jumping on macdadtexas. there, i said it haha

Thanks, Audiofeil, that clears it up nicely! If I'm going to be called names, I want be sure it's the right one!