1.0 vs. 1.5 Meter Digital Cable


Someone had stated that 1.5 meter digital cables sounded better then 1.0 meter digital cables.I'm getting ready to buy a digital cable and wanted to know if there is any validity to that statement.
holman
From what I have gleaned over time on this topic, the main objective is to end up with the smoothest, most regularly shaped curve to the cable run between the digital components. Depending on how the transport and DAC are positioned relative to each other, it would make no sense to purchase too long a cable and wind up with extra bends or loops in the cable run. Conversely, don't buy too short a cable and cause sharp bends at the connectors with the cable pulled straight in between. Let the physical setup of your system dictate the correct digital IC length.
The reason a longer cable might sound better is due to the gradual flexing of the cable. If the digital cable is short, at the point the cable is bent the impeadence will change at that point due to the dielectric being compressed and the center conductor moving closer to the sheild. This impeadeance change from 75 ohm to a different value causes an impeadeance mismatch which in turn creates internal standing wave reflection for the digital signal to try to get through. This intern causes "jitter" which creates digital errors that the d to a converter must try to correct.

When digital data is lost or its 0/1 transition state can not be accurately determined the sound quality suffers. The sound will take on a course or hard texture and will not be as airy or deminsional as it would be if the digital signal is passed in its entirty and at the proper timing.

So yes, it could make a difference in using a longer cable!
Cable should be at least two meters long due to bandwith characteristics. Otherwise there will not be proper 'breathing' within the cable. Just my .02