Digital RCA vs AES/EBU connections

AES/EBU should be more transparent.

I have always found digital AES/EBU connections to sound relatively thin in the midrange. I have also found that using BNC or true 75 ohm RCA connectors is a significant upgrade if you use the coax connection.

I have not made comparisons, but I know that Forsell prefers its bnc connector, even using RCAs with their supplied adaptor, to AES/EBU, and that when I upgraded my Audio Logic dac and asked them to add another RCA jack for my 24/96 transport, after discussing it with them I had them replace the AES/EBU connection with the new RCA, because I was told that, properly implemented, it is a better digital connection than AES/EBU. I also recall Gene Pope of Pope Music telling us at an NJ Audio Society meeting that he felt the AES/EBU connection was an inferior one (although he felt that the S/DIF interface was clearly superior to all others). Given all this, it might be a good idea to see what the manufacturer(s) of the equipment you're using recommend; it could be that they have optimized their unit for a particular connection.

These are all very interesting responses. Hopefully mine, although not in agreement will offer some, will offer additional insight. I started with MIT T3 RCA cable from CAL Alpha/Delta. Replaced with XLO 4.1 w/AES-EBU connector. Dramatic improvement. Borrowed HT Cyberlink copper w/RCA and compared to XLO. Like XLO better. Cable or interface? Can't decide. Now have NBS Mine/Serpent w/AES-EBU. Very satisfied. Smoother than XLO, but not more detailed. Again, cable or interface. Many cable manufacturers will say AES/EBU is better connection. Let you ears be your guide.

It's been a long time since I've looked at the specs, but I believe that AES/EBU has more bandwidth. I did tests several years ago showing much greater signal loss on HF (Above 8k) with coax