best cable for dac

Don't get caught up with the myth that cables make a huge difference. Electricity is electricity. Go with a major brand (Cardas, XLO, TARA LABS, etc.) at a reasonable price. This advice comes from one who has been to, and now sees the fallacy, of the high-end.

Hey llanger...I do think a lot of the claims are pure crap and cables are insanely overpriced, but they do make a difference. Should they?? I don't know. Do they become over priced tone controls?? Yeah. Still...many affect the signal in different ways, like it or not (and I don't). I made a CD with four identical mixes of one of our bands songs, each time using a different digital cable between the digital mixing board and CD recorder. I gave the CD to a band member who had no idea about cables or hi-end audio, but he did think that they were four slightly different mixes. I know electricity should be electricity and there should be no difference, but there seems to be some difference. Not $1000's worth, but some. Most audio manufacturers and designers prefer certain capacitors and other parts due to their specific sounds, so it doesn't end with cables.

I'm with Phild in that I have found digital cables, for whatever reason, to make a fairly significant difference in what I hear and I am no cable lover either. I'd much rather spend my $$$ on speakers, amps, etc. but the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and at some point cables become significant--how much you want to spend on them is your call.

I tried toslink and found it to be soft and rolled off relative to coax, so I'd support the coax option for what it's worth. I'd also second Phild's recommendation of the Apogee Wyde Eye cable, which I've compared with much more expensive cables and found that it holds its own quite well and might be a nice first choice until you've found the higher-priced digital cable of your dreams. Best of luck.

Tim