Advice on a good Digital Coax Cable to run between my Transport and DAC?


I need a good Coax Digital cable to run between my Jays Audio Transport and my Denafrips Pontus 15 DAC. I have the Wyred4Sound Remedy Reclocker connected between the transport and Dac. So I need 2 cables. I'm looking for a cable that's revealing but not overly bright. One that's a little on the lush side 

 

Thanks!

chiefsteward1

Jays Audio transports have excellent clocks. You’re most likely creating a bottleneck with the Wyred4Sound Remedy box. All you need is a good digital cable between Jays and the dac. Try Audience, Audioquest or Acoustic Zen MC2

Avoid Acoustic Zen MC2 because it is 110 not 75 ohm rated coaxial cable / connector.

Agree with audphile1 dump the Wyred reclocker. Also, per direct communication I had with Jay's the transport's AES output is optimized over the Coax so maybe consider getting an AES/EBU cable and go direct to the Pontus with that for an increase in SQ. If not, just go direct to the Pontus from the Jays with Coax

I concurr with facten, my Jay's is connected to the dac with a Snake River Boomslang AES cable with better results than even I2s. 

I’d also recommend looking into a DAC upgrade. That’s a sweet transport. Needs a dac on the same level. 

This was a + to my setup.

SUPRA USB EXCALIBUR 0.3-meter (1 foot), Made in Sweden

@lanx0003 Despite the impedance rating, the Acoustic Zen MC2 is notably better than other digital cables I've tried such as XLO, Morrow, Harmonic Technologies.  Probably others as well. I'm using the cable between my Denon DCD-1700NE player and my Gustard dac. 

@sls883  Out of curiosity, I called the Cable Company to inquire about impedance standards, as these are universally followed by industrial manufacturers. There are no exceptions—for example, 75 ohms for S/PDIF and 110 ohms for AES/EBU. These standards are regulated by the IEC, which governs the manufacturing requirements for both audio components and their associated cabling and terminations.

A knowledgeable gentleman kindly informed me that the information posted on the website—specifically that the Acoustic Zen MC2 is a true 110-ohm cable—is a mistake. It should be stated a true 75 ohm instead.  He confirmed the impedance standards I mentioned earlier.  Again, no exception.

He also added that while cable impedance is standardized, the terminal connectors used for coaxial cables are not always a perfect 75-ohm design. Small variations can exist—for example, a connector might measure 74 ohms—which could cause minor high-frequency roll-off. However, he confirmed that the connectors used on the MC2 are indeed true 75-ohm designs.  This also clarifies the misinformation in the previous thread https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/acoustic-zen-mc2-110-ohm

My current cable is the best I've ever heard it's Jorma's digital cable, no idea what it costs these days but a perfect balance between detail and naturalness.

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I’m a fan of morrow cables.  You have to catch their catchy sales though.  
I find them right in the middle of not too bright but revealing…

go with their better line and you won’t be dissatisfied 

There is no objective difference with cables and even more so with digital. P.T. Barnum, where are you?

The best digital cable was the Jorma period.  Way too many tried and could not compete.  We are a manufacturer and repair shop and can get any cable we want.  We have tried all of the above mentioned cables, some were very good but not like the Jorma.

 

Happy Listening.

Thanks for all the good input. I removed the "Reclocker" and it made a big difference. More of everything. I forgot to say that I am currently using a Kimber D-60. I thought the D60 might be the problem but learned it was the Reclocker. I will check out the Jorma Cable. Is that the name a model or the name of the company? Keep the Info coming! 

 

Thanks!

@soix  What do you know about impedance mismatch and industrial standards?  My observation is absoutely little to nothing. It’s disappointing to see advice being shared from a literally ignorant person without a proper understanding of audio. Unfounded recommendations don’t help the Audiogon community grow in knowledge. 

@sls883 

A further investigation / clarification to the impedance mismatch issue. Impedance mismatch causes signal reflection, which in turn has the following two impact on the signal quality.

First, mismatch loss, which is audible signal loss due to reflection, can be quantified as -10 log(1-|CR|^2) dB, where CR = Coef. of reflection = (ZL-Zc)/(ZL+Zc), ZL = load imp. And Zc=cable imp.  So, using the example if MC2 coaxial is a 110 ohm into 75 ohm load, CR = 0.19 and mismatch loss = 0.16 dB.  So if the signal loss due to reflection is only a fraction of a dB, why is imp. mismatch such a big deal?  The answer lies in the time inaccuracy, i.e., known as jitter, caused by the signal reflection.

Second, jitter can be quantified approximately as

|CR|x (round-trip delay due to reflection) x (edge sensitivity)

If you have 5ft rca cable, which as a typical signal propagation delay of 1.5 ns/ft, and assume edge sensitivity is 1.0 for the cable w/o loss of generality, the jitter can be estimated as =.19 x (1.5x5x2) = 2.9 ns = 2900 ps, which is humongous in hi-fidelity signal chain reproduction.  In general, 100 ps jitter or less is considered good and audible level of jitter is around 200-300 ps.  The high-end gear typically has around 10 ps.

+ 1 @danmar123 - SUPRA USB EXCALIBUR, Made in Sweden - its a really good cable for not a lot of money

USB and coax are not the same. The OP is specifically asking about a coax digital cable. 

I posted this before but not sure what happened to it…

@chiefsteward1 if you like D60 try AGDL but get it in the AES configuration. It may be better using AES and AGDL is supposed to be a better cable than D60 

Audiophile1 d60 is more detail and focus, excellent bass.The AGDL has more bloom to it, I like it on classical music, jazz. The d60 is good on vocal and acoustic guitars and string .Both are excellent if you can match them properly.

I’m aware of my post, they do make other type cables. Plus, the 30 day return policy.

Supra Trico RCA S/PDIF - Digital Coaxial True 75 Ohm Cable.

No affiliation. Just a happy camper.

The Wyred Remedy is a great little device that can improve the sound of some transport DAC combos. I would think your combo is good enough to sound better without it though. As others have said, AES/EBU is going to be your best bet rather than RCA S/PDIF.  

Snake River Audio Boomslang SPDIF but not a coaxial design.  Snake River Audio just dropped a three conductor Takshaka SPDIF also not a coaxial design.  It's a hybrid comprised of one part silver, one red copper and one gold

N

I use a full set of Audio Sensibility cables and highly recommend them. 

If you go the AES route, I have one for sale here on AudioGon. Price is negotiable. 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbeca8-audio-sensibility-signature-se-aes-ebu-xlr-digital-interconnect-0-7-meters-interconnects

I compared the Audience Studio ONE AES/EBU Digital cable and the AudioQuest - Carbon - AES/EBU Digital Cable to the Audio Sensibility cables in my system. The Audio Sensibility was warm AND more detailed than both. 
 

To emphasize earlier comments, different devices and user preferences may lead you to chose different connection types. For my setup, I preferred a USB connection over an AES connection. Experimentation in your system is the only way to find out which you’ll prefer. 

+1 for @likecap -- the DR-510 is easily the best digital coax cable I've tried (of 4 or 5). The price has gone up since I got mine, but I'd buy it again in a second. The sound is lush but resolving:

https://www.thecableco.com/dr-510-db-510-digital-cable.html?srsltid=AfmBOorHhth8DgHaCxEAfuBm0FiDAvH0b3qZ3LT2d8jsCwvRkU4nfyg4

great insightful article. Looking for additional advice. Thanks in advance

Currently have a Audiolab transport and a Meitner DAC Ma 1 V2 in a secondary system. Will most likely upgrade transport in near future, but, it is what it is now. 

Dac and transport connected via Coax (decent cable, not to expensive, don't recall brand) Am awaiting a Bricasti m5. Will be hooking that up to the DAC via a Good AES/EBU cable. With the exception of the Transport, all cables are balanced throughout.   For now the current transport only has coax and optical. My new transport will sport a AES/EBU connection. Question: With only one AES/EBU connection on DAC, which unit should get the COAX and which the AES/EBU?? Thanks, Robert TN

Since my DDC (Pi2Design) and DAC (Chord Qutest) both have BNC S/PDIF connections, I built my own using VH Audio Pulsar AG coax crimped with Trompeter UPL2000-D(1, 7, or 24) BNC connectors.  You can use BNC to RCA adapters but you won't maintain a characteristic 75 ohm impedance.  It'll be close but not a precise match.

Since my DDC (Pi2Design) and DAC (Chord Qutest) both have BNC S/PDIF connections, I built my own using VH Audio Pulsar AG coax crimped with Trompeter UPL2000-D(1, 7, or 24) BNC connectors.  You can use BNC to RCA adapters but you won't maintain a characteristic 75 ohm impedance.  It'll be close but not a precise match.

I just received a LessLoss RCA digicable with the Entropic process, and reasonably priced. It sounds grand right out of the bag but improves with burn-in. I have several PC's too. LessLoss has the special sauce on its products. Neal

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Don’t mean to hijack thread but I’m confused. Two brands of AES/EBU cables I’ve looked up online (including Jorma) state they are 110 ohm. If 75 ohm is considered "best", then why would Jay’s optimize their transports for AES/EBU? 

I have a CDT2mk3 and want to make sure I’m enabling it to perform at its best. What sort of sonic improvement might I get from shifting to  AES/EBU?

@stuartk standard impedance for bnc or rca terminated digital cables is 75ohm. 
For AES/EBU cables it’s 110ohm. I would use what the transport was optimized for. 

stuark,

 

Good question. Which is the better connection? Coax or AES/EBU?

Thanks to you all. I think I have decided to try the Acoustic Zen Absolute 75. . Any thoughts on that cable?

@chiefsteward1 @stuartk   Go back and look at mine and baylinor’s posts on 6-10 , the Jay’s is optimized for AES/EBU , so that is the best connection and the cable to go after

@facten 

Thanks. I misunderstood; I thought 75 ohm connection was considered superior to 110 ohm.  Now I get it.

I'd be curious to try both versions of a single cable.

 

Doh!  Just realized my Hegel doesn't have XLR digital inputs so I can't try AES/EDU cables with this set-up., It'll have to wait until I acquire another external DAC.