2. cables
  3. 155216-84454

Any audible difference between cheap and expensive BNC cables?

I recently added a Naim streamer (streaming from an SSD NAS) to eliminate my PC (and fan noise) from the equation, plus remove the need to run a USB across the room from PC to DAC. It already sounds better than my previous PC>USB>DAC setup and is connected with a cheap $6 Monoprice BNC to RCA S/PDIF that I nabbed on Amazon.

Would there be any audible difference if the cheap BNC to RCA was swapped out with a higher end BNC to BNC S/PDIF?

I've gotten huge gains from upgrading speaker cables. Upgrading my interconnects between sources and amps on the other hand produced negligible results. The dealer I bought my turntable from has a NORDOST Silver Shadow BNC to BNC at 50% off for just under $300. I'm just wondering what kind of difference, if any, I'd get in sound from upgrading. The Monoprice cable was supposed to be temporary but it sounds good so I'm on the fence about upgrading now since I've always been told digital is digital and buying expensive digital cables that pass the same 1's and 0's doesn't make any difference.

I'm on board with upgrading if it makes an audible difference but want to make sure I'm spending my monies wisely so I'd like to hear some opinions of people who have tested different S/PDIF cables and what, if any, changes they experienced. The DAC has RCA and BNC S/PDIF inputs but the streamer only has BNC out so I have to at least be BNC on the Naim side. The DAC side could be RCA or BNC.

Any thoughts?
samiamnot

Showing 2 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Of course, proper impedance is important, so is capacitance and the impedance match of the devices being used. The digital stream enters the cable as a square wave. The design/material of the cable and its length will determine how much reflection happens. If the square wave becomes rounded or uneven, the source device will not get an accurate reading of the bitstream information. One result of the distorted signal is jitter.
The quality of the clock comes into play here. It may have trouble interpreting the signal and correcting it to match the original source.
Different cables may result in different sonic attributes.

That’s about where my knowledge of digital transmission ends. Those with more knowledge should chime in.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
S/PDIF cables do matter. I've heard differences in each cable I have owned or auditioned. With BNC terminations you will have the required 75ohms for digital. As @steakster says, a high quality BNC/RCA adapter is required. He mentions that some cable manufacturers can provide adapters.

I want to mention that I've owned some excellent digital cables with RCA connectors which claim to be 75ohm. With all cables, the design and implementation are key elements in reproducing quality sound.


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