Best I2s cable for the Money?

Well I recieved the cable from HCM.It is a Audio Magic .5m red thingy.After plugging it in I have fou nd that I was in error in thinking that it would be a linkm between my Dac and jitter box.Apparently the I2S port on the jitter box is for input only,so I had to put the coax back in place.However I have left the I2S connected from the jitter to the Dac and I think I hear a difference. Is this wishful listening? Could this cause a problem.It seems to be more 3 dimensional and have a even more defined soundstage,tighter bass and smoother overall. I am not smoking anything so I am at a loss.
Does anyone (or everyone)have a better understanding of the I2S bus within the Audio Alchemy line and whether I am wacked?

e

Went ahead and ordered a Audio magic cable. I will get back with you on the sounds.

It sounds like PS Audio is using a HDMI cable for I2S.

They have some useful information concerning the I2S standard.

Still looking for a "hand me down" recession special.

e

Watch PS Audio. I beleive that they have a few flavors coming available in the very near future...to compliment thier new Perfect Wave series Transport & DAC

I just bought a used Audio Alchemy DDE1.1 and DTi 1.0. They have I2S connections that I would like to try out. Does anyone have a old cable that they can part with? Perhaps someone that has a stock cable and have upgraded?

If it were me knowing what I know today I'd stick with the stock cable. IIRC the RAL cable cost me $295 and versus the stock Northstar cable I didn't hear that much difference. I have no comparative test results to refer you too, but you might want to try over on Audio Asylum. There could be some valuable information over there.

BTW: I am buying a Pacecar from Empericalto connect to a Sonos via I2s. A cable is included, though a Silver upgrade can be had for $360.00. So I guess I'm asking where the point of dimishing return starts on I2s cabless.

I would settle for a nuetral cable; anyone know of any caparrison testing results?

I have the I2S cable that came with my Offramp Turbo and one from Revation Audio Labs. There is a difference between the two but I'm not sure if one is better than the other. I also tried a 2 meter ethernet cable (same thing as an I2S cable) and found I liked it better. I'm not sure why that would be.

I found there was a difference between the stock I2S cable that came with my Northstar combo versus an upgraded cable I purchased from Revelation Audio Labs (buyer beware - I got my cable in 2 weeks but others have had horrible experiences with this vendor and they are banned from selling here). However, I would say the difference in sound did not justify the price difference.

FWIW - Steve Nugent at Empirical Audio made some I2S cable comparisons and found differences between various cables.

Check with pccable.com.
Great selection of cables, at a good price.
I have not compared I2s cables, but I do use their cable with fine results.