Cable recommendation between Dac and Integrated amp

Balanced is demonstrably better, if you can do it.

+1

So much better in fact that it doesn't matter if the circuit isn't "truly" balanced and subsequently converted to SE.

Balanced is demonstrably better, if you can do it. Beyond that, I believe much of this is a snake oil business. So why not go to Benchmark or Bryston for good and affordable cables?

FYI: I owned and used the Stealth Audio Varidig Sextet as my reference interconnect. It's a very good sounding and expensive digital cable.
When I demoed the VH Audio Pulsar Ag Digital cable (after break-in) I could not detect the difference in music dynamics etc. That's why I recommended the VH Audio Pulsar Ag Digital cablein the first response to this form.

The Tellurium Q Black Waveform™ hf Digital RCA , amazing British brand innovative coax cable.

My two cents: Nordost original Frey. Tough to beat for the price. Good luck.

krelldog -
Talk to Steven at The Cable Co. If they have the history, he can make recommendations based on your exact gear and your budget. Even without specific data for your gear, Steven is knowledgeable about general sonic characteristics of different wire. Their loaner program is very helpful. Used it to compare digital coax and, more recently, speaker cables.

Depending on speakers, I’m using either Audioquest Columbia or Cardas Golden Reference XLRs between Gugnir MB and Hegel H200. I have NO idea whether these will be good matches for your system, however.

A nice amp like the Pass deserves a quality interconnect.  To stay in your price range or close to it, I would recommend an Audio Note ISIS (poor choice of names) which is a copper Litz cable.  Or if you look around for a used pair, a set of Audio Note Vx silver Litz would also do nicely.  After trying many cables over the years, I finally found what I was looking for with the AN Litz cables.  

We can give recommendations, but no one can tell you what is best in your system. e.g. I had .5 meter Wireworld Platinum series 7 XLR cables. I recently tried an Audioquest Niagara 1 meter XLR. In my system, my wife and I preferred the Niagara. I sold the Wireworld. In another system I might prefer the Wireworld.

I use inexpensive cabling myself between my Yggy and M6si. Specifically, I'm using Straight Wire Musicable II Level 1 XLR. I'd consider "better", but if I'm not mistaken, I've read somewhere (including this forum) that "balanced cable is balanced cable" (in the analog realm). I know there are some balanced cables that have higher capacitance and should not be used for digital, but the interconnect between the Yggy and amp is analog at that point.

I remain open minded to affordable and purportedly better alternatives.

+1 on the Duelund idea.  I made my own.  Killer sound for the money.

The best I have found - at any price - is the Duelund 20 GA IC from parts express. 

I use it between my Schiit Yggy and my ASR integrated.

Did I mention that it's actually affordable?

@krelldog


Of the two you mention (Audience Au24 SE and Acoustic Zen Ultimate copper), while I could be mistaken, isn't the Acoustic Zen Ultimate copper the balanced option of the two? Point is, I think whatever you decide, you want balanced and not SE.

Yes and no.  OFC is easy to source but it’s my understanding that OCC cooper and silver can only be sourced from a few licensed companies in Japan.  

The truth is, of course, that many of these cables can be manufactured (i.e. bought from China) for a few dollars at most. The high margin strategy is to make big profits with a small operation.

Save some money, I highly recommend you look into cables by Audio Sensibility. They source the same great occ cooper/silver used by the top cables companies like Audience.  I’ve bought several cables them, all great value. 

markwatkiss
The higher the price the bigger the profit margins.When you spend more on cabling than components it’s time to re evaluate priorities.Not pointing fingers,just sayin.Mark Tunis,Bradenton Florida,handcrafted by a gifted artisan who understands the science of energy transfer.Have purchased both his Silver Ghost pc and interconnects.Couldn’t be more satisfied.Believe what your ears say not hearsay.

>>>>>>It’s not necessary true that the higher the price the bigger the profit margins. Example: one company might sell 100 cables at $1000 per cable. That’s a gross income of $100,000, right? Let’s say the cables cost the company $200 each to manufacturer. Now, it’s true he makes a profit of $800 per cable but he won’t sell as many cables as another company with lower prices.That means his profit for 100 cables is $80,000, right? But another company sells 5,000 cables at $100 per cable. He sells more cables because more people can afford them. That’s a gross income of $500,000, right. Let’s say each one of those cables cost $25 to manufacture. That means his profit is $75 X 5,000 = $375,000. Hel-loo!

The higher the price the bigger the profit margins.When you spend more on cabling than components it's time to re evaluate priorities.Not pointing fingers,just sayin.Mark Tunis,Bradenton Florida,handcrafted by a gifted artisan who understands the science of energy transfer.Have purchased both his Silver Ghost pc and interconnects.Couldn't be more satisfied.Believe what your ears say not hearsay.

I’d suggest used Audience, Synergistic Research and Masterbuilt. You already have Audience on your list. Used SR Element Tungsten will be within your price range. Masterbuilt is a little bit hard to find on the used market though.

Teo Audio Game Changer IC's are within your budget.

Plus, they offer a money-back guarantee.

If you don't like 'em, all you're out is the postage.

Yes the cable I recommended is analog I was just saying I had a digital cable from that same company. The Jorma No. 3 is analog sorry for any confusion!

I think he's looking for analog interconnects.  

This:

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/interconnects-jorma-design-no-3-1m-rca-pair-of-interconnects-2017-...

I dropped a Jorma digital cable in my system a few months ago its utterly fantastic. I nearly bought this myself but cannot justify another cable. Would be tough to beat for $400 I think, no connection to the seller.

VH Audio Pulsar Ag Digital or Analog Interconnects
An excellent digital cable, competes with the big-boys that costs over $1000.

https://www.vhaudio.com/interconnects.html