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digital cable differences

Hi all, as we all know there are differences in digital cables. I hear also a difference between cables in loudness of sound. When I insert an old Goldmund Lineal between my CD-transport and DAC not only the sound is less loud (with exact the same preamp volume level) in comparison with another cable (I'm using a very simple MITerminator IV line level interconnect as a digital link) but it also sounds less involving. Does this mean the Goldmund is not a good match for the CD-transport (CEC TL-0) and DAC (Bel Canto 1.1) or is the cable defective (conductor breach). I red once that when a digital cable is functioning properly we can hear an increase in "loudness" of sound in comparison with a cable that is not designed for digital transmission or a poorly designed one.

Regards,
Dazzdax
dazzdax

Showing 1 response by gunbei

gunbei
2,327 posts
 
I've tried five different digital cables with my current setup and have heard varying degrees of differences. In some instances there were slight volume and tonal differences, and also differences in soundstage size.

75 ohm hasn't always been the best in my system either. One that performed very well was 110 ohm, and the other that was very good was no different from an analogue RCA, so you never know. Both of these threw a much bigger and more lifelike sound stage than some highly regarded 75 ohm cables.

As with anything in this hobby, it's all about synergy and sometimes specifications can't predict that.
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