digital cable length


Hi. Recently I pulled my Bel Canto dac2 out of storage. Running my Wadia i70i transport through the Dac connected by a 1.5 meter dh lab digital cable.
My question is that I want to put my monarchy 48/96 upsampler between the wadia and the dac. What length of digital cable should I use or does it matter?
Thanks much. Dave
italian

Showing 1 response by almarg

The more important of the two cables will be the one between the Upsampler and the DAC, since the signal is reclocked in the Upsampler. There's no way to be certain what the optimal length would be, because among other things it is dependent on the risetime and falltime of the output signal provided by the Upsampler (essentially, the amount of time it takes for the signal to make a transition between its two voltage states). Unfortunately, it seems that risetimes and falltimes for the output signals of digital audio components are almost never specified.

But the odds are that it would be best to use either 1.5 meters between the upsampler and the DAC, or a very short length (less than say 8 inches or so), if that is possible.

Same goes for the cable between the transport and Upsampler, although that length is much less critical.

Also, FWIW, if you haven't already seen it this statement appears in the information about the Upsampler that is provided at the Monarchy website:
We recommend using a short co-axial cable to link your transport to the Upsampler. By virtue of the much stronger output, the Upsampler will drive 75 Ohm cables up to 100 ft, although for best signal integrity we recommend that the cable be no longer than a few feet.
Regards,
-- Al