I2S cable recommendations


I just purchased a Denafrips Hermes DDC to connect to my Pontus II DAC via I2S.  Anyone have recommendations for an I2S cable that is < $200? My budget is a bit fluid and am willing spend more if the value is justified by the performance.  TIA.

128x128jastralfu

Some people here have said good things about this DH Labs HDMI cable and they make good, high-value cables so you certainly could do worse…
https://silversonic.com/products/digital-cables/hdmi-2-1/

Now, some folks who’ve upgraded to more $$$ HDMI cables for i2S have reported they don’t hear much difference in this particular application.  I’ll just say this — I’ve read that it’s very important to keep an i2S cable as short as possible (preferably 1 foot or less) as i2S was originally designed to be used internally within components and so degrades rapidly with distance.  I started with this sub-$7 6” HDMI cable from Monoprice for just that reason (it was the shortest I could find) and got huge results and have felt no desire to throw more $$$ at it.  You might wanna buy both of these, and if you don’t hear an appreciable difference just return the pricier cable  

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13578

Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

Thanks!  That's exactly the advice I'm looking for, I just need somewhere to start.  I've read exactly the same thing you did about I2S cable length so I think starting with a $7-6" cable will do the trick for now.

I used I2S to connect my Metrum Acoustics streamer with their DACs and found it interesting that the designer uses an RJ45-type connector rather than the HDMI connector/cable used by Denafrips and most others.  The lack of an I2S standard is a little frustrating but maybe a result of that connection method being used for short internal connections within one component, as discussed by @soix, and not for external connections between two components.  

I have yet to hear a meaningfully discernable difference between properly constructed digital cables, and would suggest getting something well-built, like the recommended DH Labs cable, but spending the big money elsewhere in the system.