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MIT Oracle MA Digital AES/EBU

I have been on a digital cable quest for a while now. The cable runs from my Logitech Transporter to Berkeley DAC and I have found through my trials that it is one of the most critical paths. The cables I have tried all sound very different and alter the sound even more than changing interconnects. It was surprising to me as I thought these changes would be subtle. I have tried most of the typical cables discussed (Valhalla, Emotion, Sextet etc) and seem to always return to my MIT Proline Digital Reference (the newer one with the metal connectors). Most of what it does seems right however I find it somewhat slow, dark and muted. I am inclined to try the Oracle but boy is it pricey and I am leery of just how much of that will be corrected. Any owners of this cable out there that may be able to comment on it's general sonic character and even how it compares to the Proline Digital Reference? I have found zero information about it and never seen it discussed...Thanks!!
richard_stacy

Showing 5 responses by camb

camb
164 posts
 
I tried the MIT Oracle in my system and although it sounded excellent in many ways I too found it slightly muted and rolled off in the high frequencies. I just couldn't get past the feeling that the sound was lacking that last bit of air and, given the price of this cable, I wasn't willing to live with this type of trade off.

Others seem to think this cable is fantastic across the board and has no high frequency roll off, so I imagine that system synergy is critical ( as with most cables). My application was a Meridian Sooloos MC 200 feeding a Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D.
camb
164 posts
 
Richard,

How would you describe the difference in character between the MIT and Acoustic Revive?
camb
164 posts
 
Thanks Richard.

Wow, it's really strange but the MIT Oracle I bought from The Cable Company sounds different than you describe between my Sooloos MC 200 and Simaudio 650D dac. In my system the MIT sounds fantastic in many ways but it's a little roled off in the high frequencies, making it sound very warm and analogue-like but lacking in air and spaciousness. The bass and mid-range are fantastic and articulate but I can't get over the missing high frequency extension. Neither The Cable Company nor MIT can figure out why I'm experiencing this roll off in high frequencies - must just be one of those few cases where the cable isn't a good match for the system...
camb
164 posts
 
Thanks Richard,

Yes, it's a little strange how finicky the Sooloos is. Its performance is impacted not only by digital cable but also by where I place it (it was dynamically flat when placed on the shelf above my amp - much better when moved far away from the amp) and where I plug it in (highs were really rolled off when it was plugged into the same Nordost power bar as the rest of my equipment). Aside from placement and power source there's not much else to tinker with, as it has it's own ac to dac power cord/ transformer. Maybe I can try some sort of simple power conditioner to keep it from feeding noise into the powerline?

Cheers,

Cam
camb
164 posts
 
As a follow up, I found a way to turn off the up sampling and apodising filter in the Sooloos and now the sound is very open with extended high frequencies - with the MIT Oracle digital cable in place. Turns out the MIT cable was not the culprit after all.
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