MIT Oracle MA Digital AES/EBU

Joncourage: Thank you for your suggestion, certainly I am curious. Our's is a very strange hobby especially when it comes to how new products come to market. Being around as long as I have there seems to be a pattern with products that have a sudden spike in forum activity/enthusiasm. Of course not all those products are being shilled but they all warrant caution IMO.

Camb: Yes, it does sound a little strange but with digital audio so many things seem to matter so there are near endless reasons why the MIT is performing that way in your system. I have gone through every possible adjustment to refine my source...power cords, conditioners, outlets, USB cables, digital cables etc and they all matter. The latest find for me is the USB cable that connects my exterior drive to my server. If you read the forums or ask and "expert" they will tell you this cable will not impact sound. Most will say the USB cable that connects the server to DAC will but even some guys say that will not. Well...in my system they both do and not in subtle ways. Changing the feed from my HDD to server from generic eSATA cable to an Acoustic Revive USB cable has been a transforming event for my systems performance. Tremendous reduction in S/N, depth, image placement, clarity...just exceptional. I never thought this would matter but so glad I approached it with an open mind and tried it. Point of all that is there may be other things going on that are causing the rolled off highs. It could be the cable, just seems a little out of character from what I know. Luckily there are a zillion choices in digital cables so if it is in fact the cable it is a relatively easy fix and you may even find a less expensive solution:)

Tmsorosk: It IS pricey! Honestly, I have issues with most of MIT's pricing but continue to use them because I'm basically an idiot when it comes to hifi. As a whole, I still think they are the best, just way too much cash...way. Thank you for the suggestion, seems to be mounting respect for the new Shunyata technology. I'd love to give one a go.

Interesting. This must not be a very popular choice of digital cable. It seems odd to me as there are so many who use Oracle ic, speaker and pc's and they all are sota, up there with all of the very best if not at the top. hhhmmmmmm.

thanks for the comments on the mit digital cables. i may be the only one who finds that cable dark and slower! i had suspected that the ma was a rough one to say no to. it is very helpful to read/hear others experience. i would be buying it on the blind, no demo available.

Well I could not resist and the MA-X is on it's way. Should be interesting. I have a feeling that my quest for the right digital cable ends here. If not I will likely go back to the Proline Digital Reference as I found it to be better than any other cable I had here including the Stealth Vardig Sextet that had been recommend by most as the best.

Update:

I have had the Oracle MA-X digital cable for a couple of days and now have about 48 hours of signal through it. I am sure it has some more break in to do but I have a feel for it's overall character and impact on my system. The word that comes to mind is "amazing". I think the sonic character is similar to the Proline Digital Reference but it is multiplied at least ten fold. The first think I noticed was the depth and scale which is so natural and detailed. I really feel as if i can walk around and touch the voices and instruments. The closest I have come to this sort of impact is when I went from using the dac in my Theta Casanova to my Berkeley Alpha Dac. This cable is certainly like a component upgrade and may very well be the biggest change I have ever experienced in my system. It really makes no sense to me and I have no idea how this works but man is it real. No way a digital cable should have this kind of effect. Just wow.

I am posting this because I know there a quite a few forum members who have also been looking for digital cables. I have been through many in this quest...Nordost Valhalla, Stealth Vardig Sextet, Kubala-Sosna Emotion just to name a few and this is not even close. Each of those cables did somethings very well...the Nordost laser detail and holography...the KS musical warmth...the Stealth's massive , deep and realistic soundstage....wrap em up and multiply by 10. The Oracle MA-X is so much better than any digital cable I have ever heard in every way. I can find no weakness. It is expensive but relative to the impact, I have no issue with the cost.

I'm gonna like this.

Funny this thread has been revived, I forgot about it. I can't believe it's been 2 years since I got the MA-X, time flies! I still have it, use it and feel even stronger about it's ability. A lot of things have changed around it as it's now connecting a Berkeley Alpha USB to a Alpha Series 2 DAC. I can only say that it is by far a key component to my rig and does far more than any digital cable I have experienced. The only one I put in it's class is the Acoustic Revive DISX which in many ways is as good, just very very different in character.

As for the suggestion of the HiDiamond, I'd try it but am very leery of cable companies that have a zillion forum threads/comments from out of the blue.

Camb...I would say the MA-X is much more true to the source with much crisper edges/detail, more articulate. The Acoustic Revive is more musical, almost analog in character like all the AR stuff. Acoustic Revive has sort or a house sound that is very natural and organic. I would still call the DISX articulate, just not as much as the MIT (nothing really is to me). Not to say the MA-X lacks presence in any way but it does not have a glow/warmth to it. Being a true to the source kind of guy, I still prefer the MIT but it's pretty close.