My next Coax / SPDIF after Green Hornet


Posting this in the digital section as I think I’ll have better luck here.

I’m in search for a new digital coax cable to go between my Bluesound Vault and my Luxman DA-06 DAC. I own two digital cables to date: a DH Labs Glass Master TOSlink which is too analytical and brittle for this particular application, and a Creative Cable Green Hornet which is magical on the bass and midrange but is not as revealing on the top end.

I’ve been trying to figure out where I can step up with a new cable and decided to try a Tara Labs ISM Onboard Digital, which is amazingly open, revealing and refined, but it just does not have the bass and midbass magic that the Green Hornet has. I’m wondering if there is another digital cable that may be somewhere inbetween the two. Upon my research, I’m thinking that the following cables might work for me:

Harmonic Technology Magic Two Digital
Acoustic Zen MC2

Has anyone played with the Green Hornet and compared to the two above? Or know of a more open/revealing cable that still had a similar bass extension / warmth as the Green Hornet?

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xblisshifi
I currently am using the Jorma Design digital cable and it sounds fantastic, midrange magic in spades, organic sounding and properly extended. They pop up used on here from time to time in the $500 range if you see one I recommend grabbing it.


I previously had the Green Hornet as well as Kimber AGDL, Nirvana, and Cerious Technology Graphene.
I am using the Nordost Heimdall 2 spdif out of the vault and this opened up the midrange and upper bass in spades compared to the previous Nordost Silver Shadow.
I would agree that Nordost as a whole do seem to be a little lean in the lower bass area compared to some but I can live with that for the midrange, piano and acoustic guitar streamed through the vault are sublime.
Just my thoughts.....
Although I haven't heard their digital cables, I have several AZ interconnects and cables, and if their house sound translates to the MC2 I think you may well be on the right track.  I've been using an Apogee Wyde Eye for years and find it to occupy a nice balance of detail and tonality.  I actually prefer it to my Stereovox XV2, which sounds a little thin tonally by comparison.  The Wyde Eye sounds more natural to my ear.  Might be worth a shot for 40 bucks...

https://www.amazon.com/Geistnotes-Apogee-Wyde-Cable-WE-RR/dp/B01N29180M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1...
Thanks for the advice guys. 

@jond  - does the Jorma still have the bass extension and warmth that the Green Hornet did? The way you describe it, sounds a lot like my Tara Labs, but the Tara is just lean below 100hz. 

@uberwaltz - I’ll look into the Nordost. That’s the first time I’ve heard that particular model mentioned. 

@soix - thanks for the vote of confidence. I also read about the apogee as well on other threads, so I’ll look into that. 
thiefofflight the Jorma has great natural warmth without obscuring detail, as far as bass extension it seems quite full and extended but tough to compare. I was using different speakers when I had the Green Hornet, Focal Micro-Utopia's then Audio Note AN-J's now. The ANs have more bass extension themselves so a bit tough to say.

My $275 silver coax with expanded Teflon and BNC terminations (RCA adapters) will beat any of these.  My $499 Reference BNC is even better.

Jitter measurements of several cables:

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154425.0

30-day money-back less shipping.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

Another option would be vh audio's  Pulsar Ag
SPDIF Digital with silver bullet (Eichmann) RCA connectors. If you solder them yourself it will be around $200 a meter. I'm sure vh audio would do this for you if you're not experienced with it. Can't say how this compares with what is listed above, but this coax cable is fantastic. Vh Audio is a great company to work with as well.  

I would never buy a S/PDIF coax that is terminated to RCA's.  It cannot be done cleanly without creating a big impedance discontinuity.  You are better off to get BNC's and add 75 ohm RCA adapters.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

Agreed.
The Nordost line are terminated as BNC and supplied with BNC-RCA adapters.
@audioengr -- that's very interesting re: RCA connectors.  I hadn't heard that before.  Thanks.  I suppose I should adjust my prior Apogee recommendation...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6XL1XW/ref=twister_B01MUH69P1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Well, I came across a decent deal for a 1.5M run of Acoustic Zen MC2 for $314, so I am waiting for that to ship and will report back on the tests. The best part of it is that it is returnable, so not a big loss on me if it doesn’t work out. 

@ thiefoflight

I have owned most of AZ line of cables and they are very good but at the same price point, I highly recommend you try Black Cat Silver Star MK II SPDIF from the Cable Company Rental Department and be prepared to be AMAZED!


Wig

@wig thanks for the recommendation. I have read good things about the Black Cat cable as well, and in other places, there have been folks who have tried it and have preferred the AZ line of cables. I think it will all depend on system matching. If the AZ doesn’t work out, I’ll consider it. I have two ends of the spectrum right now between the Green Hornet and the Tara Labs ISM Onboard, so as long as I find the happy medium, all will be well. 
@ thiefoflight

Try both of them side-by-side and keep the best sounding one, it’s really a game changer...

Will let you know in a few days on any discernable differences in sounding quality between BNC and RCA and believe it's going to be noticeable.

Wig
@baaach I didn’t, but I can now almost three years later. :)

Simply, I found the AZ to be incredibly boring compared to the Green Hornet. At the time I was looking for more resolution on the top end, as the Green Hornet had a magical midrange and incredible bass. Well, with the AZ the sound just fell more flat across the spectrum. It was comfortable to listen to, but I felt that dynamics were just non-existent. 
I instead tried a Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 3 coax cable a few months later, and it was very good. It had the openness of the Tara Labs with more authority in the lower frequency range I was looking for. From there, I upgraded to a Galileo SX AES cable, and I doubt I will ever need another cable after that. 
That said, I also upgraded my digital source through that journey. After getting the Atmosphere digital cable, I replaced the Bluesound Vault with a NAD M50.2 and replaced the Luxman DA-06 for a PS Audio DirectStream. The Luxman, too, I realized, was very rich in the mid bass and midrange, with very refined higher frequencies that made for a euphoric, but in revealing sound. 
Knowing this now, I’m curious to hear what a Green Hornet would sound like in my system today. I’m sure it wouldn’t best my current cable but I bet it wouldn’t be too much a slouch on the top end as I thought before.