I settled on the Acoustic Zen MC Squared for that task but please bare in mind I was in a price range of up to $300.00, you seem to have a higher budget but would still love to hear how the A/Z fairs if you compare it to more expensive offerings.
Preferred AES/EBU 110 ohm digital 1.5 meter cables you recommend
I am considering supplementing my Audience Au24 SE USB cable with an AES/EBU Digital cable so I can switch back and forth depending on the music source. I am looking for your recommendations for AES/EBU digital Cables to demo. My source is the Aurender N10 Music Server and my DAC is to be determined (must have AES/EBU input).
I know very little about AES/EBU digital cables since I have always used USB cables. I spoke to Audience and they believe their USB cable sounds better than their digital cable for most applications. Others have said the “AES/EBU digital cable is the better sounding cable most of the time”. In addition, I have been told to use a 1.5 meter digital cable for the highest sound quality. I am sure both the audio system and type of music will determine what cable type will sound the best.
There are many cables available and I am looking for some assistance in narrowing the list. For example, the DH Labs D-110 AES/EBU XLR Digital Audio Cable by Silversonic is priced at $110 (great price, how does it sound?). The Morrow Grand Reference Digital cable is approximately $350. The Cardas Audio's Clear AES/EBU is $662 and the Acrolink's 7N-DA2090 Speciale AES/EBU is $1,315. I noticed several other brands were even more expensive such as the Kubual Sosna Emotion AES/EBU digital cable at $1,650 (very expensive and no discounts). What AES/EBU digital cables do you recommend? How much does one have to spend on a digital cable for reasonable performance? Please comment on any digital cable you are using or have auditioned. I plan on borrowing a couple of digital cables and then deciding.9 responses Add your response
I’m a great believer in 110ohm cables. In all my DCS setups this connection has always sounded the best. Received wisdom is that Transparent Reference XL is among the best, but at $3595 for 1m is pricey. I use three of these in my current digital setup and they handily beat the Audioquest Wild I was using previously. I’m just about to audition the top of the line Marigo labs cable to see if they perform as well as the Ref XL at 2/3 the price - as my setup still needs one more pair The best advice I can give is to stick to the used market. Digital cables are available at 30-40% of list and there’s no need to pay more (the exception unfortunately are the Ref XLs which almost never show up used and even then hold their price well). Start with something like this https://www.audiogon.com/listings/digital-transparent-premium-aes-digital-2-meter-2017-08-18-cables (offer 35% of list) and see if you like the house sound and then you can trade up from there if you want |
I tried the DH Labs D-110, Audioquest Falcon, another from Analysis Plus ( don't remember the model). I also tried and still have a Coax Empirical Audio cable. But the one is use daily is the Kimber Orchid aes/ebu. Sonics far exceed the others mentioned. Deeper bass, smooth detail highs,with excellent resolution top to bottom. Read the reviews / opinions here at Audiogon. Many consider the Kimber the best aes/ebu cable regardless of price. Currently one on Canuck Audio Mart for $430.00. Just my opionion of course. |
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