Recommendation for an HDMI cable under $200 for audio only


Need help choosing a decent HDMI cable under $200 to connect my Rivo+ digital transport to my Laiv Harmony DAC via I2S connectors. Thank you.

senna27

Anything will work due to the data being 1's and 0's which will transfer the same regardless of the cable or what the people who erroneously believe they can hear a difference will tell you. 

I will be a bit of a contrarian here; my recent experience with DH Labs' SilverSonic HDMI 2.1 (and their power cables as well) has been comparatively underwhelming.  I've been running blind preference tests between it and a few other HDMI cables, and every listener who has opined on it has ranked it either last or second to last in their preference. Their critiques mention squashed soundstage, harsh & flat treble, and notably recessed mids on my KEF Reference/Parasound Halo stack. My listeners' most consistent picks in your price point have been the AudioQuest Cinnamon.

Audio quest  has very good HDMi cables at different price points.

in my set up with PSaudio transport and Dac I have found Dragon HDMI is the best cable to my liking.

Unfortunately, in a revealing system, I honestly never found satisfaction in a I2s cable under $200. Even over that price, many fall short. My current favorite, Audiolund xtrem cu I2s. Under $400 , custom built to your equipment specs and built like a tank. It will likely never brake which is a major I2s issue, my over $700 Tubulus Concentus did, and let's not even talk about RAL. The Audiolund has exquisite detail without any fatiguing at all. Hard feat in a digital system.

I use the Wyred 4 Sound cable that @soix mentioned. I haven't tried any expensive I2s cables to compare, but it works well for me.