The best digital IC, period.

Hi,

Most people just keep changing equipment but never solve their cable issues. My views on cables are real simple; 99.999% of cables are pure scam with a nice sleeve. We have been blind testing cables for over 30 years with a 20 point (4 areas worth 5 points each) scoring system among 5 guys and a 6th person swapping the cables out. We are not allowed to talk to each other during the test or be in the listening room unless it is your turn to evaluate the cables and we are not allowed to see any cables being tested. HiDiamond cables from Italy are the only cables to score a perfect 100 point score (that is 5 different people giving the cable a perfect 20). When we hook up HiDiamond cables there is a very clear distinction between the HiDiamond clarity versus any other manufacture but really it is the phase coherency or musical flow that separates HiDiamond from all the pretenders. The HiDiamond Digital Carbon ate my reference $2000.00 digital and the HiDiamond digital cost around $400.00. We did test the Canare digital and it tested good but it would not be our top 10 digital cables. We have tested over 400 different brands.

There are 6 different guys with very good systems but we all prefer the HiDiamond Digital Carbon, Power 3 power cords, Signal 5, 7, 9 and speaker cables D4, D7 and D8. We all have several different systems so depending on if the system is in our main listening or just a secondary system. If I had to pick one series I would pick their series 7 speaker cables and interconnects with the Power 3 power cord and Carbon Digital. Sound in my opinion is all about reproducing what the recording studio intended you to hear and HiDiamond cables do that in our systems but it is still just our opinions.

I am not sure how much honesty you are looking for but please remember this is just my opinion from blind test results. We have tested Ridge Street and they also tested well but we were never looking for OK we are always looking for a new reference. I would personally say if the cable company does not a real factory or a metallurgy background probably stays away from that manufacturer. I could build a good cable with a nice sleeve and market that cable but who really cares. When you buy a cable it should have little to no effect on your equipment; you should never us a cable as an equalizer. You will know the cable is correct when you become emotionally attached to the artist. Cables with bloated bass or cables that are too analytical will not allow you to connect with the artist.
When we test digital cables it is always 1.5 meters unless the manufacturer recommends a different length.
There are 6 different guys so the source and DACs vary when we do our test. Several of the systems are very expensive and do have what we consider reference components. The equipment will definitely affect the results of any test.

I do agree there is no “Definitive Best “but at some point you must know what you are trying to accomplish with your personal system. This is a huge problem and my opinion this is why people keep buying and selling equipment. My goal has always been very clear; try to reproduce what the recording studio intended you to hear, good or bad. Once you reproduce the artist at their purest form you will become emotionally attached to the recording if you have your system correct. Cables are the artery of your system and without proper cables your arteries become clogged and your system dies. It is surprising how many cables actually clog the system but again this really is just another opinion.

I personally bought my cables directly from the manufacturer in Italy about 2 years ago; I didn't even know there were any dealers for HiDiamond. All I can say is this is the most emotional sounding cable I have owned.

I really appreciate you asking and trusting my opinion but unfortunately mentioning that you prefer one brand over another on these forums is taboo unless it is a name recognition brand. I will try and keep my opinions to myself and just watch the same 10 name recognition brands get all the headlines.