Tubulus Argentus I2s

@dcpillai - I haven't tried any other i2s cables. I've been very happy with the sound from my Terminator Plus and haven't had any desire to try any other cables. 

@dcpillai - unfortunately, I donot use this type os cable, so I am not able to make a recommendation.

My comments above were based on the construction of the cable you mentioned and also which aspects of cable design that I have learned over the past 15 years of DIY cable fabrication, will ensure a cables that perofrms to the highest standard

From my understanding, the I2S interface is how a company elects to use the basic HDMI interface...

• basically, I2S uses an HDMI socket/plug
• BUT some of the pins are not used for an I2S connection
• Which means any HDMI cable will successfully connect two I2S components
• but you CANNOT connect a component with HDMI Interface (i.e. inputs/ouputs) to a component that uses the I2S interface

So I took a quick look and found a couple of products that might work well

• Wireworld Silver conductor
• Golden Sound

OCC Silver is the best conductive metal at present, so I assume it should work better than copper, BUT OCC copper is almost as good and more affordable

Also take a look at this AGON thread for more recommendations

discussions/one-of-the-best-hdmi-cable

Regards

@williewonka @jaytor @fthompson251 

I am looking to get a qood quality I2S cable. Any updates to your last posts? Is there any better cable that you have come across?

Many thanks in advance!

I am currently using this cable between my Denafrips Gaia and Terminator Plus. It works very well, but the improvements are fairly modest compared to a relatively inexpensive hdmi cable that I used temporarily while waiting for this to arrive. 

It is a definite improvement and I've certainly spent more for a less significant difference. But I think the Denafrips DDCs and DACs are not that sensitive to this particular connection.

Switching to i2s (instead of AES or SPDIF) between the Gaia and the DAC was a VERY noticeable improvement - much more so than upgrading from a cheap HDMI cable to the Tubulus cable for this purpose. But since it was an improvement, I've kept it in the system. 

@fthompson251 - I’ve never used one of these cables, but from what I have read on their web site they know what goes into making a great cable

• close to mono crystal silver silver solid core wire
• air insulation
• individually shielded twisted pairs
• additional overall shielding
• high quality connectors

I think the picture and audio quality will be outstanding with this cable based on their construction

But it is a bit on the pricey side - so it’s good that you got it used

The Concentus i2s is supposed to be a little better - it uses

• Solid core and semi-solid concentric conductors
• Various diameter conductors

So based on that, I would say your cable is at the top end of the HDMI cable performance curve

It would be interesting to observe how they compare with other HDMI cables, because I use very modestly priced HDMI cables (i.e. by comparison) in my home theatre system and they seem to be pretty darn good, from a picture and imaging perspective.

• But all of my other cables use similar techniques and grades of wire as listed above and they are exceptoinal perofrmers

If it does not perform up to your expectation, then I would suggest you look at the other cables in your system .

• The system can only sound as good as it’s weakest link (or cable)
• I do not believe that would be the Tubulus Argentus i2s Cable

Hope that helps - Steve