Which Firewall cable

Maybe you mean Firewire cable? Assume you are doing computer based audio?

"Please share your experiences. Last thing I want to do is spend more than necessary."

Call the Cable Company and then you will spend exactly what you need to, but no more.

Assuming you are referring to Firewire cables, in addition to those offered by The Cable Company (which I see range in price from $35 to $645 for short lengths) consider those made by Granite Digital.

While not being particularly oriented toward the audiophile market, and therefore selling for relatively modest prices (e.g., $30 to $90 or so depending on length), their cables are far better made than typical generic Firewire cables. One indication of that is that their Firewire 400 (IEEE 1394a) cables are specified to operate at lengths of up to 32 feet, which is more than twice the 1394a maximum length specification. Also, they are triple-shielded and have ferrite beads for noise reduction.

While I have only used Granite Digital Firewire cables in non-audio applications, I know of at least one A'gon member who has a very fine audio system, and whose ears are very discerning, who has used them with excellent results in his system. And given that the timing of D/A conversion is not determined by the timing of Firewire data transfers, and given the apparently excellent shielding provided by the Granite Digital cables, I can't envision any technical reason why paying more for an audiophile-oriented cable would provide any benefit. It wouldn't surprise me, in fact, if some of those more expensive cables performed worse.

Also, keep in mind that if the purpose of the Firewire cable is to connect an external hard drive to a computer, sensitivity to cable differences, if any, figures to be far less than if the purpose is to connect the computer to a DAC. (And I should therefore mention that the other member whose experience I referred to was using the Granite Digital cable to connect an external hard drive to a computer).

Regards,
-- Al

Yes I meant to say Firewire. Thank you Al. The cable is from external drive to computer.

If you were feeding a DAC with a Firewire cable, there might be some value in exploring better cables. But From an external drive to the computer, I would use a basic, inexpensive cable only. I don't believe there is any sonic benefit to be gained from spending more for that application. Check to see if both the drive and the computer support Firewire 400 or 800, as the jacks are different.

When I was using my Seagate hard drive connected to the MAC computer, I used the Firewire cable that came with the Seagate drive. It worked fine.

However, I am now using the LaCie 3TB d2 USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Series Hard Drive. I am using the Thunderbolt cable to connect it to my MAC Book Pro Computer. It also is working fine. My LaCie hard drive is backed up to my Seagate drive.

Assuming your hard drive is near your computer, I suggest you use the cable that came with the hard drive. As noted above, I see no reason to spent more money on a different cable.

I use one of the Ultra Fi Firewire cables - their Basque. Really nice improvement.

People need to speak from experience rather than speculation in order to be helpful to the original poster. That happens way too much in this hobby.

Enjoy!

Twc_cableguy
I use one of the Ultra Fi Firewire cables - their Basque. Really nice improvement.

People need to speak from experience rather than speculation in order to be helpful to the original poster. That happens way too much in this hobby.

I had the same experience but with Audioquest.

I ran the Audioquest Diamond FireWire between Oyen Digital housing (twin 4 TB Hitachi Deskstar drives) to Mac Mini. In my system the Audioquest was worth the price, perhaps not in another situation.

The one way that occurs to me by which a benefit might result from upgrading a non-defective firewire cable that is used to connect an external drive to a computer, assuming the cable is not unusually long, is that the higher quality shielding provided by the upgraded cable may eliminate sonic issues that might be caused by radiation of RFI from the cable to other parts of the system. That kind of effect can be expected, of course, to be highly system and setup dependent.

I suspect that the triple-shielded Granite Digital firewire cable I suggested earlier would be likely to provide that particular benefit as effectively as any of the much more expensive audiophile-oriented cables.

Regards,
-- Al

Almarg
I suspect that the triple-shielded Granite Digital FireWire cable I suggested earlier would be likely to provide that particular benefit as effectively as any of the much more expensive audiophile-oriented cables.

I should try the Granite cable then, when I bought the Audioquest a couple of years ago it was the only one I was aware of beyond various stock types.

If the Granite is cheaper and as good I'm interested. I mostly use Purist cable and love them but they do not make a FireWire.

When it comes to digital cables I do believe in a good quality construction of cables but I have not personal experienced any audio advantages to FireWire, USB, Toslink or Digital Coax unlike my experiences with analog interconnects, speaker cables and power cables. I will spend reasonable money for me ($50 to $200?) on cables but not extravagant amounts for me and my budget.