I am convinced that digital cables can make a difference, but in practice to date, I find that the differences attributable to cables I have used alone are not nearly as significant as many other factors and that once I have a handle on the big fish I do not find much to inspire me to tackle testing different digital cables alone. Its just not been worth it in my case to date, not to say it may or may not be for others. |
"Why is it so darn difficult for some people to accept the simple fact that some listeners have better hearing ability than others; wether because of physiological differences, experience, or training? "
ITs not hard to accept that, but knowing who those people are for sure can be a challenge. |
Mcel,
Most of the people here are pretty smart. Do you really think that they think that?
There are many other reasons as well why someone would choose to ignore those things.
But the bottom line is, if they do, then take everything said with an extra grain of salt or two. The reason why they do does no really matter much then. |
Jim, can you provide more details? What kind of digital cables? How were they different? Construction? Length? Brand? How did the one sound different? Better? Worse? Did all seem in good condition?
I'm still trying to find out what does matter most with these things. Length is one factor that I have heard can make a difference alone. |
Kijanki, I am also interested if you hear differences using the same source with different cables and your jitter resistant Benchmark DAC. |
Kijanki, I am with you to date in terms of not hearing any noticeable difference using various cables with various sources. I also compare to phono source in my system and find most any good quality digital wire tends to work similarly well. |
"The digital cables are carrying "analog" signals."
Yes, but the signals are completely different in design and play by a different set of rules. |
Kijanki,
You use the BEnchmark DAC which pretty much deals with any jitter issues that might exist otherwise, correct?
I do not have a DAC like that to-date and am probably more affected by the variables you describe, but still whatever differences might exist in my case still is way down in the pecking order of things that make a clear marked difference. It's been a case of theory not coming into play yet clearly for me. Someday I might a DAC like BEnchmark that addresses jitter comprehensively and see what happens there, but have not crossed that bridge to-date. |
"Mapman, are you saying digital signals in a coax cable for example are harder to mess with than pure analog signals, and so theoretically the cable construction should have less impact on the resulting sound?"
Not harder to mess with per se but I have not found any clear negative effects to date whereas I have with analog ICs and power cords. ALso I find less differences with speaker wires though I know all these things CAN make a difference. Just to different degrees for me in practice to-date.
I do find USB implemetnations more problematic for CD res digital than SPDIF/TOSLINK. Have just started to dabble with USB. USB has different modes of operation that clearly can make a difference. Asynch mode is preferred for best sound quality. I use HDMI in my AV system but have not experimented there at all to-date. |
My system images and does detail very well, with detail as good as most any of the best headphone setups I hear or my phono source, essentially as best I can tell. IE no detectable issues ommissions, flaws, etc. So I am sure jitter exists and could be made better (nothing is perfect), but impact in my case to-date is just not an issue.
Of course, although I am always listening to various things to know better, you never know for sure what you may be missing until you hear it, but I do listen to a lot of music in various ways enough to be able to make a good determination whether things are going well or not. |
Note that the architecture used for digital streaming can be a variable in determining end results, but I find if done well a certain way, then the wire between the source and DAC seems to make little difference, as long as of good quality, and perhaps not too long as Kijanki suggests.
The architecture I like is wireless network connection from server to streaming device (for physical and electrical noise isolation from potential noisy commercial computer gear), and SPDIF/TOSLINK from streamer to DAC. Most network streaming devices buffer data which help to avoid timing issues at the source.
Then choose your DAC of preference for the sound you like. If it does reclocking very well, then that is an extra insurance policy in case of any doubt. The trend seems to be for more and more DACs to do this these days.
THen use a good quality digital wire that is not too long and you should have all teh bases covered. |
YEs, asynchronous USB is the other key technology, especially I think if a general purpose computer is the source for streaming to DAC and maybe also if one wishes to push the limits in regards to high resolution digital audio files in that this is a newer technology than traditional SPDIF/TOSLINK. Maybe. |
"Does it follow that some digital cables are better at delivering digital signals free of or with less added jitter?"
I cannot speak for K. but clearly there are always differences between two products. The question is more how much these matter in practice. I tend to think that any good quality product will deliver excellent results for most people in most cases. There are probably always exceptions though.
"On a related note, in theory or in measurement, can a digital signal be corrupted in a cable, say due to exposure to strong EMF, to the point where 1s and 0s are actually deleted or unreadable at the DAC. I.E. outright data loss?"
That's a good question. Of course it is possible. DIgital gear is inherently a source of noise and may be affected as well. I think the former is a much bigger problem than the later. I encounter it to a great degree with my setup. Noise control is important. SOme wires may shield against it better than others and I think that can make a difference in most cases where detailed listening is involved. |
