Why do digital cables sound different?

Ethernet has VASTLY improve bit error correction chips. Audio DACS benifit...a LOT from this. A one or a zero has no sound, it is just a toggle of logic a DA converter uses to construct the analog waveform.

Missing bits are "filled-in" and interpolated between bits for an analog signal. To that end, the analog circuits are what we "hear" if all the bits get through (and they do to a crazh high level of perfection!). So my ears tend to say that the analog waveshaping circuits don't all make the same decisions with the same bits.

One factor I have observed with the optical cables I have used is that the bandwidth of the cable plays a significant role in the sound reproduced.

I have three basic grades..
1. Consumer grade - unknown bandwidth, but definately the least accomplished performer
2. A medium bandwidth cable rated at 50Mbps
3. A high bandwidth cable rated at 150 Mbps

The difference between these three are clearly audible in the micro details that become more pronounced as each grade is installed.

The specific micro details are those that contribute to the acoustics of the recording venue - not so much the actual musical sound or tone.

The difference when #3 introduced was very noticeable - so much so I immediately purchased a second cable for my A/V system which made a huge improvement to the spacious aspect of the system.

To this reader at least, there is a difference, which I attribute to bandwidth, but this can be attributed in turn to the slew rate and other technical attributes of cables cited in the many prior posts.

The faster a cable can respond to going from a 0 to a 1 (i.e. higher bandwidth) allows more "data" to get though to the DAC, which in turn produces a better analogue waveform with fewer interpolated distortions.

Maybe build quality is also a factor, all I know is - it sounds better :-)

Ladycharnet from 12-19-12 FTW!!!

It's not only circuit components that have impedance — All cables also have an impedance value, called characteristic impedance.
Different cable = Different valve = different sound....
Let's hope this helps.

I recently sampled about 5 rca spdif cables, one really stood out head and shoulders above the rest. However the rest were pretty similiar.