Why do digital cables sound different?

Dan, you've just asked the $60,000 question. There is debate, even among audiophiles, as to whether digital cables make any difference at all. For the longest time I was using an el-cheapo RCA wire that I think came with a VCR I had purchased. I didn't have any complaints about it, but I'd read enough reviews of digital cables claiming a marked difference among them. Well, I took the plunge and purchased Harmonic Technology's Platinum-Link coaxial digital cable to replace the "junk" I had been using. I have a high-end system, but I can't honestly say that I can hear any difference at all between the two cables. I have to agree with you on this. I don't see how cables make any difference when all they have to do is transfer 1's and 0's. I know others with disagree with me. Ultimately, the only thing that matters in this hobby is what your own ears can detect.

What an honest and measured response Macm just made. I think that the differences my be ones of impedence,between different cables and also the connectors, I have as yet to hear any improvement that even begins to jusitfy the Costs involved.

Since we are talking about a digital signal (digits/numbers) and not analog sound you would think any cable would do. However, a bad or weak cable can affect the timing and pace of the digital signal, making your digital clock and jitter control work overtime among other things.

gotta disagree guys. my dac/pre (accuphase dc-330) allows multiple connections between it and a transport (accuphase dp-90, in my case). i have connected between the two: 6 9's (.99999996 pure copper) coax, toslink and opitcal cables ( i can also use aes/ebu but my transport doesn't have an ouput for such a connection). with the remote for the 330, i can toggle between the connections virtually instantaneously. there's a big perceived difference among the three connections that even the uninitiated appreciate; the optical always wins. this may be one of 'em subjective/objective mysteries but, nonetheless, everybody, i mean everybody, can hear the difference among these connections. i think maybe some of our inscrutible cosmoligists are right: despite what einstein theorized, the speed of light ain't really constant.