Best Digital Cable, Regardless of Price....


I actually own a CEC TL 1 drive match with a FORSELL AIR REFERENCE dac.I use a 1 1/2 meter VIRTUAL DYNAMIC NITE (with RCA) as a digital link.I like it very much but i wonder what is the next step to a better digital?
- few sugestions:OMEGA MIKRO EBONY, VIRTUAL DYNAMIC MASTER SERIE, SILTECH...
- Also 1 1/2 meter is suppose to be the best lenght for a digital ?
- so folks let's go for the digital i.c. of your dream !!!
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I have to be honest, I haven't tried many. A van den hul, Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Platinum and a Moray James. I have no idea where those fall in line with the ones mentioned but to my ears the Moray James was in a league of its own. After listening to the cable I tried to find some more info on Moray James cables, he's small now, and is recently just starting to expand. He sent some of his stuff to the UK for reviews. It's been a month now and I constantly run into people that think his digital cables are the best, and by a very wide margin. Not only people that listen to music as a hobby but people who actually build gear.
I've tried a few between my CEC TL-1X and Audio Logic 24MXL.
I'm currently using a Purist Audio Digital Link AES/EBU, which I'm very pleased with. I also have the Purist Digital Coaxial with RCA's, but the AES/EBU with XLR connectors does sound better.
I've heard a lot about, and would love to try, the Kharma Enigma -- new retail 1m $2750.
I would suggest trying your present cable with BNC terminations first. I'm not a big fan of RCA for digital. BNC and AES/EBU terminations are superior.
I haven't done much comparisons since I don't plan for my source setup to be long-term, but I have the Jena Labs Fugue digital cable and compared it to my PS Audio Xstream, which is regarded as a pretty sweet sounding cable. The Jena Labs digital cable beat it pretty handily. I was happy that I even heard the difference, and since I believe that Jena Labs cables can be a last stop in cables, I have not bothered trying anything else.

I believe a Dreamdancer digital cable can be made so that would probably be the ultimate for me.
Midnight Silver Edition gen. II Digital Link.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rcabl&1071619734&openfrom&1&4#1
I have tried many at all different price ranges. Best of lot: Purist Audio Dominus. Jim Aud of PAD says AES/EBU connection bests RCA. I have RCA and am having it reterminated. Incidentally, I use the 1.4 meter Dominus between a CEC TL-1X and a Dodson 217 MKII D (w/218 upgrade) DAC.

Close second, and perhaps equal to PAD in a different system, is Kharma Grand Reference. Can't go wrong with either. I tried a Siltech G5 I think, which was very good but lacked the body of either the Kharma or Dominus.

Hope this helps.
I have listen to several end of the road digital cables including NBS etc. I'm currently using A Ridge Street Audio Poiema!! With BNC's and this is without a doubt among the most transparent, dynamic, focused, smoooth, harmonically complete, recording truth detectors I've heard. Out of the box and dimensional yet very immediate explosive while bringing out the tiniest nuanced incidentals... like I've not heard in my system. Easy to handle and a 1\4 of what the NBS cost.

This cable will probably slow down auditioning for a while.
:)
nGlazer, rca s/pdif is a 75 Ohm cable and AES xlr is 110
Ohm. You can reterminate all you want, but you will not have the correct impedence.

How does the provider of this job explain this to you?

steve
When I purchased Illuminati D60 years ago, they recommended 1 1/2 meters.
In response to Steve's ([email protected]) 12/10/04 query on Dominus AES/EBU, I asked Jim Aud this very question in connection with (no pun intended) retermination. Answer: the Dominus has both 75 and 110 ohm wires in them.

Neal
Have also noticed shortest length for Marigo Apparition is 1 1/2 meters.
If your components have AES/EBU output/inputs, the Audience Au24 AES/EBU cable is excellent. IMO, it's a better cable than the VD Master. Audience offers a 30 trial period.
The PAD Dominus Ferox-version, is my choice.

About the length of digital cables. Some cable-makers say that because of the speed of the electric information/signal passing through a digital cable, the cable will not COLOUR the sound unless it is 1.5m or longer.

In fact ( words from manufacturer - not PAD ) the lesser the length of the cable - the purer the signal will be to it´s original.

BUT, this is not always the wanted thing. Colouring can be intended - or even needed for desired sound reference.

I´m not saying that this is the LAW, and in my own experience I´m not convinced...

Thus the length.
I'm really blown away by the POIEMA!! from Ridge Street Audio. I tried the best synergistic research a couple of years ago and I believe this is at least a good. Maybe this is slightly more reveling. The dynamics and naturalness of the RSA is among the best I've ever heard.
before wasting your money Stealth has a super good prototype cable that is going for 600.00 after the year is up it will be 2400.it kicks butt.It uses 6 indra cables
check it out you will love it I did .
I like the Furutech Digi Ref III and the Audience Au24.
The Furutech is very dynamic and fast, the Audience sounds a bit fuller but both are the best you can get IMHO.
Virtual Dynamics Master Balanced, everything I wanted and then some, no kidding.
the Stealth -sextet-Inra this cable was recently reviwed
on 6 moons .com. Lives up to it's reputation /everything is just ,more natural and at ease. digital is much more analalog.not razor sharp. Have tried several . with my Audiologic mxl-24 dac, and Siemens cca vacuum tubes it is now easilly within zanden range, in the mids perhaps better, .I had heard both with this cable, and the price difference ,doesn't merit the 3x the cost for the Zanden .
I've also tried many and my choice is Stealth Varidig Sextet.
Follow the link below, which is my personal review of the Sextet in my system:
http://www.mb-design.nl/intro/Stealth_Varidig_Sextet.pdf
Happy reading!!
The two best Digital ICs I have tried in my system are the Transparent Reference AES/EBU and the Kimber 2120 AES/EBU.
Try this one in the Belden 1694A. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/digital-audio/index.htm

At only $12.75 for 3-ft, what do you have to loose? Heck, it even uses real 75-ohm RCA connectors....