AudiogoN Forums: Why do digital cables sound different?

Why do digital cables sound different?

I have been talking to a few e-mail buddies and have a question that isn't being satisfactorily answered this far. So...I'm asking the experts on the forum to pitch in. This has probably been asked before but I can't find any references for it. Can someone explain why one DIGITAL cable (coaxial, BNC, etc.) can sound different than another? There are also similar claims for Toslink. In my mind, we're just trying to move bits from one place to another. Doesn't the digital stream get reconstituted and re-clocked on the receiving end anyway? Please enlighten me and maybe send along some URLs for my edification. Thanks, Dan

Danielho (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

12-01-00

Responses (151-200 of 251)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

03-02-05 I still dont understand what is the point in having a 75ohm ... Kiru

06-30-05 I think aes/ebu is a superior interface to co-ax. at least i ... Alephman

07-15-05 Well, i never believed that there could be differences betwe ... Larryb

07-21-05 Just got the stereovox, and there's really a night and day d ... Larryb

03-31-06 This is a very interesting post. everyone who posted a comm ... Spatialking

04-07-06 Why does a big mac taste different from a whopper? Gunbei

04-07-06 A digital waveform can be very badly distorted, as viewed by ... Eldartford

04-07-06 Precisely. which is why it is so curious that digital cable ... Drubin

04-08-06 Drubin...so let's turn this question over to the psychologis ... Eldartford

05-11-06 Just listen. Mpmoody

05-12-06 Because the components that connect the transport and dac ar ... Dpac996

05-13-06 Maybe it's not what goes through them; how about what " ... Audiofowl

05-13-06 Less makes for more. more musical results from less error c ... Theaudiotweak

05-16-06 Actually, if a digital waveform is distorted to the human ey ... Spatialking

05-16-06 Spatialking...a digital waveform does not represent the info ... Eldartford

05-16-06 Missile guidance systems? ok, from now on i will definitely ... Gunbei

06-03-06 Okay, now what can i expect to hear when i use a balanced ae ... Cornchips

06-15-06 Jitter Sashav

06-16-06 When in doubt about anything related to digital, just invoke ... Drubin

06-16-06 Because they have different mommies and daddies. Boa2

09-23-06 Hi folks, i have been using two top of the line aes/ebu digi ... Dazzdax

09-24-06 Dazzdax, imo, yes, it is a common difference between coax a ... Tplavas

09-24-06 The transmitting and receiving chips in the transport and da ... Audiofeil

12-13-06 Longer digital cables sound better than short ones, accordin ... Warjarrett

12-14-06 Warjarrett, yes, there are technical explanations as to why ... Tplavas

12-18-06 Why is everything we hear un-measurable ? if you can hear a ... Buick92

05-26-07 Gee.......how did i ever miss this one? i gotta pay more att ... Ar_t

05-26-07 Not only do cables sound different from each other, but they ... Ar_t

05-26-07 Hey, u byte! oh yeah, u byte 2! well i'm thinking about goin ... Rja

05-26-07 A guy who worked for our dealer in chicago came up with the ... Ar_t

05-28-07 Ar_t...one interesting experience in my career as a systems ... Eldartford

05-28-07 It has to do with the way the clock is extracted from the sp ... Ar_t

05-28-07 Ar_t...the system i described does have a separate "clo ... Eldartford

05-29-07 Yes, and that is why it does not have the problems that spdi ... Ar_t

06-06-08 I've just read this thread with great interest. i did some ... Osgorth

07-04-08 Hi osgorth. german technicians are well-known perfectionist ... Mmarvin19

07-04-08 Did you test only by doing a rapid a/b between cables? in m ... Drubin

07-04-08 I love threads that last 7 years! Rja

07-04-08 Osgorth, i think you've just done the test many here may hav ... Carl109

07-04-08 Allow me to defend my position with this observation from pe ... Drubin

07-05-08: Shadorne

Playing around with these in various configs and switching inputs back and forth (both blind and active, I used some fellow audiophile friends) - there is NO difference whatsoever between ANY of these cables.

This matches my experience. I maintain that properly engineered and matched equipment should not give a hoot about cabling - as long as it is adequate and you don't have a ground loop, RF/EM problem or contact problem. I suspect that the great differences reported stem from running equipment at the limits of its ability - amps that are already clipping and loads that are mismatched to begin with....situations where the slightest difference might influence the sound enough to be audible. Just two cents...and I admit I could be completely wrong.
Shadorne (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

07-05-08 Sometimes there is much more involved than meets the ear whi ... Theaudiotweak

07-06-08 i`ve done a test like osgorth did, and with optical at&t a ... Palerider

07-06-08 Wire properties can certainly affect digital pulse character ... Eldartford

07-24-08 Eldaford - if they affect digital pulse characteristics (dif ... Kijanki

08-22-08 The question is : why people pretend to hear a difference ? ... Samuel33

08-22-08 I don't know if this response has been given before but this ... Jims_cr

08-22-08 Added bits would be extreme case of impedance mismatch. it' ... Kijanki

08-27-08 "the question is : why people pretend to hear a differe ... Palerider

08-27-08 Palerider - if you cannot understand just read more. myse ... Kijanki

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