Digital Cable Choice; how critical is it?

Some say that PC's make no difference.
Some say that digital IC's make no difference.
Like Dalton said; "Opinions Vary!"

In my experience, in moving (in a fairly resolving system with a good transport and DAC) from a well received but modestly priced IC (Apogee Wyde-Eye) to a much more expensive and widely acclaimed IC (Kimber Orchid), the comparative difference was very distinct and clearly distinguishable. In simple terms, I found the difference to be comparable to looking thru recently cleaned windows. Prior to cleaning they were not really dirty, but afterward they were REALLY clear.

It has also been carefully detailed by an AG member with impeccable credentials, that IC length can play a significant role.

As I have stated before, if you have not made the comparison yourself all you have is an uninformed opinion.

Neil (Nsgarch): My remarks could have been more clear....Please let me clarify. My first ICs were Apogee Wyde-Eye and I used both 75 Ohm and 110 Ohm, with a CEC TL2 and an Audio Logic M34. Between the two Apogee ICs I really did not discern much difference, with only a very slight preference for the 110 Ohm. Both cables were 1 Meter in length. I then moved from the 110 Ohm Wyde-Eye to 110 Ohm Kimber Orchid, which was longer at 1.5 Meter. I would not choose to state that the length was a significant factor, but the improvement in clarity and detail in moving to the Orchid was very revealing and very suprising. Until that time I was in the camp of 'can it really make that much difference?'.

I have had only minor exposure to ST-Optical as my transport does not currently have a working ST-Optical output. My only experience with ST-Optical in my system was with another transport and that experience was that ST-Optical was suprisingly good.