Ezmerelda: A 75 ohm cable (true or otherwise:-) is not always needed for quality digital. My two best sounding digital IC's are neither. I am not quite certain as to how to measure the length of one of them as the Hot lead is 60" long and the Cold 30" (figure 90" or approx. 2.0 meters in the signal path). One IC is a Mapleshade Double Helix (this one is 1.0 meter) and the other is fabricated out of the 47 Labs OTA cable. Both are superior, IMO, to 75 ohm cables that I have tried (with some of these being very popular and costing a great deal more). I have never had decent results, for instance, taking a single standard analog IC and using it in this application, so there is something more involved in making a good digital IC, but I do not feel that it being 75 ohm is necessarily a part of it.
Someone should kick me in the keester
No matter how much I know and learn about audio, I can still be completely oblivious to some of the most basic things. Today I discovered a new dimension to that fact.
For quite a long time I've been complaining (privately) about the lack of detail, imaging, and overall clarity my system had, in spite of the quality of its components. I spent a bit of time swapping tubes, changing interconnects, and adjusting the speaker position without a great deal of success at cleaning up the sound or providing a solid soundstage to my satisfaction. While most of my friends couldn't hear the problems I described, I certainly did and it lead me to think that this might be as good as it gets.
A few weeks ago I decided to order some parts to build the Max Rochlin memorial digital cable, partly because I needed a project to keep me busy, and because it was the only cable in my system I had not yet replaced. I finally got around to building it this morning (for those that are thinking about trying it, it took me about an hour or so) and discovered after installing it that I had an entirely new audio system. The soundstage was right on the money and rock solid, the music was clean as a whistle (even through Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition), the bass tight, the midrange a thing of beauty, ... I could go on.
Anyway, it turns out that my suffering for the past year or so was due entirely to an inferior digital cable and nothing else. I had been very skeptical in the past about the differences a digital cable could make (bits is bits?), but I now stand both red faced and enlightened. I'm not entirely sure that I understand the physics behind the change I made, but it does seem that there are things about digital transmission that I need to brush up on.
Anyway, if confession is good for the soul, then let me be the first to give my spirit a lift :-).
For the record, the system is mostly CJ (17LS, Premier 12's, DA2-B DAC) with a Pioneer DVD as a transport.
-- Ken
For quite a long time I've been complaining (privately) about the lack of detail, imaging, and overall clarity my system had, in spite of the quality of its components. I spent a bit of time swapping tubes, changing interconnects, and adjusting the speaker position without a great deal of success at cleaning up the sound or providing a solid soundstage to my satisfaction. While most of my friends couldn't hear the problems I described, I certainly did and it lead me to think that this might be as good as it gets.
A few weeks ago I decided to order some parts to build the Max Rochlin memorial digital cable, partly because I needed a project to keep me busy, and because it was the only cable in my system I had not yet replaced. I finally got around to building it this morning (for those that are thinking about trying it, it took me about an hour or so) and discovered after installing it that I had an entirely new audio system. The soundstage was right on the money and rock solid, the music was clean as a whistle (even through Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition), the bass tight, the midrange a thing of beauty, ... I could go on.
Anyway, it turns out that my suffering for the past year or so was due entirely to an inferior digital cable and nothing else. I had been very skeptical in the past about the differences a digital cable could make (bits is bits?), but I now stand both red faced and enlightened. I'm not entirely sure that I understand the physics behind the change I made, but it does seem that there are things about digital transmission that I need to brush up on.
Anyway, if confession is good for the soul, then let me be the first to give my spirit a lift :-).
For the record, the system is mostly CJ (17LS, Premier 12's, DA2-B DAC) with a Pioneer DVD as a transport.
-- Ken