What Harmonic tech cables should I used for CD

It will depend on which DAC you think sounds better, If you use the RCA analog outs from the player then it's DAC's will be used..the digital out will use the DAC in your pre/pro. I use the digital out from my player because my Sunfire pre/pro sounds very good IMO. In some cases people report that they hear no difference between the two, my guess is that both DAC's are of equal quality in these cases.

Dave

I have a 1.5m run of HT Truthlinks. In both my system as well as my friends they don't sound as good as the Cardas Crosslink which is Cardas's entry level cable. I do like the HT speaker cable though.

I agree with Dave above as to what DAC sounds better to your ears as being the one you use. Often in mass market receivers the DAC isn't the biggest consideration when designing the unit. As you say, for DVD-Audio, RCA is the only way to go as your receiver will get a converted PCM signal if fed the digital from the DVD-Audio and you will likely lose something in the translation. Invest in some good IC's and you can move them to your next equipment purchases as you move up the food chain. Oh, you think you've bought your last equipment? Guess again. You're here on Agon aren't you?

Mr Cosmic, could you expand on your cardas/ truthlink comparison a bit...i had hoped the truth links would have done better than you suggest.

I have a pair on my CD and between the amp and pre. I've also used pro silway II in both places. I prefered the silways between the amp and pre but since in needed a 20 ft run a good deal on the truthlink drove me that way. on the CDP though the silways added some detail, tightened up the bass nicely, didn't adversely affect the mids but added a nasty high end glare that far outweighed the added benifits. CDP is an ARC CD-2, amps are VTL 185 monos with a VTL 5.5 pre

I had hoped the Truthlinks would have done better as well especially condidering what I paid for them. The largest difference is that the high frequency and upper mids are smeared and grainy on the Truthlinks in comparison to the Crosslinks. I use the .5m Crosslinks presently between my Cablebox and AV receiver. The Truthlinks are between my AV receiver L-R outs to my preamp surround pass through. I run Virtual Dynamics Audition IC's between the CDP and Pre and Amp. The Audition cables blow the Truthlinks out of the water. They are more balanced top to bottom and much quieter. Having said all this I am on the lookout for a 3m pair of balanced silver IC's for between the pre and the amp at some point. Apparently the Silways are out in a MK III version now and are supposed to have cleared up some of the glare. I have tested the Truthlinks in two different systems between the Cardas Crosslink and the Virtual Dynamics Audition IC's. My friend and I both rated the HT's as the worst of the three with the Crosslinks better, and the Auditions much better still. Some of this may be system dependent but as I said his is using quite a bit differnt gear from mine and the results were Identical between both. YMMV. I am glad that the Truthlinks are doing good for you in your system but would suggest that perhaps you explore some other manufacturer's cables if only for comparison's sake.

I found the Pro-Silway II to equal the Nordost Red Dawn in many ways on my CDP (Electrocompaniet)...both being a bit lean. Nordost SPM bettered both. ALL were just a bit too revealing for my leanish MD100 tuner, where the Truthlink works superbly, providing an outstanding balance for this great tuner....
I suspect that Cosmic's experience of "graininess" with the HT is actually evidence of their resolving power, whereas the VD is actually smothering this digital unwanted detail with its typical top octave squashing. One man's improvement is another's flaw. It's all about system balance and digititis with CDPs. With a cleaner CDP you might prefer the more transparent HT; with a dirtier digital front end the VD's treble-cut quality can be a bandaid-blessing. Tweeter/room treatment all figure in this too.

I won't say the truthlinks are "doing good" in my system since i haven't tried a lot of cables, i just know they are reasonably good in most areas and don't really know any better. The truthlinks stood up well to some Transparent Supers (though the mids with the supers were outstandin, too bad the top and bottm failed) that the dealer was trying to sell me for about 10 times per foot higher cost than i paid for the HTs so i bought them and quit looking. i should maybe look into something better but man i dread having to sort through all thats out there

I agree with Subaruguru that the VD's are probably shelving the top octave or so. They are pretty revealing other than that. I am unhappy with the top end I'm getting from them. However, on my buddy's system they didn't shelve the top octave at all it seems. He has the Arcam FMJ23t CDP which is more revealing than my MF A3 CD. It has been said that the MF also rolls off the top end itself. Still what I am saying is that the particular 1.5m Truthlink cable sounded grainy to both me and my friend on both our systems. The fact that my VD's sounded better on his system than mine just goes to show how these things are system dependent. I am interested in running about a 3 or 4m set of quality silver IC's balanced between my pre and my amp in the future in an effort to regain this lost octave and keep some of the other detail and niceness the VD's do bring to the mix. I am not saying the HT's were bad, just how they sounded in the two systems I'm familiar with in comparison to a couple of other cables I'm familiar with. Use this info at you own discretion. On the whole I prefer a clean and very open high end verging on being bright. If that is what the HT's were doing then I would have certainly prefered them over the VD's. The HT's simply sounded smeared in comparison.

If you want a cable verging on bright the pro silways may be the ticket for you. They are a combination of copper for the mids and low and silvers for the top end air and sparkle. There was a lot to like about them between tha amp and pre, except for the price for a 20 ft pair. and i still use them on the analog componants (tuner and TT) with your cdp they may not have the glare problem they had with mine. One word of warning, you will not regain a lost octave by using a cable between your amp and pre when the information in that octave was lost on it's travels between the source and pre...you need to fix that problem where it starts.

I have been considering the Pro Silway III's. I understand what you are saying about the source having the best cable first. I have heard too many reports that using a silver cable between the pre and the amp is supposed to provide a magic all it's own that I am wanting to try. Besides which I need a longer run in any case as I want to reposition my gear. The audio sickness will force me to recover every iota of sound from my system sooner or later. Thanks.