2. cables
  3. 131664-90127

Digital coax cable, real world experiences?

Yes I know ANOTHER cable thread....lol
Guess that is why it has its own complete section
My question regards a cable I have not really paid much attention to previously, the digital coax connection from my media server to my preamp.
I was using a very old generic connection that is at least 15 years old but acquired a pretty cheap tributaries digital coax cable and thought oh well lets change it.
I was shocked and stunned at just how much more detail was present and the depth and solidity of bass was near overwhelming, granting I was listening to some pretty bass intense material at the time but still!
Now do not get me wrong I was once one of the biggest cable naysayers you would find and still think the majority of me now hearing changes is the quality of the rest of my system as previous "lower fi" systems just did not truly reveal any note(pun intended) worthy changes.
So my question is if I heard a significant difference with a fairly inexpensive cable what may occur with really going up the food chain on a digital coax cable? Or was it more that my previous no name very old cable was just that ..very old and poor.
Thoughts and real world experiences on digital coax cables?

128x128uberwaltz
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
@janehamble

I am sure your equipment is among the very best available. I am happy for you that the sound changes dramatically between one digital cable and another as that is a wonderful result and must be encouraging if you were not happy at first.

Just curious, how do you know when the equipment is finally working properly? If the Audioquest Carbon is better than a Blue Jeans cable how do you know or judge how close you are to the equipment running properly? How do you tell when you have the cable that best fixes the sound so that it approaches the ideal sound.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Just going to add another experience
I purchased a used AudioQuest Hawkeye interconnect with the 72vbs and fitted it today, should obvioulsy be better as it cost a heck of a lot more than the old Tributaries cable, right?
quack quack oops, truly a move backwards, bass is now very boomy and bloated and the air and prescence have receded far into the background.
Swapped cables back and played the same piece of music again just to make sure and back to where it was, which is actually very nice sounding to my ears so maybe it definitely is time to just leave well alone and enjoy the music!

Anybody want to buy an AQ cable?
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
uberwaltz, give the AQ cables time to settle.

shadorne, your toes tell you.

Dave
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
@uberwaltz had the 72V DBS battery been disconnected? If so it takes 48-72 hours after connecting it back up for the field to form and settle, before that the cable will sound edgy and disjointed. So please give it a few days to form a final opinion
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
battery pack had not been disconnected and it is a used cable so should be well broken in by now
did not sound edgy and disjointed just terrible bass control and bloated
i have it now so will experiment later...lol
More to discover