Help Please:Upgrade Coax cable between Node 2i and Chord Qutest..?


Hi,

I have a Bluesound Node 2i going to a Chord Qutest (with Teddy Pardo LPS) feeding a Belles Aria Signature Int amp driving Dynaudio S-40s.

I use a DH Labs digital Coax/SPDIF cable between Node and Qutest.
It is .5M and was $120 new.

MY QUESTION: 

Sticking to a budget of $300-$500 new or used, would I expect to hear sonic benefits from an "upgraded" coax cable?
If so, what would you suggest I look at?

(Not looking for a USB v Optical v Coax rabbit hole please...;-)

Thanks,
Ian
ianrmack
I'm using a 1.5M of the DH labs 750 and find it to be the best sounding coax I've heard to date, do to it's seemingly  complete lack of jitter. I used an Illuminations D60 back in the days but so much has changed in the digital world since then and DH labs and digital seem to give me the sound I'm looking for these days which is transparency,  harmonic structure and full conveyance of the frequency spectrum from top to bottom. I can say the same for there hdmi cable as well!

If had to try one today I'd try the D60.
By swapping cables you may  hear differences between SPDIF coax. An upgrade? There's no way to know until you audition some cables, and higher price is not an indication of better SQ. Although I found happiness with an expensive cable. 

I've auditioned Acoustic Zen, Cerious Technologies, Oyaide,  Audience, Wireworld; all good, all different sonically.

If you can use 0.5 meter, that's fine since length of digital coax influences the sound. Otherwise, recommended length is 1.5m or longer. This helps control jitter by preventing reflections of the stream within the cable. 

Find threads about digital cables in the archives.

I have been using a 1.5 meter Signal Cable coax between my 2i and DAC and it sounds fine.  Cost was about $50 a year ago.  Only coax I have used so I can't provide comparisons.
If you want to "upgrade" something, save your money and replace the Node 2i.