Inter Connects - What I know and don't know

@williewonka Thank you for taking the time to post. There's a lot of great information in your share. I'm hoping others benefit from the experience of those like yourself that have taken the time to actually test various cable typologies. 

I've decided to start off with Zafino Arcadia OCC (XLR) cables:

DAC to PRE and PRE to Mono Blocks.

I've enjoyed their RCA version and have heard there are benefits to building out your loom with the same make/model if possible. Again that may just be marketing speak, I'm not knowledgeable enough to refute that claim. 

I also came across these guys from the Netherlands for AC cables. Their pricing to build quality seem almost too good to be true. I wish there were more reviews to go by, but will probably give them a try.   

@atmasphere

fyi, here is a portion of a followup response from T+A regarding AES48 compliance. I tried to parse the diagram in the draft AES doc but this is now officially way over my head :)

The analog signal circuitry of the DAC200 is referenced to the analog signal ground. This conforms to AES48 (see "REF" ground in figure_3 of draft AES48-20XX).

The generation of the balanced audio signal is already done in digital domain - not in analog domain. So this balanced signal is not generated relative to any (analog) ground.

[edit - another point of contention is that AES48 is concerned with the connectors, not the cable between them]

@williewonka 

Good post. Value added. Excellent that someone with the DIY bent chimes in. There are lots of variables… which is why different companies have pursued many different approaches. 

@nquery this might be easier to understand:

Balanced line connections

Its from the Rane website- they are a manufacturer of studio equipment. 

The reason ground is ignored (whereas in a single-ended connection the ground is part of the signal) is because ground loops are endemic. So rather than trying to prevent them, the balanced line system simply doesn't use ground. In a recording studio where you might have an enormous amount of equipment, this makes it easy to hook things up with confidence; hunting down errant buzzes is much more rare.

An advantage of not using the ground is that the cable itself becomes more neutral. So much of what we hear as differences in cables has to do with how the shielding is constructed since a signal (at ground potential) is being passed through it. When that issue is removed the cable becomes more neutral. 

@69zoso69 - - that Ludic Power cable is very affordable considering the materials crafttsmanship and design. It should be a very good performer

The Zavfino cables should also perform very well, since I am yet to hear any negatice comments about them.

In my own quest for great cables, one thing that I became very aware of is allowing sufficient break-in time. Ive had cables that took over 400 hours to sound their very best.

But generally...

1. cables can sound very good immediately
2. after about 20 hours they can start to sound as little rough around the edges - not as smooth
3. 60 hours and up, they start to shine again
4. 100 hours and they are almost at their peak
5. 150-300 hours you may start to really notice the appearance micro details in the venue acoustics - i.e. the very small echoes and reverberations of the concert hall

My own break-in method is to run my streamer 24/7 for about a week and then return to normal listening for a month or two.

You should be hearing some very nice improvements with the cables you have selected

Enjoy - Steve