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Do I need an expensive digital cable?

I have been using a fairly inexpensive optical cable to connect my CD transport to my Moon 280D streamer. I was told that an SPDIFcoax cable would sound better. For an experiment I purchased an inexpensive Pangea coax cable. It didn't sound at all because its terminator ends did not fit snugly in my equipment. I consulted chatgbt who often gives me audio advice. It advised that for the short run of 1 meter, an RCA interconnect would work. It did. And sounded much better than the optical. Chatgbt said that RCA interconnect was good enough.

Now, there is a twist to this story that might make those doubters think twice. A digital cable carries packets of information that are rechecked to assure that the streamer is recieving correct information. There is the timing concern, though. But my Moon 280D has an asynchronous DAC with a clock as part of the DAC. Any information sent by my transport, whether it is clocked by the transport or not, will go through the Moon's asynchronous DAC's clock. So ;there shouldn't be a timing problem. Should there?

Can anyone make a case that I should buy a "better" coax cable?

audio-b-dog
devinplombier
1,650 posts
 

How confident are you about the 75% estimate?

@richardbrand granted, it’s unscientific; but if anything I’m pretty sure it errs on the conservative / generous side.

I do believe that when a significant number of people report audible differences, there is probably an explanation in physics, either already known or waiting to be discovered.

The explanation is usually in behavioral psychology rather than futuristic physics. Occam’s Razor.

This might explain why the stridency with which implausible sonic improvement claims are shouted seems proportional to the crappiness of the audio system being owned by the person making the claim.

 

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
1,376 posts
 

@devinplombier 

I originally wrote:

there is probably an explanation in physics

Subtext: when probability fails, then try behavioral psychology.  Heard behaviour?

devinplombier
1,650 posts
 

@richardbrand 

Be kind to me, English is my second language 😁

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,857 posts
 

Lol @sls883 

audio-b-dog's avatar
audio-b-dog OP
782 posts
 

@audphile1 @devinplombier @richardbrand 

Okay, now that we're all friends and we've thrown one-ups-man-ship (Richard, you can correct the spelling on that) out the window, Richard, would you please explain to us what is the difference between a 16 bit word length and a 24 bit word length. I know that a bit is an on/off switch and that sixteen of them gives us 2 to the 16th power possibilities. But what do they store in that word or packet or whatever you want to call it, and why do they need so many other possiblities from 2 to the 24th power? I can certainly hear the difference, but I have no idea why.

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