Do I need an expensive digital cable?

@richardbrand 

Could you give me some real world examples of what you're talking about? My Moon 280D streamer handles both DSD and PCM. I also have both Tidal and Qobuz loaded. So, you could probably give me any piece of music to listen to and compare what is happening. Several times I have listened to the same album on Hi Rez Qobuz and Tidal. I'm trying to choose between the two. So far, I think I'm favoring Qobuz. My choice will only be partly on the sound. I also listen to a lot of classical music and jazz, and there seems to be more to choose from on Qobuz. But I am also interrested in sound differences. 

All of this takes time, of course, and concentration, both of which are in short supply. But I intend on comparing my CD player against streaming, now that I have a somewhat decent (passable?) digital coax cable. My initial impression is that CD often sounds better, but I know this does not make logical sense. 

This is all very interesting, folks.

To complicate matters further, most SACD transports do not export native DSD to a DAC due to imbecilic copyright protections that exclusively inconvenience honest users. In practice, SACD transports only output  DSD natively to DACs of the same brand through a secure proprietary interface, essentially making the transport + DAC the equivalent of a SACD player.

Otherwise, sadly, your SACD transport downconverts your DSD signal to PCM before sending it to your DAC. Manufacturers seldom brag about this, or any up / downsampling or format conversions done in the digital domain for that matter. What audiophiles don’t know can’t hurt them.

The idea is to make it too difficult for non-expert users to capture (and, presumably, pilfer) the DSD stream.

Now, Accuphase’s acclaimed duet of DP-1000 transport ($24,975) and DC-1000 DAC ($24,975) plays SACD end-to-end. No shenanigans there; you get exactly what you thought you were getting.

Accuphase makes amazing gear, but it is not inexpensive. A more down-to-earth alternative is PRC-made gear. DRM? What’s DRM? HAHAHA THOSE SILLY AMERICANS!!!

That’s how it goes with 2-channel audio. DSD over HDMI is a different ball of wax.

@audio-b-dog 

I can't help you choose between streaming services!

But for classical, I highly recommend Presto Classical's streaming service, because they really understand the structure of classical pieces, and their recommendations come with multiple reviews and downloadable booklets.

There are far too many variables in streaming (see earlier post), so it is no surprise to me that CD often sounds better.

If you want to compare DSD and PCM, silver disks are the go.  For less than the price of a cable, buy this Album: DIVERTIMENTI (2L-050-SABD) or this Reflections - Works by Britten, Stravinsky & Vaughan Williams 2L 2L125SABD [DBi] Classical Music Reviews: March 2017 - MusicWeb-International

You get 9 different deliveries of the same recording!

@devinplombier 

DSD on HDMI is a different ball of wax

Absolutely no problem mixing and matching with HDMI, in my experience. Sony and Reavon transports work seamlessly with Marantz receivers and AV pre-processor.  Both ends show exactly what they are outputting and receiving, including native DSD. 

But why use a purpose built high-speed digital interconnect when you can bastardise 3 wires from the same cable for I2S?  HDMI licence fees, perhaps?

@richardbrand 

So, the bottom-line question I have for you is how you use all of the information you know about networking in your day-to-day life as an audiophile. I began this forum by asking if I should buy a "better" coax digital cable. I listened to opinions from all sides, and I decided to give it a try. And the cable has improved my system.

When you criticized my networking knowledge you made a joke about my "golden ear." Yet my golden ear has been my touchstone in almost every decision I have made as an audiophile. I could give you many examples that I'm sure are unnecessary.

How has your technical networking knowledge helped you make decisions as an audiophile? It would be helpful to the rest of us if you could pass along some real-world choices you have made using this knowledge, so that we might be able to use your networking knowledge to our benefit.