If you believe digital cables sound different...


Then I need your help. I have an ar-t modded Squeezebox Duet which has been pretty heavily modified (completely new reclocking, low noise oscillator, extreme low noise PS and regulation, separate clock and SPDIF stages). It sounds really great so far, but I'm not sure I like the digital cable I'm currently using.

Now here's the thing. The return loss of this device driven into a proper 75 Ohm load (which my DAC has, BNC connector and all) is supposed to be better than 35 dB down. IOW, if a cable is properly built it should not have any real effect on the sound when you're looking at this kind of RL. But I'm not quite sure if trying something different will get me closer to where I want to go.

I'm currently using a Belden 1695A properly terminated with Canare BNC connectors. While overall the sound is really good, there is a slight sense of harshness in the upper midrange. I'm pretty sure it's not my DAC, because when I feed it with my Proceed PDT-3 via ST glass the sound is a bit more open and organic. The harshness is not there; neither is it there when I use the coax out of the transport into the DAC via a RCA-BNC adapter. (It's actually amazing how after so many years and a lot of comparisons I've made that the Proceed is still my main digital source - and I've compared it to some current high end gear.)

I'm thinking in particular of trying the Oyaide DB-510 or the new Veloce, but I have no idea what sort of character to expect from either. Or if they would even have an effect on an interface with such a small return loss.
tonyptony
They do sound different but the differences vary from DAC to DAC and also with the transport. What works the best with mine might not be the best for yours or even give the same sound characteristics.
Blindjim, did I ask you this already? Can you give me a sense of how it compares to either of the Stereovoxes? I'm concerned most about the sense of space (3 dimensionality) and lack of harshness without sounding dark or soft.

Stanwal, I agree completely with what you said. It's not wise to assume something will sound the same in another system. However, if like Jim I can get a comparison with something I am familiar with, I can maybe try to get some sense of whether it's worth a shot. Fortunately I've heard the XV2 in my system (although it was a while ago).
I have a 1M Nordost Valhalla Digital cable with BNC which is now sitting around, as my current CD Transport/DAC has no BNC input/output. My experience on Valhalla Digital is impressive: open, musical and detailed.