Digital Cables

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by starence, Sep 22, 2018.

  1. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    ones and zeros are resiliant. Audiophiles are paranoid. There is a tendency for audiophiles to want things to become problems. Well, if they enjoy shopping, let them shop.
     
  2. Baten

    Baten Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,130
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    EU
    For me this is the end game cable. https://www.spreadsound.shop/?pid=2502373
    You can either get XLR XLR or a coaxical canare true-75ohm to XLR one for use with your favorite coax s/pdif source into your DAC's transformer isolated AES input. TDK Ferrites on both ends. Mogami 3080 cable/neutrik XLR. No corners cut!

    Sounds GOOD.
     
  3. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,697
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
    I've got an old Element Cable coax that IIRC is 1694 - I'll have to dig it out of the HT setup.

    Edit - looking at it now, it's actually Canare LV-77S.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
  4. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,697
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
    Quick take: Element Cable (Canare LV-77S) sounds more closed in - soundstage is presented more like it's coming from two speakers, rather than a cohesive soundfield evenly distributed between the speakers. With the Canare, there's less decay on notes coming off a quick crescendo. Listening to Olafur Arnalds' Re:member, the noise of the pedal damper is more present using the Oyaide. The damper noise also better defined in space using the Oyaide. The Canare represents the fundamental tone well, but lacks the harmonics that make things sound realistic. On bowed stringed instruments, the Oyaide presents more of the crunchy rosin bite, and feels more seamless with the woody tone of a cello playing lower in the register.

    Compare to the Oyiade, the Canare's bass is a little more uneven. Both have good extension (as low as my system with shitty subs will play, about 26 or 27Hz using a sine sweep), but the Canare sounds lumpier in the 60-100Hz range when listening to music.

    Edit: I’m going to double down on my statement that for the money, the oyaide is pretty damn good value for $. We’re not talking boutique money here for cables, and it seems to be money well spent on quality materials and smart construction. I’m not sensing any ORFAS type shit here, which fits with anything else I’ve used from oyaide.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
  5. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,882
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Is this the cable in question? Link
     
  6. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2015
    Likes Received:
    385
    Trophy Points:
    63
  7. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,697
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
    correct.
     
  8. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    I wonder how the Oyaide would compare to the Nordost Silver Shadow? They’re selling the Nordosts in Canada right now for around $150 USD. There must have been a Canadian distributor that purchased a whack of these after being discontinued (original price was like $700 or something ridiculous). It’s still a bit pricey for me, but the Oyaide is around $160 USD currently, as far as I can find up here. I’m curious to try a decent Coax/BNC cable - I’ve been using an older cheaper AQ cable that came with an integrated amp I bought a few years back. Would be interested to see if I notice a difference.
     
  9. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,750
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Calgary, Alberta
    Home Page:
    Nordost: 24 AWG silver plated 99.99999 OFC solid core co axial design
    Capacitance: 14.0 pF/ft
    Impedance: 75 Ohm

    Oyaide: 1.05mm (~18 AWG) 5N (99.999% pure) pure silver conductor
    Impedance 75 Ω
    Capacitance 56.5 nF / Km

    From BJC regarding silver vs. gauge:
    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/exoticmaterials.htm

    Interestingly I just did some converting of capacitance and Nordost is 0.014nF/foot vs. Oyaide is 0.0172nF/foot. I can't find resistence numbers for the Nordost but the Oyaide is - Conductor resistance: 21 ohm/Km
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
  10. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    FYI if you convert the capacitance units on the Oyaide to the same as the Nordost, it’s around 17.2 pF/ft. Not sure if that’s very material from a capacitance standpoint.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
  11. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,750
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Calgary, Alberta
    Home Page:
    Yeah I calculated that above as well. Sadly Nordost doesn't publish resistance data, where things really matter. Some others for reference/interest:

    Oyaide: Conductor resistance: 21 ohm/Km or 6.4 ohm/1000 feet

    BJC Belden1694A: 6.4 OHMS/1000 FT and capacitance of 16.2 pF/FT

    http://www.furutech.com/2019/05/21/18319/

    Surprising but not surprising, many cable makers don't publish specs. So I have more faith in those that do, in a complete form than cherry-picking or not disclosing at all.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
  12. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Does resistance really matter for a short digital audio cable? I think as long as they present a 75 ohm characteristic impedance you should be good, versus something like speaker cable where lower resistance matters more or analog audio cables where capacitance matters more.

    Unrelatedly, does anyone have any experience or opinions for the best way to hook up a transport with digital RCA coaxial output into Gungnir / Yggdrasil (each that have RCA and BNC inputs)?
    1. RCA to RCA (using "75 ohm" RCA connectors like Canare RCAP)
    2. RCA to BNC (same plug as above on RCA end)
    3. BNC to BNC, plus a 75 ohm RCA male to BNC female adapter
    Currently using #1, and think this is likely cable dependent. Empirical Audio at least seems to think #3 is desirable, per this Audiogon thread. (Edit: I just emailed Empirical and will post back if they respond.)

    #3 is the best choice because it is difficult to terminate any coax to an RCA cable and maintain the impedance.

    What people don’t understand is that there is not just one BNC connector type. There are hundreds of them, each specifically made to terminate to each type of coax cable in order to maintain the impedance match.

    As for length, I recommend 1.5m length minimum based on my whitepaper and one A/B test by a Canadian magazine that verified my results:

    http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue14/spdif.htm

    The best value and performance is from my own BNC-BNC coax cable with RCA adapters. The Standard BNC is $285 and the Reference is $510. Both excellent, but the Reference is more analog sounding due to more silver. If you are interested on one of these, I can send you a PayPal invoice. 30-day money-back, less shipping.

    Edit #2: Steve Nugent shared this link, which I thought others may find interesting: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154425.0. Not clear which RCAs were used with the Belden 1694A.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
  13. Claud

    Claud Living the ORFAS dream

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    699
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    North Carolina
    In my computer HiRez system, I use a WyWire Platinum USB cable. Its better than anything I have ever heard for USB. In my Stratus CD system, I use a Wywires Platinum coax from my PS CD transport to Yiggy A2.
     
  14. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2016
    Likes Received:
    3,988
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    United kingdomland of fish and chips
    Interesting, what else have you heard and how does it compare?
     
  15. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,750
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Calgary, Alberta
    Home Page:
    @Claud if you're at that level, I would certainly try the Oyaide Continental 5S in the mix.
     
  16. Claud

    Claud Living the ORFAS dream

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    699
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    North Carolina
    I have only been doing Hi Rez digital for about 5 years. I initially just used an Audio Illusions coax then a Tributaries coax. Then I tried another $200 coax that was guarenteed to be 75ohm but the name escapes me. About that time I was trying out WyWires Red headphone cables. Alex and I got along and he sold me his best coax for a discount and it just really improved the sound o f my Yiggy/ Ragg/Oppo system. As I was getting ready for Stratus I decided to upgrade the remaining cables in my system and Alex helped me out price wise and some show demo cables. The Stratus system is WyWires from top to bottom. It was fun pulling just one pair of ICs after playing three songs then upgrading to the Platinum Wywires, then playing the three songs again.
    In my computer headphone system I just went from an Audioquest Carbon to the Wywires Platinum USB cable.I initially used a Schiit Vali2 and a Modi Multibit . They really stepped up their sound quality when I pulled the PYST ICs and the Audioquest Carbon and replaced them with WyWires Silver ICs and the Platinum USB cord.
    My Cary/Merlin/Rega tube speaker system is entirely TG Audio, hand crafted by the late Bob Crump. Its possible the TGs are better than the WyWires, but I have never A/Bed them.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2019
  17. ReAlien

    ReAlien Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2019
    Likes Received:
    67
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Kyiv, Ukraine
    Using custom-made USB cable: copper litz with one silver litz strand. I have not heard many other USB cables but this one sounds better in my system than the other custom-made cable I've tested which is known to be better than Audioquest Diamond USB cable. :)
     
  18. kukur9

    kukur9 Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Old thread, and nobody asked, but since I wandered by and FWIW: another Oyaide (DB-510) fan here. Probably learned about it here, or at Comp. Audiophile way back when.

    I have tried a few cables, and the Oyaide is only bettered (so far in my tests) by a Transparent Audio Premium Digital Coax BNC which is about $1000 for the shortest length. The difference is in the bass, particularly kick drum, and might be worth it if you have a grand to spend on this crazy but great hobby. Otherwise if you are one of the few using digital coax, Oyaide seems like the price/performance sweet spot to me.
     
  19. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2019
    Likes Received:
    993
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Silicon Valley
    For SPDIF, I use the old Audio Alchemy "ClearStream" interconnects: At the digital output there's a big aluminum cylinder that holds an RCA plug, an L-pad and pulse transformer for impedance matching and isolation, and a mini-UHF connector -- then the cable is mini-UHF to RCA or mini-UHF to BNC.

    Works good, lasts a long time.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  20. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,969
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Los Alamos, NM
    Home Page:
    Anyone try these:
    Monolith by Monoprice USB Digital Audio Cable - USB Type-A to USB Type-B
    3 and 6 feet lengths
    https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33464

    I recently had to pad an order to get free shipping, so I ordered one. I figure I should "splurge" every once in a while on audio gear. Might even be a step up from the printer cable I've been using for 5 years ;)
     

Share This Page