Digital Coax Cable Advice?

I’m looking for a digital coax cable rca-rca to connect from my streamer to my Weiss 204 DAC.
Recommendations I’ve received thus far is the AudioQuest Blue Heaven, AudioQuest Carbon and Cardas Parsec. I’ve also been told I need at least 1.5m length for timing. My DAC is connected to my Naim NAC-282.
Any recommendations?

Thanks for the reply. I’m not sure I understand what this is trying to say. Can you please clarify in English in layman’s terms. :slight_smile:

How To Pick the Right Digital Cable for Your Audiophile System; replied to the wrong post. so will delete the reply.

Van den Hul The DIGI-COUPLER

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Several manufacturers of digital gear (and cables) that I’ve spoken with suggest 1.5M as preferable to shorter lengths, such as 1M. However, several cable manufacturers feel there is no ideal length; they use whatever length is appropriate for the application.
For ten years or so have been using Audioquest cables; one to connect my TV to the AV receiver and the other to connect the AV receiver to the XS integrated amp and would recommend either Audio Quest Cinnamon or Carbon cable. I am also using two other budget cables that are 2m in length to connect a cassette deck and a reel-to-reel tape deck to the XS integrated amp. The sound quality is as amazing as was before adding the AV receiver and the cassette and reel deck and my next addon is a streamer server.

Something from the Atlas range that fits your budget. Perhaps.

Neotech NEVD-1001 is a good digital cable that doesn’t cost a fortune but performs like it.

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Cables! Cables! Cables!

I’d buy something cheap off the Bay (nosoldercables for example with 30 day return) and see if you can borrow something more expensive from a dealer. Compare the two and then take it from there. You might be surprised, maybe not. Let your ears decide.

SPDIF is a tolerant consumer digital audio transmission standard and is designed to work with a wide variety of cheap consumer cables… not just 75ohm characteristic cables, .thetefore you might want to compare a simple cheap RCA coax lead, and say a mid price Gotham 75ohm … both are inexpensive. A useful aim is to keep short. There is nothing wrong with getting an expensive 75 ohm cable such as the DC1 with phono from Naim, but you might find it adds nothing to your setup. For SPDIF over short distances you just don’t need to use anything special… but no harm if you do.
You will likely find cables ‘sound’ different in your particular setup… but that will equally apply to cheap, mid or exotic cables.

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There’s a nice well seasoned chameleon silver plus right now on the well known auction site.
(The length “timing” advice you had was b…s by the way.)

Audioquest is good for HDMI, not that much for audio IMHO…
After testing several cables (Vovox, Melodika, Vertere D-Fi) on the back of my Core, I end up with the Cardas Parsec.
Miles away from the Melodika, less “in your face” than the Vovox, more refine and spacious than the Vertere.
So for optimal connection I ordered a custom Parsec BNC → RCA

I recommend that you try and source a digital cable from black cat audio (silver star or digit 75)
I’ve just got a silver star and am very impressed with it. (Google Chris Sommovigo who designed them.)

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All are entry-level cables, for the dac involved I would go upper the range, whatever manufacturer preferred

A few forum posters have tried Mark Grant cables and found them similar performance to naim DC1, but at a fraction of price.

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I’ve owned and demoed a wide range of digital coax cables. The worst in the bunch was BJC which were just so so and the best which I couldn’t afford was Oephi Reference. I’ve also had good results with Chord Signature Tuned aray and today use Ansuz A2 Digitalz. Might make a jump to Ansuz C2 Digitalz if a good offer comes up.

Digital cables do matter but I would recommend spending money on other signal cables before the digital coax first.

Another vote for Neotech NEVD-1001 silver cable, high quality and good value (as @anon93081805 mentioned above). It was recommended to me by Robert (cable specialist at Audionirvana), also in comparison to other manufacturers. I have had good experiences with it. Otherwise, Daniel Weiss himself offers a cable series that goes well with his DACs (WEISS Chiron Digital), but this is not a cheap solution.

In a pinch, I’ve found just using coax off a drum like CT75 with screw down BNC or RCA was easily as good as the entry level cable offered by any audio brand.

It started to get interesting higher up but still not crazy money. Beyond DIY ones made with antenna cable, next up was an Audio Technica one I had for about $50. Double screened with an earth tail for the outermost shield. It was fantastic cost performance. I used it for over a decade.

I use a fancy Furutech one now which I’m happy with. But then again, I got it with a 50% discount. Construction uses clamp down RCA (slide easily over sockets and then when the collar is tightened become absolutely impossible to remove). I can’t say that I sit really comparing digital cables. Life is too short. But I’d certainly go back to the grounded Audio Technica as my baseline the is the first thing better than DIY.

I recommend the DH Labs D-750 coaxial cable. It has a clean, robust and precise sound if that’s what you are after. The cable is quite stiff, so longer lengths maybe required.

Are you sure you get and respect the required 75 Ω ???

Well you can only get BNC in 75 or 50 Ohm connectors so it’s hard to stuff up. Especially since they are not physically interchangeable. And CT75 is, yup you guessed it, a 75Ohm cable.