I have had quite a journey this year trying to satisfy myself that I had got decent RCA - RCA interconnects between my DAC and my integrated amp (Supernait 3). I tried various Audioquest cables, going up the range to Big Sur, but always found the sound a little brittle and slightly too digital for my tastes when listening to my Innuos streamer or Bluesound Node 2i via my Mytek DAC. High frequencies in particular were a bit harsh. I read rave reviews of hand-made copper cables from Mark Grant in the UK so I ordered some. Nicely made but they did not tame the âdigital harshnessâ I was experiencing. I finally read up some reviews of a cable you donât read a lot about these days - Van den Hulâs The First Ultimate MK2. This is an unusual cable as the material is not copper or silver, it is carbon based. Reviews had talked about great soundstage, lots of detail, good bass, and an ability to tame âdigital harshnessâ. I was a bit sceptical as some warned about the cable being a bit dull. Well I tried one and it really does sound lovely and make digital sound a bit more analog. I was wondering what RCA - RCA cables you guys are using and how you chose them?
Chord Company RCA ICâs also have a number of more unusual ones like 3.5mm Mini Jack to 5 pin DIN.
Iâve got Cadenza and Chorus ones I still use for a DAC and phono stage as examples.
Been using Zu Audio Mission interconnects for the past few years for both digital (3.5mm>RCA) and phono (RCA>RCA). Not too expensive, well made, good looking, small company, and they do the job. I had a similar experience to you with audioquest, and much better results with Wireworld (still have their toslink cable going from my tv to SN1 and have no plans to change it), but the Zuâs really hit the spot. Not too bright, sound very balanced to me.
Mogami 2497, 2803 if you can find them.
But ready ones with WBT for 2497 and Neutrick plugs for 2803
I bought a pair of Russ Andrews âSilver Streaksâ last year to connect my Rega Aria (now Aura) to my 282, I had some attenuation added to have greater control over the volume dial. Didnât like âem at first, very bright top end, asked for an extra month to assess them, once they had fully burned in they sound lovely. Having bought various mains cables from RA over the years decided to try their interconnects especially as you get 2 months free trial.
I never really progressed past Chord Chrysalis, which is no longer available as it was the same cable as Naim Lavendar and Naim bought up all the stock when it was discontinued. Chord Crimson, Silver Siren, Clearway and Fairway failed to supplant it.
If using SPdif to feed the DAC I found Belden 4794R 12G SDI cable too the digital edge off quite nicely. It only comes with BNC connectors so I ended up with a converter on one end, I wouldnât use them on both ends.
Favorite interconnect;
I donât have any favorite but forced to mention one, its gonna be Klotz ac110
also known as Rega Couple 1.
I never came on with very expensive i/c
Iâve used Chord Company cables for a while now, and currently have both Clearway and Shawline in my system. Clearway is the cheaper of the two, and is pretty good. In comparison to Shawline, the Clearway is less refined, less resolving, but also slightly more exciting to listen to. Iâd happily recommend both cables - I guess personal preferences may well dictate which is preferred. I also briefly used an old Chord Cobra interconnect in my current system - this wasnât bad either, but lacked resolution compared to the more modern Chord Company offerings.
After recently moving to Chord amplification (Dave/Ătude) I needed an RCA cable. My dealer lent me some Chord Epic, which was nice, and a clear improvement on a Flashback Premier I had lying around. Odd though it may seem, I then dug out my old Naim Hiline which was also very good.
The final winner, though, was a pair of Townshend Fractals once I had the DIN end reterminated with RCAs. They just seem to let through a bit more detail, and a bit less mush that the other cables I tried.
I had pairs of Van den Hul The First and The Second in my system for a good while.
They are very good cables, and like you feel they seem to take the glare out of some recordings and with a juicy analogue tone !
It took a move to Nordost Heimdall mk1 rca to better them. These are my favourite rca cables. They really made me notice how a cable can make sense of high frequency energy without that glare and changing of tone. At the time these cables had the excellent locking WBT connectors, and were not that much more expensive than the VDH cables.
Iâve since moved up the Nordost ladder, with an increase in inner textures and fleshing out the bones - but those Heimdall mk1 hold a special place. They were fantastic for very low level late night listening.
I think I still have them all in my man drawers somewhere. I should take them out for a listen sometime.
Last year I got a pair of F1 Fractal from Townshend⌠tbh they offered me a COVID Lockup super deal of half price and I was feeling a bit down (never a good time to go HiFi shopping) so I snapped them up. Before that I was using Tellurium Q Ultra Black which I thought were okay. However the F1 are better. I didnât appreciate this until I did the swap but the âBlacksâ were a bit screechy at the top end. The F1 made the sound more natural. At full price I wouldnât buy them but at half price it was a no brainer really.
My âreferenceâ single-ended RCA-RCA interconnect is a handmade cable which I bought from a friend many years ago when I was in my late twenties or so. I paid ÂŁ400 for it, big money during that time. I compared the cable to some cheapies back then and it sounded most open and transparent.
I didnât manage to try other branded RCA interconnects throughout the years as most of my equipment had balanced connections. My most recent interconnect purchases for the past 3 years were RCA to DIN(obviously for Naim) and XLR to XLR.
I have these two and find them superbâlike all of Maxâs things, they really work. I paid full price a couple of years ago, and they were clearly worth it. I started with the Podiums and they are superb also. F1 Speaker cables next?
I thought Super Lumina speaker cables were expensive until I looked at the Fractals 
Epiphany Acoustics Artratus 111 alas no longer trading beautifully made and sound great.
Regards,
Martin
I have found that Townshend is one of those companies that delivers. They cost more and they do more. Not always the case with all hi end audio. That is why the forum is so valuable to me. If I see a fellow forum member whom has a track record, and he/she recommends something, it usually works out.
I actually got TWO pairs in the end!
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