Recommendation for Digital Cable with BNC terminations (

[bafonso]

A more balanced insight from a manufacturer... sure... ;-)

 

If you can't hear it, it is negligible. You keep mentioning interfaces and such but all that is irrelevant to the crux of two cables with the same specs will behave in the same way.

 

[Kimo]

Wires can sound different, as can resistors (carbon or carbon comp vs. metal), capacitors (oil), transistors (mosfet vs. bipolar), transformers (wire), transports, tubes, mdf, plywood, etc., etc. The real question is whether the differences offer present any improvement. Many expensive cables that do sound different might actually be negatively impacting the signal, specifically, so that one can hear a difference. Other expensive cables might exist so that people can purchase expensive wire to connect their expensive amp to their expensive speakers. I suppose there is also the question of where does one draw the line.

 

I am now running a 6500.00 DAC connected to a 7500.00 amp by a 50.00 IC and a 5000.00 speaker connected to said amp by 4.00 worth of speaker cable, because that is what sounds the best. I am also using stock power cords, and a 200.00 power strip from BPT. I am no cable zealot, but experience tells me things are not as simple as many would like to believe.

 

[Mark Powell]

I am a total cable skeptic. My equipment is connected with cheap generic interconnects and the loudspeakers (10,000 dollars) with generic automobile speaker cable from the local car accessory shop.

 

I do this on a mixture of principle and commonsense.

 

I do not intend to spend up to 30,000 dollars for a short length of wire (Transparent Audio speaker cables for example). The people who produce the music I listen do not do that so neither will I. They do however sometimes spend 10,000 dollars on a pair of loudspeakers.

 

There seems to be some confusion on this site and plenty of other places about the meaning of the simple English words 'different' and 'better'.

 

I, although a skeptic, have noticed differences in the sound of my system when I change a cable. Maybe we all have. But I cannot say that the change has made the sound 'better' or 'worse', only different. The people who pay 30,000 dollars for a pair of speaker cables would not even give the same cables a second glance if they only cost 10 dollars.

 

Thus I will not pay a charlatan 30,000 dollars for a short piece of wire. I will not pay such people 100 dollars either.

 

Until we all go away and look in the dictionary to check the meaning of 'different' and 'better' we will get nowhere.

 

Of course none of us will bother to do that because we all think we know without having to look it up. And that is what the cable charlatans rely on.

 

Finally, if you are interested in music rather than just collecting high priced 'stuff' please remember that you can go to a lot of concerts for 30,000 dollars.

 

[Paul R]

Okay, I'm just going to point out that running really good speakers with cheap auto wire may sound good, but running it with $200 worth of Nordost FlatLine is going to sound way different, and most people would say better.

 

Mark, your statement:

 

I do this on a mixture of principle and commonsense.

 

is half right. The Principle half. The commonsense half is you just being a bit stubborn. You note I pointed you to $200 worth of cable, not $2,000 or $20,000.

You can do better if you go up to $600 worth of cable.

 

Much above that, you are perhaps, more right than not. But it doesn't matter really, because by spending $200 you can prove to yourself, easily, that cables make a big difference. And no, Nordost flatline is not anything like auto audio wire.

 

-Paul

 

 

[dallasjustice]

Your posts could be summed up in the words of late Mark Sandman: "Sharks patrol these waters . . . Swim for the shore just as fast as you are able . . . Swim like a Mother*ucker!"

 

You have now well documented your watchful eye against these "charlatans."

 

Although I don't use a s/pdif cable in my current setup, I used to use them. I used to have an MIT Oracle MA-X AES/EBU that I compared against a Mogami AES/EBU. The differences were very apparent to me in my system at the time. So I bought the cable. Of course, you will roll your eyes; I can just feel your imminent reprobation. :-) No matter though, because it was my system, my ears and my money. I would simply encourage the OP to listen for himself and decide.

 

[barrows]

How did we get into a discussion on $30K analog cables, when the OP asked about a digital cable recommendation around $150.00?

 

Once again, my recommendation is for the Black Cat Veloce digital cable, it meets the needs of the OP very well, is high performance, and reasonably priced, with BNC terminations (and includes good quality RCA adapters as well), this is a no-nonsense choice in a quality digital cable:

 

http://blackcat75.ning.com/page/veloce-the-digital-cable

 

'nuff said...

 

[Mark Powell]

Good. Clear.

 

If I was in the market for a change of 'digital' cable (and others) I would start by looking out for Black Cat. Their cables have received several recommendations.

 

Maybe Nordhost flatline as well.

 

We also have a brand in the UK called 'Shark'.

 

Us skeptics are sometimes prepared to spend a touch more than one dollar!

 

[sandyk]

Gents

I would have thought that, at least in reasonably short lengths,that a cable such as Belden 8281 Coax - Double Braided RG-59/U Type,fitted with quality solderable 75 ohm BNC plugs at each end, and with genuine 75 ohm BNC sockets at both ends should be close to optimum.

It seems to me to be a moot point discussing more exotic high priced cables, if the equipment at both ends isn't designed for a good match to a 75 ohm impedance cable.

I suspect that many pieces of equipment fall down in that area.

Alex

 

[bsn]

One might get the impression that NASA chose the speaker cable only for its flexibility. That would be especially true if we ignored the fact they mention the cable met all their other specifications and if we ignored that the Jet Propulsion Lab also selected the Digital Oval Coax Cable for projects. I suspect the AP products were selected by NASA for a mix of criteria such a build quality, flexibility, resistance, form factor etc. The fact that Analysis Plus does consulting and engineering work for Airbus, Boeing, Motorola, Texas Instruments, and NASA probably does not hurt either. http://www.analysisplusinc.com/

 

I was not entirely clear on the purpose of your original post about the Voyager. I am not really sure what that has to do with audio, but ok. The impression that I got by reading your post stating that you made cables for the Voyager was that this is something on your resume regarding your cabling experience and expertise that you are proud of having participated in. And, that stock coax cable can hold up to the rigors of space travel so it’s probably good enough for audio. If that were the case, then I would think if it’s valid for one person to mention their past experience to make a point, then it’s equally valid for Analysis Plus to also mention theirs too. That’s not at all misdirection on their part, that’s good business. When I select a vendor for a project at work; one of the first things I ask for is a client list.

 

Speaking of client lists have you noticed all of the professional musician endorsements that the AP pro audio cables are getting on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/analysis.plus1 and on their site http://www.analysis-plus.com/pro_main.html . I would think that if anyone would be able to notice if there are any improvements with any sort of cabling, it would be musicians listening to their own performance through their own musical instruments. Just the same, I have the Blue Jeans Coax cable and it works just fine.

 

 

[Mark Powell]

Yes, I did not pursue this further than what you said and the single page that you referred to on their site. Had I looked further then my view might have been different.

 

Re Voyager, my only point, and my only reason for mentioning it was 'I know, because I personally assembled the cables, and if it is good enough for them then it is good enough for us, no fancy/expensive stuff needed.'

 

Pride, yes. In fact myself and four others, and only us, made every single detector used for taking the wonderful pictures. These pictures were, I believe, the main purpose of the mission. Right from growing the semiconductor single-crystal (from an extremely weird material) to the final packaging. Certain machining processes of quartz, silicon, and metals were admittedly only 'supervised' by us. Final inspection too, as once encased no further inspection was possible. Or testing - too much testing caused the Apollo 13 explosion. I am proud of that. But I did not mention it originally as it was totally irrelevant to the cable thread. And of course still is!

 

Regards

 

[barrows]

Who is listening to digital AUDIO on the Voyager...

Sorry, could not resist...

 

Add Nordost to the list of cable companies who actually make their own wire, and have a great deal of business in aerospace, medical tech, and high speed data systems...

 

Sandyk, I respect your point about the terminations on gear, but the fact is that a poor cable would just make existing products worse. The good news is that the OP specifically noted he needed BNC, that is one indication, that perhaps, the designers of his gear did do something right (of course, could be 50 ohm BNCs like on a lot gear!). Most readers here are going to have to live with how their gear is designed, but can at least not make the problem worse by choosing a poor cable. To me this is akin to us audiophiles having to accept that we have no control over recording quality, which is still no reason to think we should not bother trying to have a great system.

 

[sandyk]

(of course, could be 50 ohm BNCs like on a lot gear!).

Barrows

That could very well be a problem, although most equipment uses cheap RCA sockets. At least the Blue Jeans cable is available with RCA plugs that are supposed to be 75ohms.

A worrying thing for me is that many major stockists of BNC sockets do not even specify whether they are 50 ohm or 75 ohm.

You can usually work out the impedance of the plugs though, as they often mention RG58 or RG59.

Alex

 

[Mark Powell]

Unknown to NASA and knowing it was going a long way we engraved our names on the interior of the casing.

 

We will be the first persons the aliens come for!

 

"They can't come too soon" says barrows.

 

[sandyk]

Barrows

A funny coincidence.

About the time of my recent reply to your comment about the better cable being desirable,

I received an email from a friend who is bringing his Buffalo 3 and P.C. over tomorrow for a comparison.

He asked if I had a BNC to RCA adaptor.

I replied that I did have.

This was his answer

"Alex

75ohm BNC ????

Allan"

 

Jaycar doesn't say !!!

 

[57gold]

Black Cat, bought to try with WaveLink which came with a WireWorld BNC cable.

 

Immediately heard an increase in clarity, details and dynamics with Black Cat versus the supplied cable. Easy decision to keep cable and spend $125.

 

Listening now to my system: Mac Mini 2010 8GB RAM, 120 GB SSD, Audirvana + , AQ Coffee (another nice upgrade), WaveLink, Black Cat BNC, Wadia 861i, Yamamura 5000 balanced cables, MacCormack DNA-500, Mikro Omega speaker cables, Aerial 10Ts...Christian Mc Bride, Nicholas Payton and Mark Whitfeild are jamming in my living room.

 

Amazing is the upgarde in musicality with CA: the Mini with great memory play play software optimized like Audirvana makes me want to relisten to my 30 years of CDs (@1,600 ripped to hard drive). Hearing deeper into the performances, the musicians' intents an message are easier to understand and feel...a great time to listen to music!

 

Wouldn't have it, figured it out, without the CA community. Thanks to all!

 

[4est]

"Christian Mc Bride, Nicholas Payton and Mark Whitfeild are jamming in my living room."

 

Man, can I come over?

 

For the OP, the Black Cat is a no brainer if they wish to purchase something other than a basic one.

 

"I do this on a mixture of principle and commonsense."

 

With 10k invested in speakers, one might make a case for spending a little more than .1 or .2% on the cables to connect them. Just a thought...

 

I gave up factoring in common sense when I got into this hobby some time ago.

 

[barrows]

Humor Lives!

 

sandyK: my understanding is that 75 ohm RCAs are a myth, and not possible to exist because of the diameter of the center pin-do you know something different? (I am aware of those that claim 75 ohm for RCAs). Maybe the very different RCAs without the solid pin could (from OZ) achieve 75 ohms?

Like I mentioned though, the OP stated he was looking for a BNC terminated cable, so RCAs need not apply. EZ to purchase 75 ohm BNC jacks/plugs here from Mouser, the Amphenol parts are very nice quality and easily available.

 

The Aliens are already here! But they only listen to vinyl.

 

[sandyk]

"my understanding is that 75 ohm RCAs are a myth, and not possible to

exist because of the diameter of the center pin-do you know something

different? (I am aware of those that claim 75 ohm for RCAs)"

 

That has always been my understanding too, which is why I was surprised by the claims from Blue Jeans.

RS Components and Element 14 appear to have the correct types so I will order some BNC connectors from one of them.

Alex

 

P.S.

Unless they can make a Warp Drive, I doubt that the N.A.S.A. invited Aliens will arrive before all Vinyl is just carbon dust.

Isn't it already ? (grin)

 

[57gold]

You guys haven't been watching the History Channel....the Ancient Aliens show PROVES that they have been here before and that they are coming back!

 

Probably introduced not only vinyl technology, but probably introduced instruments, music and the genetic code into our "monkey" prototypes that enables us to play and enjoy music.

 

Speaking of monkeys, I burn myself and splatter solder around each and every time I attempt to wield an iron...so, if you are like me, get a Black Cat...relatively cheap, made by a certified "cable guru" with his new company...and save up for some more hi rez downloads or Cheetos to munch on when you are watching Ancient Aliens...just don't watch the show that says 2012 is the end of the world, that one gets me nervous and I eat too many Cheetos beacuse we learned last week that the Mayans are plugged into the Ancient Aliens and they have this calendar...well it's all very complicated...

 

[barrows]

guys may need to listen to TOOL a little more closely... The aliens do not need warp drives, because they are actually "interdimensional beings", they are here, and they can be gone in an instant into another dimension.

I just finished soldering a micro bnc to my async USB receiver board (for the master clock out) and then hand terminating a micro (U.FL) coax cable to an smd pad on my DAC board. These tiny cables are really cool, but soldering this micro stuff with the +3.0 reading glasses is gonna make me go blind! ESS 9018 sounds great with synchronous clocking though (disabled ASRC and DPLL).