Coaxial & Optical digital cable??

[BLASTO]

Ventured into unchartered teritorry at last.

Question:
Coaxial and Optical cable being digital, does a decent quality cable like belkin do the job or need costly stuff like analog cables to shine?

I have a 400/- HDMI cable and it serves me well. The length requirement will be 'shortest available'.

Are the below good enough?

Belkin 6 feet Digital Coaxial 24K Gold Plated Cable | eBay

Belkin AV10033-06-WHT Digital optical audio cable To slink, 6' White | eBay

Is there anything else I should be looking at instead?

 

[baijuxavior]

I recently bought a 1.6m belkin optical cable from delta peripherals. I connected it to my HTPC and it is working fine.

 

[just4kix]

I have been using a no-name optical cable for at least six years and it has served me well. While a known brand may offer peace of mind at the expense of your bank, an unknown brand may just work as well.

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[corElement]

The HDMI cable should be fine, the belkin looks a little thin on shielding but it should be fine if you're not hooking it up to very high end components which will make the thinner shielding apparent.

 

[BLASTO]

The HDMI cable should be fine, the belkin looks a little thin on shielding but it should be fine if you're not hooking it up to very high end components which will make the thinner shielding apparent.

It is to be connected between musical fidelity M1 DAC and CDP.
Thiel is known for revealing.

Should I look for a cable with bigger shielding? I dont want to skimp on these.

 

[BLASTO]

I have been using a no-name optical cable for at least six years and it has served me well. While a known brand may offer peace of mind at the expense of your bank, an unknown brand may just work as well.

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Wonder how much the no name one costs??
The belkin by itself costs 400/- and anything lesser I would be wary.

 

[srinisundar]

Wonder how much the no name one costs??
The belkin by itself costs 400/- and anything lesser I would be wary.

No name cost Rs.100 + here and makes no difference than branded ones.

 

[corElement]

It is to be connected between musical fidelity M1 DAC and CDP.
Thiel is known for revealing.

Should I look for a cable with bigger shielding? I dont want to skimp on these.

Ahh then yes, I would suggest a wire with a little more shielding/thickness since the speakers in question are $3000 +/-

If you have something decent to use temporarily you can probably order a high end wire from international ebay and have it delivered (takes 30 days)

In my case I found a preowned IDL 100 from monster for $15 on ebay US which at the store here would have been INR 4000 or something last I checked in 2010.

Unlike toslink which is fibre, and hdmi which is encoded, coaxial is a physical medium susceptible to everything around it. Which is why coaxial is the only cable where shielding makes an audible difference on high end components.

Before getting the IDL I was using a cheap cable I got with some other product. When I compared the two side by side the IDL eliminated a very subtle hiss in the sound.

 

[just4kix]

No name cost Rs.100 + here and makes no difference than branded ones.

Ditto. But in those days the branded cable was $9.99 while the unbranded was $4.99. I had a monster coaxial already and decided to buy the unbranded optical.

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[pupupuchi28]

After a three hour long internet research I did before I purchased Belkin (not even 400 but I got something for Rs 250), the conclusion was, for 1.5 to 2 mtrs even a normal single RCA cable is fine to transfer digital data. Above that you need a dedicated digital cable. Couldnot get a concrete answer.... why. Before I got Belkin Digital Coaxial, I was using a el cheapo single RCA cable and it was working just fine. Then I got Belkin Digital coaxial (just to see if it makes any difference) and my 'moderate ears' could not identify any improvement. Conclusion: May be the Belkin ones are not good or digital coaxial over RCA does not make any difference over short distance.

 

[reignofchaos]

With the setup you have, a 400 rupee digital cable is sacrilege . You should atleast get something like a basic stereovox or black cat veloce. Both are around a 100$.

 

[srinisundar]

Ditto. But in those days the branded cable was $9.99 while the unbranded was $4.99. I had a monster coaxial already and decided to buy the unbranded optical.

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I know here one member here bought Belkin in Croma and it was not working on reaching home and he relied on the brand and thought his port is fault and lately he found that the cable is faulty and ultimately another cable from ritchie street for Rs.100 replaced those.

 

[sajjad4joy]

In Reliance Digital, you will get Bandridge cables Coaxial and Optical for about Rs 500 or 600. You can try those cables. I prefer them over Belkin.

 

[jls001]

If you are willing to DIY the coax cable, you can make very good one yourself. Buy 1-2 meter of RG-59 double shielded cable. I prefer the ones with solid center conductor. RG-59 has the correct characteristic impedance of 75 Ohm. Finolex makes very good RG-59 cables but you will need to find a shop willing to sell retail.
Buy two RCA/Cinch male connectors, like Spectra or Sunshine or Neutrik.

Solder them properly and you are done. You can also use heat shrink sleeves to beautify your creation but that's optional and doesn't contribute in any way to the sonics. The important thing is to get good double shielded cable with solid core, good connectors, and solder properly.

 

[Divakar7]

Bandridge cables Coaxial and Optical for about Rs 500 or 600. You can try those cables. I prefer them over Belkin.

I upgraded from Bandridge RCA and digital coax to the Chords and the improvement was discernible to my ears. Blasto don't go el cheapo on cables, you don't have to splurge but there are better/affordable choices than Belkin/Bandridge.

 

[sajjad4joy]

I upgraded from Bandridge RCA and digital coax to the Chords and the improvement was discernible to my ears. Blasto don't go el cheapo on cables, you don't have to splurge but there are better/affordable choices than Belkin/Bandridge.

I agree Chord is much better than Bandridge.
Where did you buy Chord? When I asked in ProFX, its not available. I'm interested to try Chord.

 

[Divakar7]

Where did you buy Chord? When I asked in ProFX, its not available. I'm interested to try Chord.

Profx Hyderabad is supposed to get a new shipment of Chord today. Give them a ring to confirm before going there, the traffic is a real bitch in Punjagutta.

 

[corElement]

DAC ARX01D Digital Coaxial Audio Cable

This looks like a nice affordable high quality solution Blasto. I'm not famliar with the company but the cross section looks impressive. *shrug*

 

[BLASTO]

I upgraded from Bandridge RCA and digital coax to the Chords and the improvement was discernible to my ears. Blasto don't go el cheapo on cables, you don't have to splurge but there are better/affordable choices than Belkin/Bandridge.

Hey Divakar,

I think most of the discernable difference is due to the RCA (it being analog).
Let me know if you hear a difference between Bandridge & Chord coax swap alone with Chord RCA. In theory it should not (coax beng digtal).

I'll buy the chord if there is any difference. Infact straightwire if possible 'cause I demoed them.

 

[Divakar7]

I think most of the discernable difference is due to the RCA (it being analog).
Let me know if you hear a difference between Bandridge & Chord coax swap alone with Chord RCA. In theory it should not (coax beng digtal).

I agree with you, the sonic improvement was due to the RCA upgrade. I can't hear any significant difference between the Bandridge coax that was replaced with Profigold toslink. However, the Bandridge connectors don't fit snuggly and is much looser than I would like.

Straightwire is a great IC from reviews I have read. However, they are out of my budget. On Amazon they range from $64 to $300 for different models.