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Topic: Coaxial SPDIF cable? (Read 20189 times) previous topic - next topic
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Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #25
...

Thanks for your advice. Since I am now using quantum neural network bridges instead of coaxial spdif cables, can you recommend some? I am using the ones from NASA now, but the cosmic interaction between sound waves and my auditory cells was out of sync sometimes, I don't know why. Maybe some DNAs in the bridges are impure.

Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #26
It's not against the rules to use words like that once you've done your blind listening tests

Uh, no.

The usual  "audiophile" speak of non-audio related terms which are completely  subjective and open to redefinition on a whim, are useless for any sort  of progression in discussion.

Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #27
I constantly notice repetitive difference even in audiophile grade coaxial cables. My undisputed winner is [removed] coaxial cable that constantly brings a much thicker and deeper sound

The bad news is that it's probably just your imagination.
The good news is that you now own silver, that can be used to ward of vampires, which are quite real in audiophool woo woo world.
Loudspeaker manufacturer


Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #29
Well, maybe in the British sense.

thick
adjective
UK informal: ​stupid

Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #30
Some people said that wrong impedance may not cause problem if the cable is short enough, if it is true, then what cable length will cause problem?



A rule of the thumb is the quarter wavelength. If the analogue cable is shorter than ¼ of the wavelength, it will probably work.

In case of SPDIF
Sample rate=44100 Hz
Word length=32 Bit
Channels= 2   (Stereo)
Biphase mark code=2 (Twice the sample rate)
Frequency=5644800   Hz (SR*Bit*Channel* Biphase)
Light speed   300000000   m/s
Propagation speed   0.7   % (coax)
Wavelength   37   m (speed/freq)
1/4 Wavelength   9   m

Much to my surprise even 9 m of the 'wrong' cable will do the job.
Wonder if my assumtions are correct
TheWellTemperedComputer.com

Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #31
Much to my surprise even 9 m of the 'wrong' cable will do the job.
Wonder if my assumtions are correct

Not entirely.

You can have a standing wave on a cable at 1/4 the wavelength. So this length can already be critical. People usually consider transmission line effects as irrelevant when the wavelength exceeds 10x the length of the conductor.

In practice, since the impedance mismatch is fairly small when using 50 Ohm cable instead of 75 Ohm, the effect of the resulting standing waves is usually not large enough to cause problems.

All this assumes that the impedance of the inputs and outputs of the devices is according to the standard, which you can't take for granted, unfortunately. The SPDIF signal is fairly resilient to such imperfections, which means that manufacturers can get away with quite a lot of negligence. The effect is that you can have standing waves despite using cables with the right impedance.

Hence there's no point in being overzealous with the cables. The design of the SPDIF interface stems from the 80s, and it is like it is because there were cheap (analog) video cables with 75 Ohm and RCA connectors commonly available on the consumer market already, and the aim was to be able to use those instead of coming up with a new cable design. The bandwidth of the analog video signal used to be around 7 MHz, which is not far from what you need for an SPDIF signal at 44.1 kHz sampling rate, so the choice seemed sensible and economical. The RCA connector has no defined impedance (the fat center pin usually makes for an impedance way below 50 Ohm), but that's uncritical for single figure MHz signals. If your cable length is a few feet only, at such frequencies you can pretty much use anything that conducts.

@MykhailoM: If you experience real sonic differences between digital cables (as opposed to imagined ones, which would be far more common), then this would point to a problem in your setup, and it would be much more sensible to hunt down what's wrong, instead of dropping cable recommendations that help nobody except the manufacturers.

General rule: Interconnects are not supposed to sound different. If they do, something is wrong and needs to be put right.

Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #32
@MykhailoM: If you experience real sonic differences between digital cables (as opposed to imagined ones, which would be far more common), then this would point to a problem in your setup, and it would be much more sensible to hunt down what's wrong, instead of dropping cable recommendations that help nobody except the manufacturers.

General rule: Interconnects are not supposed to sound different. If they do, something is wrong and needs to be put right.


It also helps the cable sellers, for example someone awoke a years old thread on the What HiFi forums in the 'Hi-Fi' forum entitled 'What digital coaxial cable?'

A user named 'MykhailM' awoke the thread with a nice post recommending [removed] cables because it 'constantly brings a much thicker and deeper sound'

A later post was from someone who noticed the [removed] seller selling these cables had a username of 'MykhailoM' - however I'm sure this is just a coincidence and the thickness relates to the sound and not his wallet.

Re: Coaxial SPDIF cable?

Reply #33
Hi!!
I'm trying to connect a mix dex to a soundcard by spdif coaxial cable but i'm having some issues...
-Using a compac disc player can configure sample rate from 44'1 to 96Khz. At every sample rate the soundcard syncs with no problem.
-With the mixer, with better and expensive cables, can sync with sample rates at 44'1, 48, 88'2Khz
but not at 96Khz where sound comes and gone, goes intermittent, discontinuous. This happend also with larger or cheapest cables at 88'2khz. The soundcard goes "sync", "no sync", "sync", "no sync"...
If i set, in the mixer, the digital master output level to the max (-5db) the sound goes less intermittent at 96Khz, and goes well, sync, at 88'2Khz with larger or cheapest cables.
Why don't have any problem with every cable at any sample rate with the cd player?
And in the mixer why this "intermittence" varies at higher sample rates, depends on the signal level?

Thanks!!