Home Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

RE: digital cable length

I read years ago a post from a guy who installed high-capacity optical cabling for SONET type data links etc. that the cable length had ZERO effect, but the connectors were the whole show.

First, apply Occam's razor. If there was a significant sound difference, least assumptions suggest it resulted from some corollary effect-- like the old cable connector was damaged or dirty, or there was a spiderweb in the jack and the next cable pushed it aside...- if you see what I mean. It truly sounded better but not because of the cable or the length, because of some gunk or something in the connecting/reconnecting. My overall experience tends suggest to be very, very careful in conducting comparisons of cables (any sort) to be reasonably sure you're not hearing effects from other than the cable. In the RF Engineering Group at Northrup (Avionics, Instrument Test) I'd say 1/3 of the problems with instruments resulting in flags for OUT OF SPEC or otherwise on the fritz were remedied by unplugging, rearranging the bundle, and re-plugging the cables --and those were some super high quality cable and connectors.

In an email from Lifatech, they said that they wipe the ends of their optical cable very gently with a lint-free cloth and isopropyl. I also blow out the optical jack with a gentle spritz of canned air. Try that and run a comparison.

I found, compared carefully, the Lifatech were a fine sounding Toslink. They tout excellent connectors and beautiful real glass; their very fine glass ends look solid and perfectly smooth under a microscope. Some other cables looked like a squashed plastic glob under a microscope. I got one of their 6 ft. 'Silflex" cables so I could move things around easily. See my review.

BTW, the suitability of Toslink is highly system dependent and the bad rap it has gotten through the years is probably due to the manufacturer's use of jittery, $.79 optical interfaces in so much equipment. Connecting some gear, it can sound quite excellent.



This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Signature Sound   [ Signature Sound Lounge ]


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.