cable help,please!

[DavidNorway]

This is my first post(nervous),will try to keep this short!

recently bought my first system and im very pleased.I have a Hegel h70 amp which has usb,optical,coax options plus rca for cd,dvd,aux plus has balanced ports aswell.Untill yesterday i had it set up like this,

aux via phono amp to pro-ject debut 3

cd with eagle rca to mini jack cable to apple airport express on to macbook for itunes/spotify

dvd with normal cheap rca cable to dvd player which i have been using as a cd player

optical port with eagle blue optical cable to dvd player

coax port with eagle green coax to hd tv box(like a sky box) this i use as a radio tuner plus stereo sound for tv

usb port not been used

balanced ports not used as have no equipment that has that option

this has been sounding very nice and have been very satisfied for the 3 weeks i had it,then a friend came for a demo to see and hear system and gave me a present of a mini jack to optical cable this we conected from aiport express to my optical port,the sound quality was a good improvement over the mini jack-rca however i have now lost the option of dvd amp via optical,i can still play from dvd to amp via normal rca but the sound is not the best plus i have a 60 pound optical cable doing nothing.

Any ideas or advice on what i can do,i tried to make this short! not easy.thanks for any help.im thinking of putting my system with pics up on the right thread

 

[AlmaataKZ]

you can get an optical switch and connect both optical cables into one optical input of the amp. you will have to switch manually, though.

http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=optical+splitter+switch&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=9KR3TP2fB5SOjAeDiqnFBg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQrQQwAA

 

[DavidNorway]

Thanks Almaatakz,i will look in to it,splitter seems cheap but will have to buy extra optical cable from splitter to amp,(i can see me spending more money and time on this forum)

 

[Craig M.]

my own personal opinion is there is no difference between optical cables, so an extra one needn't cost more then a few quid.

 

[Anonymous]

What hi-fi have done some good reviews of optical cables, check this site for more info. Question is, do you take the advice of the experienced and impartial WHF team or Craig M. Take your pick.

 

[Craig M.]

neither, he should compare one against the 60 quid one and make his own mind up. i find it interesting though, that i can pull the toslink connector out of my dac until i can see the red light, and my dac keeps playing music without any change in sound, as did the beresford and dacmagic i had before. this happens with the 3 different optical cables i have, one of them a very well reviewed one which just happens to sound no different to the others. if you look at my sig. you'll see i'm not adverse to spending money on cables that might make a difference, but i prefer not to on the ones that can't.

 

[Anonymous]

Might make a difference, can't make a difference?! Says it all.

Point is, the WHF team (and myself) have noticed clear differences between optical cables, so David I recommend you try some out if you're into getting the best sound for you from your hi fi investment. Don't pay attention to the naysayers, find out for yourself.

 

[DavidNorway]

Things are far more complex than i thought,i will take all points made and do some research,thanks again for your advice.

 

[Craig M.]

Cidershed:... find out for yourself.

which is exactly what i said. found any audiofool ethernet cables yet?

 

[Anonymous]

i have a feeling this thread may bring the_lhc out of retirement ..

cidershed , in your recent ethernet thread , everyone said the same thing , that ethernet cables can only pass 100% of the data through , 100% or 0% ..

how then can one ethernet cable perform better than another ? i cant see how you dont get this

. .

 

[Anonymous]

Retirement. That's a funny way of seeing it. I thought the moderator told him to take a break due to his arrogant attitude to others on multiple threads. Nuff said.

And not everyone held the same view I'm afraid (eg PJPro), you just see what you want to see. My question about ethernet cables was supposed to arouse debate and insight but was met by most (though not all) with scoffing and arrogant assertions that 'this view is correct and non negotiable'. Strangely though only a couple of people had actually tried different ethernet cables, though to be fair they found no difference.

What annoys me is closed minds and arrogant assertions of being correct, especially without any direct experience of the subject (not just intellectual theories).. I'm happy to accept at this time the majority view is that they make no difference, fair enough. But I still retain an open mind.

Optical cables though I know from my own experience definately exhibit varying sonic characteristics, thus my advice to the OP.

 

[Anonymous]

ah , cidershed i owe you an apology , i just seen "ethernet" mentioned in craigs post and assumed thats what was being discussed , not optical cables .. i must read the whole thread in future before posting .. sorry

 

[Anonymous]

No worries. Think Craig's just having a sneaky arrogant scoff, rather sad really since this thread was to help David solve his worries. So lets stick to that...

 

[Craig M.]

Cidershed:scoffing and arrogant assertions that 'this view is correct and non negotiable'.

except that view was correct and non negotiable. with an optical cable the light is either on or off, the cable would have to be broke somehow to sound different, and then it wouldn't sound at all because no light would be coming out. it's possible over longer distances one could make a difference, but not a metre. if the optical receiver can tell if the light is on or not, it doesn't matter if it's a feeble light or brighter then the sun, it's still just on or off.

 

[Anonymous]

So the WHF reviews that optical cables differ is incorrect? And you know better than the experienced and impartial WHF team?

Unbelievable arrogance and ignorance, you're just stuck in your intellectual concepts.

You've given your opinion and I've given mine. Now let others decide for themselves.

 

[DavidNorway]

is it always like this on here?

 

[daveh75]

DavidNorway:is it always like this on here? On cable threads... yes.

 

[daveh75]

Cidershed:Unbelievable arrogance and ignorance,Hypocrite!

 

[Anonymous]

So whats your view on optical cables then daveh75, and do you believe the WHF reviewers to be impartial and experienced?

 

[daveh75]

Cidershed:
So whats your view on optical cables then daveh75,My views on cables are irrelevent.

and do you believe the WHF reviewers to be impartial and experienced?Yes. But reviews are just an opinion, not fact. And WHF themselves state this time and time again and recommend demoing cables.

Craig.M just expressed his findings on optical cables and nothing more.... Then you jump on the bandwagon with comments like...
Cidershed:What hi-fi have done some good reviews of
optical cables, check this site for more info. Question is, do you take
the advice of the experienced and impartial WHF team or Craig M. Take
your pick.I find that highly arrogant of you.

 

[Anonymous]

David, the AE does indeed sound so much better through optical, I think once you've heard it that way its hard to go back to its analogue output.

One option would be to get a DAC for the DVD optical and then RCA outputs into your amp. This could also give you the advantage of converting other digital inputs depending on the inputs in the DAC. If you got a good DAC it may also improve your other digital inputs, AE included. Depends on your tastes and how good your current digital conversion is.

Hope this helps.

 

[the record spot]

I'll speak with some experience here.

I bought the Van den Hul cable, "The Name" on the back of the Buying Guide which sang its praises and gave it a five star review. Made it sound like my then Audioquest Turquoise, could be replaced by something better.

Got back home, unboxed it from the really nice box it came in, admired the smart looking cable, plugged it in...sat back, pressed play on the Linn remote and waited. The track came on, I waited for the dynamism hinted at in the guide. It didn't happen. It sounded a lot like my Audioquests. There wasn't much difference. There wasn't ANY difference.

So I sold the Audioquests on. Kept the new ones and then a few years later, I bought the cables I use now. That's a well told story which I needn't repeat here.

That's been borne out by the same experience on half a dozen other occasions though with different wires.

So, I think I'd like to know what makes a cable like The Name the cable that it is, or was, in the reviewers eyes. And likewise, this applies to the others out there as my findings are the polar opposite of yours Cideshed - for the most part. Maybe I just the wrong brands and they all sound the same, or maybe there really is a subtle difference, who knows. If it's so subtle that I can't hear it, there's no point in my buying it.

And where does that leave the reviews and the magazine; I don't know. It's been a while since there's been a group test between similarly priced cables - they've all been individually reviewed. Maybe it would be interesting to read something for cables up to £75, same construction, copper type, and see what the outcomes are. That might be interesting, but it's been a long time since one of those happened I think...?

 

[DavidNorway]

I think im going to buy a optical splitter and another optical cable in to the Hegel h70,it has a built in DAC.I have not found any reviews or chat about the h70 here on the forum,maybe its not avalible in the uk? i bought it as it has been given product of the year award by Norways lyd and bide(sound and picture) here is a little more info if anyone is interested

http://www.hegel.com/index.htm

Thanks again guys for input and entertainment!

 

[the record spot]

You could also spend some time at the HDD Audio site forum, who also have a bunch of people who can recommend accessory related stuff like this. Don't expect any of them to recommend spending a load on cables and connections, but they will give you a good steer on what you might pick up.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi RS are you talking interconnects? As far as optical are concerned, WHF ran a shootout between five or six brands about a year ago (in the mag).

I have heard a number of them, including their winner, True Colour Industries optical. I heard that cable next to the other 5 star optical the Atlas whatever it was. I really didn't expect to hear much difference but they were quite different, the Atlas having great detail, but lacking the rounded and engaging sound of the TCI.

I'm really not interested in spending money on placebo cables, but I have experienced real differences between optical cables. It could just be my imagination of course, but you can only trust your own experience. And plenty of reviews bear that out.

I honestly wish I was happy spending £1.99 on a cable, but for me they never sound as good. Maybe its a mass delusion, and I'm sure there is some effect from marketing and presentation, but I feel it can be worth the investment. But certainly not always.