Digital cable myths

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Digital cable myths

Posted by Thanatos (A) on December 9, 2012 at 07:43:49

In Reply to: terminology posted by Joe Murphy Jr on May 27, 2012 at 08:47:31:

I have to chime in here, despite the fact that I know this is a very old thread.

There is no optimal cable length when dealing with digital cables, nor should there even be any debate regarding this. That there is just indicates a vast misunderstanding between cable types.

A digital signal is 100% immune to anything and everything that might plague an analog signal like an interconnect or speaker wire. The only thing to be mindful of when dealing with digital signaling is maximum cable run, which for USB is 5 meters and for coax (S/PDIF) is 10 meters. Cat5/6 ethernet is ~50 meters.

The primary difference between analog and digital (and why cable type and length don't effect the quality of the signal) is the fact that with a digital signal comes Error Detection & Correction, which leads to a binary state for the signal: It is either *PERFECT*, or it is broken and the application that is using that signal reports an error to you (or simply crashes) The application or device sending the data and the application or device receiving that data *GUARANTEE* it by checking every single byte that's transmitted to ensure that the data is being received *exactly* as it was sent.

THERE IS NO IN-BETWEEN. PERFECT, or non-functional.

That's it. That's the ONLY possible two states the cable can have. This is why there is no such thing as an "optimal" length because you cannot optimize PERFECT. This is why the quality of the cable can not possibly improve, or degrade, the sound you hear.

This is why I get so upset when I see people spending gobs of money for digital cables. If you spend more than $5 for a USB cable you are, flat out, being ripped off and if as some have posted here you're actually spending hundreds of dollars on these cables you are in desperate need of some adult supervision.

Digital cables don't need to be made out of Gold, don't need shielding, don't need *anything* that analog cables can benefit from, because the signal on a digital cable can *not* be influenced by outside signals. Moisture and heat can affect the cable, but that causes physical damage which leads to one of the binary states: Non-functional.

This is why cheap digital cables can and are used in mission critical, as in "people die if the signal gets screwed up" applications like the control stations of nuclear reactors.

Stop being ripped off. When it comes to digital cables there is never any need to build your own, buy gold plated, or worry about the "optimum" length, because you cannot optimize or improve upon... perfect.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Digital cable lengths? (both S/PDIF and USB) - willkayakforfood 20:12:25 05/26/12 (11)

RE: Digital cable lengths? (both S/PDIF and USB) - josephelias417@gmail.com 19:04:27 12/10/12 (2)

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but something smells... - willkayakforfood 20:25:04 12/10/12 (1)

RE: Forgive me if I'm wrong, but something smells... - josephelias417@gmail.com 20:39:25 12/10/12 (0)

RE: Digital cable lengths? (both S/PDIF and USB) - Duster 13:25:19 05/27/12 (1)

Thanks Duster! I'll keep this one in mind as well. (nt) - willkayakforfood 13:31:58 05/27/12 (0)

Thanks audioengr, Joe, and John! - willkayakforfood 13:18:47 05/27/12 (0)

RE: Digital cable lengths? (both S/PDIF and USB) - audioengr 08:49:15 05/27/12 (0)

terminology - Joe Murphy Jr 08:47:31 05/27/12 (3)

Digital cable myths - Thanatos 07:43:49 12/09/12 (1)

RE: Digital cable myths - pixelphoto 13:10:09 12/09/12 (0)

I was just about to recommend Markertek & 1.5 meters - John Marks 10:26:54 05/27/12 (0)

Follow Ups

Digital cable myths - Thanatos 07:43:49 12/09/12 (1)

RE: Digital cable myths - pixelphoto 13:10:09 12/09/12 (0)

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