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Would there be any problems by using 75-ohm digital coax cable for 2-channel audio?
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Coaxial cable is designed for coherent propagation of high frequency signals. Modulated RF for radio and TV, and high-speed digital, require the propagation velocity be reasonably constant over a wide frequency range to avoid distortion. The finished cables are typically long compared to the wavelengths involved. Impedance control is important so that the equipment can terminate the cables with matched impedances to avoid reflections.
Audio interfaces are deliberately not matched. Sources are typically low impedance, and loads are high impedance, to preserve the voltage as the analog to the audio signal. The impedance of the cable used for the audio interconnection is not important for the preservation of the audio band fidelity.
The low frequency resistance and capacitance of a digital coax cable will not be that much different compared to audio cables of similar length. However, the sonic qualities of the parts used to construct the digital cable will not have been considered in its design. Once you get beyond the cheapest audio cables, you are paying for the time someone spent in evaluating the sonic properties of the raw cable or constituent parts, as well as the costs of materials, labor, distribution, and sales.
Interesting. None of the other regular 2-channel IC's that I have cost over $30, so I'm not sure how much engineering or time spent on the sonic characteristics like you mentioned went into those. Most likely not a lot, if any.
It's just that where I'm running monoblocks that only have one RCA input, and use a 19" rackmount EQ that has connectors spaced far apart on the chassis, it's just easier to use single cables instead of the normal stereo interconnect. And the only single channel cables I've seen have either been subwoofer cables or digital coax ones.
Hey Jim,
I must be mis reading this, but aren't most good ic brands offered in singles??
Are you saying you just need one or that you want to buy ones that aren't stuck together??
If it is the latter, then most reputable brands and even ones that sound bad like monster offer singles at some point in their range.
If you need just one, you might try calling a manufacturer and see if they can help.
I don't know how "good" you're talking, but my budget for cables is maybe $200 at most , so I know that disqualifies a lot of what people may think is "good" around here :-)
Most of my experiences have been with Knukonceptz, Stinger, Monster...Knu sells a single "audio" RCA but at $60 a pair I'm not sure I can afford that right now. If I can get the exact same results with digital coax for half that price, I'd be all for that.
Ok I think I get it now.
You say $200 at most but then say $60 is more than you can afford at the moment????
You don't say what you are hooking up or how long you need things, but not knowing I'll give you a somewhat useless recommendation.
Kimber PBJ is a good budget cable. http://kimber.com/Products/Interconnects/PBJ/PBJ.aspx
I have also heard people talking about getting good cables that are affordable from bluejeanscable.com
Here is a kit that might work for your budget if you can solder a bit or you can get asembled:
http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?cPath=89_117_122&products_id=609&Cid=1108627a9f6f5fefd4f4d6d87add1634
I am sure there are many more options and FYI, I have only heard the Kimber cable so don't take the other links as an endorsement per se.
You say $200 at most but then say $60 is more than you can afford at the moment????
Honestly, I don't have a set budget on cables, I'm just trying to do it as cheaply as possible without resorting to shoddily-built cables. What I meant by that was that where I need two pairs of these (from preamp-> EQ and EQ-> monoblocks, about a meter long for each), it gets expensive to me fast.
I've had enough experience with IC's in autosound installation to know that the cheapest ones suck for durability, I've had good luck with cables in the past in the $20-25 range so that's where I'm most comfortable. My point in making this thread was wondering if there was any technical reason why digital coax wouldn't make a good audio cable, and if there was what I'd be losing. Personally, I would consider myself a "if a cable tests the same, it sounds the same" kinda guy, take that FWIW, I don't mean anything to anyone by that.
Thanks for the replies so far, and sorry for the long-winded response, I'm typing a lot tonight for some reason :-)
I'm talking about cables that would cost thousands of dollars if they were for sale.
If you can solder small joints, then making your own cable from coax would be a good way to get the sizes you need cheaply. Use decent RCA connectors for reliable performance.
Hi.
Given better choices, I would not use a coaxial cable as ICs for my audio amps 'cause it is not designed primarly for audio frequencies.
c-J
someone posted about digital cables needing to be made to more stringent specs than general I/Cs. The post went on to say the use of digital coax as I/Cs worked better than trying to use standard I/Cs as digital cables. I've not done this, nor do I remember where I read it (could have been this forum) just that it was in the last couple of weeks.
"If it ain't music, it might as well be a barkin' dog"
I guess threads need to be controversial to get attention in here :-P
No, threads need a better heading than "Dumb question" to get attention. I hate dumb threads with dumber headings.
Peace,
Tom E
It must be a gift to know everything there is about audio :(Sarcasm ...
It's true that trolls get way more attention than serious posters. I believe Jon Risch's cable recipes use coax cable for speaker cables.
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