I recently replaced a Monoprice 'deluxe' 2m Toslink with a Lifatech 6' Silflex Premium Optical Interconnect. The Silflex connects the optical output of my Sony UHP-H1 Universal Disc Player to a Lexicon MC-12. I found the Silflex distinctly improved the sound: it's smoother, less etched and edgy, with less annoying gunk that seems to equate to "digital artifacts" in my experience. SACDs sound 3-dimensional with a stable, deep soundstage that was missing before. The extraordinary build quality of the cable and the knowledge that it is highly engineered are worthy of note. The manufacturer claims a 470-strand glass fiber bundle and a fine optical polish. It's beautifully made cable in any case and extraordinarily flexible and light. The 6' Toslink cost under $100 delivered and arrived 2 days from my order. A comparison between this unit and the much costlier AQ glass cables would be interesting (with a sidebar about why AQ offer 7 different grades of cables, 5 of which are plastic!) I suspect the differences between the Silflex and the high-zoot AQ's will be evanescent. This Lifatech sounds quite good, delivering excellent cost/performance even in my modest-resolution system.

So who is Lifatech? Apparently a super-tech-y maker of medical equipment that incorporates advanced glass fiber optical cables. They claim 35 years of experience in the development and production of advanced medical stuff like "miniature pediatric bronchial scopes" etc. [Hope I never need one of them!]. "The optical borosilicate fibers utilized in all of Lifatec USA's products are manufactured by our partner company, LiFaTeC GmbH, located in Huttenberg-Rechtenbach, Germany" First-class service from this small firm in upstate NY.

Is Toslink for you? It's not for everybody and not for every piece of gear. Some stuff, however, sounds better IMHO using Toslink than coax. If you want to find out you have to experiment and it's definitely worth owning a length of this Silflex to have around to play with; using cheap plastic fibers doesn't make for a reasonable comparison.

 I like mine - Awe-d-o-file 20:37:12 03/14/17 (2)
 RE:How... - Todd A. 08:12:01 03/15/17 (1)
 Optical v I2S - jusbe 04:53:24 03/22/17 (0)

...

Show full thread outline!

 I like mine - Awe-d-o-file 20:37:12 03/14/17 (2)
 RE:How... - Todd A. 08:12:01 03/15/17 (1)
 Optical v I2S - jusbe 04:53:24 03/22/17 (0)
 Recently bought one. Awaiting its arrival. nt - jusbe 04:12:44 03/14/17 (1)
 Got it. Sounds okay so far. - jusbe 10:59:05 03/18/17 (0)
 RE: REVIEW: Lifatech Silflex Cable - samoore 18:10:47 03/12/17 (0)
 RE: REVIEW: Lifatech Silflex Cable - Duster 17:45:35 03/12/17 (0)

Down below is pretty good for an optical cable too. Reasonable amounts of weight conveyed and overall, rhythmically secure.

That said, the Lifatec / optical link trades away bass articulation and drama when compared to the I2S link (Blue Jean, CAT7). The 1704Ks' way with dramatic, unmitigated bass definition and 'sonic architecture' comes more to the fore with the I2S link.

I have some Belden 8042 coming soon, and can compare that alongside on the same DAC for more insight. I should also note that the I2S upsamples the signal to 96kHz to the DAC, which (to my mind) adds complexity and could make it worse (although easier on the digital filter, presumably).

UPDATE: drama and excellent inner resolution gaining ground with Lifatec in place. Bass still a little rounder and less deep than I2S. But tones more realistic and less 'noisy' than I2S. Interesting.

Big J

"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."