17-Dec-2015, 18:06
I tried some months ago several AES/EBU cables and found that there were obvious differences between them:
Two different versions of Mogami were the worse. DH Labs D-110 and Acoustic Zen MC2 were somewhat better but had quite different sound signature. Kimber Kable Orchid was better but I tried also a simple DIY cable and that was the best.
That DIY cable is based on http://www.venhaus1.com/aesebu.html. It uses just a single 24awg twisted and bonded pair extracted from a Belden 1874A Cat5 cable. As that pair is bonded teflon it maintains much more a constant spacing and therefore constant impedance than simple twisted wires. I used Xhadow XLR connectors (which do not require soldering) and there is no shield or ground/earth connection. I also did not use any additional tubing, coverings as they made the cable sound worse.
Two different versions of Mogami were the worse. DH Labs D-110 and Acoustic Zen MC2 were somewhat better but had quite different sound signature. Kimber Kable Orchid was better but I tried also a simple DIY cable and that was the best.
That DIY cable is based on http://www.venhaus1.com/aesebu.html. It uses just a single 24awg twisted and bonded pair extracted from a Belden 1874A Cat5 cable. As that pair is bonded teflon it maintains much more a constant spacing and therefore constant impedance than simple twisted wires. I used Xhadow XLR connectors (which do not require soldering) and there is no shield or ground/earth connection. I also did not use any additional tubing, coverings as they made the cable sound worse.
