Cables for Devialet D200

[f1eng]

Hi again everyone!

I have a Devialet coming to me!  I have heard that the cables make a pretty significant difference with the Devialet.  I have a Transparent Premium USB. Any recommendations for a power cable?  Does the optical cable make much a difference? As long as the fibers are clean I would be surprised if that would make a difference. 

Best regards,
Stephen

Pim, thanks for trying to get us back on track.

Stephen, I'm new to the Devialet as well so don't yet have experience with different power cords, but I have tried different optical cables so can give you my opinion on that question of yours. I've also tried USB cables, but not a Transparent so can't compare anything to your USB cable. In short, optical cables do make an audible difference to me (and my friends) in my system. The difference isn't as big as USB cables, and USB sounds better than optical in my system.

I had a generic optical cable and when I saw a Monster Cable for 99¢ I picked it up to have one in my laptop bag. I was shocked by how much better it sounded, which led me to do a little research and buy a Lifatec Silflex when I found a long one at a huge discount (I was hoping to use the length for a Phantom). The Lifatec sounds far better than the Monster when connecting my Mac Mini to my Devialet 400. That's just in my system though, and what you're connecting to both ends of the optical cable will matter.

Optical cables need to work in synergy with the particular optical transceiver to which they're connected. From what I understand the biggest difference between optical cables is the material (glass or plastic), number of fibers, and material quality (fiber specs., end polish, etc.). An imprecise optical transceiver may work best with a single big plastic fiber like the Monster, while a better transceiver may benefit from a cable composed of many high-quality glass fibers with well-polished ends. The Lifatec is made of 470 glass strands with a 1-micron polish on the ends. For comparison the AudioQuest Diamond is made of 280 glass strands with an unspecified "precision polish" and further down their line uses fewer fibers and eventually drops from glasses to plastics. I haven't learned what optical transceiver is in the Devialet, but it seems good enough to take advantage of a multi-fiber glass cable so I suggest trying one of those. Again, when connecting my Mac Mini to my D400 (mini optical to Toslink) I prefer the Lifatec to the Monster and the Monster to a generic cable, and not by an insignificant amount in each case. However, you may hear something different in your system and as always if you can borrow a few cables of various types from your dealer then you can hear for yourself whether it makes any difference to you in your system. I enjoy the science so like to learn about the technical aspects of these things, but in the end only your ears can make the final judgement so I offer my experience only as one data point for you.

I hope that helps answer your question, Stephen, if you're still reading this thread.

An optical cable either does deliver a signal from one end to the other or it does not. The consructional details may influence whether the cable is good enough to stream 24/192 or won't go over 24/96, but if the signal is there there is absolutely no mechanism, other than the placebo effect which could influence the SQ.
Having said that the placebo effect is very real so if one is susceptible to it the SQ difference will be very real in your head even if it isn't there physically, so is probably worth it for any cable, digital analogue or power.