Why do digital cables sound different?

With all due respect, and I respect your 20 year experience as a digital designer, my 25 years as a professional musician tell me very loudly and clearly that I hear these differences. What's more, they aren't all that subtle in many cases. My musical colleagues (those that care about these things )also hear them. Is it not more productive and potentially enlightening to consider as plausible what the ears of those who use them for a living hear. I hate to break your bubble, but I assure you that the subtleties (subtle variations in timbre, pitch, time etc. ) that a musician has to be sensitive to playing in say a Brahms clarinet trio are far more subtle in absolute terms than the oftentimes obvious diifferences that are heard between cables, including digital. By the way, digitally recorded music to many colleagues of mine still does't "swing" the way it should and certainly not as well as good analogue. The groove or "fun factor" is diminished; not catastrophically but diminished none the less. I would like to respectfully encourage all of us to do more listening without focusing on the technical aspects of the sound. "Hearing" is not only what takes place in our ears, but letting that go on to touch us emotionally. Then that in turn frees us to "hear" more, and the cycle continues. There is infinitely more to hear/experience in most good music than most think. I remember that years ago when I first started reading the mags a couple of reviewers were fond of pointing out in their description of the prowess (or lack thereof)of various very expensive components, that these components were somehow to be praised for allowing the listener to "hear that the instrument being played was an English horn and not an oboe". This is almost laughable, I assure you that the difference in timbre between these two instruments is so obvious, that they can be easily heard over the lamest grocery store sound system. Then why bother? Because there is so much more than most imagine. I point all of this out only to encourage the cynics to consider the possibility that they are missing out on a whole lot of fun in their listening by letting technical issues dictate what and how much they should be able to hear. Happy listening.

Hey Gmkowal, Digital cables do sound different!. From a theoretical standpoint, there does not seem to be a basis to "different sounding digital cables". As an Electrical Engineer myself, who represents a high end manufacturer of A/D and D/A converters, I absolutley agree with your statements. I, unfortunately, like so many, cannot come up with a good explanation to why different cables yield different sounds. Perhaps it is not the transmission media per say, but the interaction at either or both ends, or a combination, or both, I wish I could find the reason, because it exists!. Sometimes the sonic differences can be as large as changing interconnects, really!. Each D/A converter is different to how large the change may be. (I am currently on my ninth digital front end, and my sixth transport, so I have quite a bit of experience here). If you have already tried to hear the differences (for giggles, since it can't possibly be true), and you don't hear any, then the resolution of your speakers, amplifiers or other components is not allowing you to experience the differences. Some of the major sonic differences between cables involve the harmonic structure of the music , the soundstage width or depth. Unfortunately, this is also the smallest detail to preserve all the way to the speakers. Please try to open your mind on this one, it took me 3 years of preaching "there is no way there can be a difference, I do this for a living!", then (for giggles) I tried to prove my point. Boy, was that an embarassing moment. As a digital designer, you should consider that maybe there is something we are not considering as trained and schooled "experts". In the end, maybe you can become the hero that comes up with a logical reason to "why do digital cables sound different?". I stopped trying, and just listen to music through my best sounding digital interconnect.

Why is it that when refuting the argument that there is no technical reason for a digital cable to impart a sonic difference, those who hear a difference resort to the, "well, your system must not be resolving enough and/or your hearing not good enough or well-trained enough" line? Why not, "you're claiming I'm pre-disposed to hear a difference, while I think you're pre-disposed to NOT hear a difference". I would guess that if you took all the systems owned by those who say that they don't hear a difference and compared them to the systems of those that do, the quality and resolving capabilities would be quite similar. In any case, that point of view always detracts from the discussion in general, especially when it's layered on top of, "I don't know why it sounds better, it just does". If the system is indeed more resolving, offer up a hypothesis on how a system on which such differences can be heard effects this improvement so we can all learn from it.

I have a small confession.. I enjoyed choosing the cables in my system. This enabled me to "customize" an otherwise mediocre system, and approach the high end without spending too much money. I know "too much" is relative. My cabling is valued around 35% of the cost of hardware, but thanks to Audiogon I was able to spend around 20%.

Response to Kthomas about not offering up a hypothosis. I refuse to offer up a purely speculative hypothosis, about an audio issue, that simply has no presently known logical eletrical engineering basis. I don't know how long you have been involved with high end audio, but let me tell you what happens with far reaching hypothosis, regarding electronic issues that don't seem to make any sense :THEY BECOME THE BASIS FOR MANY SNAKE OIL COMPANIES, THAT PURPORT TO BE HIGH END AUDIO MANUFACTURERS, TO INCORPORATE INTO THEIR PRODUCT LINES! I have seen this happen again and again. I remember when Class A amplifiers were considered the "best" sounding amplifiers, so therefore "Class A amplification are the best amplifier designs". The same thing happended with zero negative feedback designs, and more recently, SET amplification. Unfortunately, these so called "facts" are very misunderstood, and EXTREME generalizations at best. Each "fact" has set the high end electroinic industry back more than you can imagine. As audiophiles buy into these facts, they propenciate manufacturers to build these products, that incorporate these topologies, EVEN IF THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY TO GET GREAT SOUND! The best example that I can think of regards speaker cable design. It has been hypothosized that a great sounding cable needs a ton of current carrying capabilty. So in turn, the majority of the high end cable companies have produced these huge thick cables for us audiophiles. Indeed, many manufacturers don't even consider that thinner guage designs might produce a much better sound. After all, the more current carrying capability, the better bass and dynamics, right? This is a no longer a hypothosis, but a fact, right? Well, this is just not the case . I personaly know three speaker cable manufacturers that are pulling their hair out, trying to design cables that represent what the audiophile community thinks are better (read big and heavy)... BUT ...this is just not true with many better sounding, properly engineered configurations. Other cable companies (that I personaly know...read; big, well known names) have figured out how to make each of their larger cable offerings sound better, as they incorporate more conductors and make each cable more expensive in the process. More importantly, they can then charge an ear, arm and a leg for these huge cables. These guys (that know the real truth) are laughing all the way to the bank! The other cable manufacturers ,that design huge cables. are not necessarily trying to rip us off. They have just not discovered the ultimate truth about cable configurations and conuctor size.(It amazes me how a "fact" can be created overnight in the audio engineering community.) This is why I refuse to offer up speculative, potential non-sense hypothosis that has no engineering basis. When I have a legitimate hypothsis, that has some fundamental electronic explanation, I will always offer it up as a hypothosis (with hope that it will not become a "fact" overnight).