Impeadance matching is the most important factor.
This is going to get a little tekkie, so hang on.
It does not matter if the signal is analog or digital, the higher the frequency, the more important impeadance matching becomes. At RF, when a signal encounteres an impeadance mismatch, the signal is replected baclk up the line. The more the mismatch, the larger the reflection, and the higher the frequency, the greater the reflection. The specification for SP/DIF is for a 75 ohm impeadance. This means you need to use 75 ohm cable AND 75 ohm connectors. Well folks, most RCA connectors are NOT impeadance matched. The one big exception is Canare, which makes precision 75 ohm crimp on connectors for a very reasonable price.
Canare has premade 75 ohm cables available, and there are several people out there rolling good 75 ohm cables using Belden 1694A or 1695A with the Canare connectors, typically between $20 and $30.
For the best results, use BNC instead of RCA connectors. The BNC was designed to be an RF connector, and though originally designed to be a 50 ohm connector, there are 75 ohm available, such as Canare. The problem is that only the really good high end equipment usually comes with BNC's as an option, so the modestly priced CD or DVD you want to team up with a good DAC is not going to come with BNC's available.
I am not saying whether other factors, such as silver vs copper, or teflon vs. pe affect sound quality, but I am saying that if you are not impeadance matched, all the other cable snake oil will not matter.
This is going to get a little tekkie, so hang on.
It does not matter if the signal is analog or digital, the higher the frequency, the more important impeadance matching becomes. At RF, when a signal encounteres an impeadance mismatch, the signal is replected baclk up the line. The more the mismatch, the larger the reflection, and the higher the frequency, the greater the reflection. The specification for SP/DIF is for a 75 ohm impeadance. This means you need to use 75 ohm cable AND 75 ohm connectors. Well folks, most RCA connectors are NOT impeadance matched. The one big exception is Canare, which makes precision 75 ohm crimp on connectors for a very reasonable price.
Canare has premade 75 ohm cables available, and there are several people out there rolling good 75 ohm cables using Belden 1694A or 1695A with the Canare connectors, typically between $20 and $30.
For the best results, use BNC instead of RCA connectors. The BNC was designed to be an RF connector, and though originally designed to be a 50 ohm connector, there are 75 ohm available, such as Canare. The problem is that only the really good high end equipment usually comes with BNC's as an option, so the modestly priced CD or DVD you want to team up with a good DAC is not going to come with BNC's available.
I am not saying whether other factors, such as silver vs copper, or teflon vs. pe affect sound quality, but I am saying that if you are not impeadance matched, all the other cable snake oil will not matter.