Cable believers - Is there much difference between Belkin PureAV digital coax cables.

[rossman]

As per the title.

I ordered a Silver series PureAV digital coax from Amazon to try out with a Beresford Bushmaster Mkii, both orders arrived today, but.....

the cable that arrived isn't the silver series but is black. It looks like it is a lower spec OFC and dual shielding version than the Silver series which is supposed to be PCOCC and quad shielding. This was supposed to be a low cost option to try out with the BM but obviously I wanted the higher spec that was ordered.

I don't want to open the packet if it needs to be returned but I'll have to wait for a replacement to try out the Bushmaster as my CD player only has coax out. I can't try out the DAC until I have a digital coax

So my question is, is there much difference between these cables or will they be similar sounding? I'm waiting for a reply from the seller about replacement/return but the Amazon page is now showing the Silver series as out of stock. There is another (white) PCOCC quad shielded version available as well so that should be better than the black version.

All help and opinions will be greatly appreciated.

[DSJR]

Digits is supposed to be digits and engineers just cannot understand why 'we' claim to hear all manner of differences in analogue cables, let alone digital ones. The SPDIF receiver is supposed to have an 'envelope of tolerance' and as long as the digital signal hits well within this envelope, all is supposed to be well - and inaudible.

I like the Belkin cables very much and the chunkier AV ones do look the biz and don't cost much (I use an original 'Silver' RCA 2m pair and rate them in this length). I doubt you'd notice a huge difference between what you have and what you wanted, but the eyes have a huge influence on our choices, so my advice would be to go for the one you really wanted.

By the way, the Mark Grand HD1000 cable is a proper 75 Ohm cable I understand and perfect for RF and digital use. A 1m length won't cost the earth either and should be a doddle to shift should you wish to go higher for whatever reason :)

[NRG]

No RCA plug has a truly 75 ohm characteristic, the dimensions of the RCA simply don't allow it. The Canare design attempts to achieve it but ultimately it still has to mate with an RCA socket which is no where near 75 Ohm. To the OP stick with the cable you have, double shielding is good enough for SPDIF, fancy silver cables will only empty your bank account faster.

[rossman]

I did get a reply from the seller saying that they had sent the correct cable as they fulfilled the order based on part numbers. When I pointed out that the numbers were different on the product page and on the cable received, they said that it was the same cable because there was only a difference in the suffix. That is like saying a VW Golf S is the same as the Golf GTi because the suffix is different. The GTi is clearly of higher spec and so was the cable that I ordered. There is another basic difference as well, the lengths of the cable ordered and received are different.

This has become a matter of principle now as I feel that they have tried to fob me off. I wonder how many other people they have palmed off with an inferior version of a product ordered.

I did have a Mark Grant cable in mind for the future but as I wasn't 100% certain if I would be keeping the Bushmaster, I needed a low cost cable to test it out. I've now got the Bushmaster sitting about waiting to be tried and no coax cable. I'll have to dig out another CD player with optical out and take a cable out of my system to listen to the DAC. Not ideal but at least I will be able to tell if I like the presentation of the DAC.

[The Grand Wazoo]

In answer to your OP, I think that, in reality, you will only find small differences between any two given cables. The effect is grossly over-exaggerated by the industry that has grown up around selling them. Yes, differences can be clearly heard, but you can generally make far bigger gains by doing other things. A lot of these things are free!

[John]

I cannot comment on the digital cable but I did try the black cable phono version and was very disappointed with it

[keiths]

On the Belkin cables, the suffix is usually the length of the cable in feet.

[NRG]

Paul, any coax cable will 'work', the RCA connectors are a huge impedance mismatch so to try the DAC you don't need a 75ohm 'digital' cable. ;)

[nat8808]

I did get a reply from the seller saying that they had sent the correct cable as they fulfilled the order based on part numbers. When I pointed out that the numbers were different on the product page and on the cable received, they said that it was the same cable because there was only a difference in the suffix. That is like saying a VW Golf S is the same as the Golf GTi because the suffix is different. The GTi is clearly of higher spec and so was the cable that I ordered. There is another basic difference as well, the lengths of the cable ordered and received are different.

This has become a matter of principle now as I feel that they have tried to fob me off. I wonder how many other people they have palmed off with an inferior version of a product ordered.

I did have a Mark Grant cable in mind for the future but as I wasn't 100% certain if I would be keeping the Bushmaster, I needed a low cost cable to test it out. I've now got the Bushmaster sitting about waiting to be tried and no coax cable. I'll have to dig out another CD player with optical out and take a cable out of my system to listen to the DAC. Not ideal but at least I will be able to tell if I like the presentation of the DAC.

Yes, stand your ground!

Not least of all, you have the right BY LAW to return the goods within 7 days with no reason needing to be stated - distance selling regulations.

Amazon can shut down sellers on a whim, think it's a 3 strikes rule. Whilst I don't agree with that treatment of sellers, you can use it to your advantage against a dodgy seller.

State quite clearly that even though you have been given the wrong cable and therefore demand a refund on those grounds, you want to return the item under distance selling regulations anyway - if they don't comply with that then they are breaking consumer protection law and are unfit to sell on Amazon and that you will take it up with Amazon.

Also, make sure you save the webpage showing the details of what you SHOULD have got.

Don't open the packet!.

Anyway, as said above, you can test the Bushmaster out with ANY cable.. it will still work very well. You might find a proper digital cable wont make any sonic difference anyway.

[icehockeyboy]

I've very often used an ordinary ic when it should have been a 75ohm jobbie, and guess what?

It was night and day
It was as if a veil had been lifted
It was as if...........Actually, it made not one jot of difference! :)

[rossman]

Thank you all for your input.

I have already quoted distance selling regulations to them and they have emailed a prepaid return label for return of the cable. Unfortunately I don't have a printer at home so will have to wait until I can get it printed elsewhere. The product page is also linked to my order in my Amazon account and funnily enough there aren't any more of the cables left. It'll be interesting to see if there is once my cable is returned.

Good news that I can use any coax cable to try the DAC out. I had thought about using a single standard interconnect but was concerned that it might cause problems. I'll have to see what I've got in my spares box, I know I've got some Blue Jeans cable with Canare plugs, VDH with bullet plugs, DIY cables, so I should be able to find or make something to get me started.

[rossman]

Just a quick update.

The Belkin cable will be going back as I picked up a Cambridge Audo digital cable from Richer Sounds bargain bin while I was in there getting a Blu Ray player that we were waiting to arrive. In all reality it's probably no better than the Belkin but as I got some money off the Blu Ray the cable was effectively free (well that's how I'm going to look at it anyway :rolleyes:)

Just had a quick listen and it seems very slightly better than the DIY coax that I tried yesterday, there seemed to be a little bit more detail and was fuller sounding to my ears.