I just purchased an inexpensive optical digital audio cable on the Internet and I swear I can hear the difference between the cheap one and the one I bought a while back at full price. Music output through the cheap one sounded tinny and softer (i.e. not as loud) than with the full price optical cable. I used the same music source and player in order to make "apple to apple" comparison and the cheap one did sound "inferior".
I am no expert but believe digital is digital so there should be no noticeable difference in sound. Anybody knows why such an audible contrast between the two optical cables?
cheap quality materials willdo the job,but dearer materials better at doing the same thing,if u buy state of the art equipment are u going to spend £3.99 for a scart lead and wonder why it looks and sounds crap,new product at times require different cables,and a hdmi cable i found out 4 different speed types,the faster the dearer,no wonder i keep collecting cables lol
There can be timing issues with poor quality digital cables that may induce some jitter, but this would involve synchronization problems more than differences in output that are defined by the "digital zero."
A major problem with determining quality by listening is the human tendency to: 1) prefer louder signals, and 2) prefer a signal that is "supposed to be better." This psychological tendency is the basis for the entire audiophile business. The only way to get around this tendency is to do double-blind testing in which random switching comparisons are made for listeners by people who also don't know which is which. Both the audience and the testers are "blind." Results are then correlated and statistically analyzed. It is shocking to find how many times people cannot truly distinguish between highly rated electronics and interconnects (speakers are easy); but when there is a clear distinction, that is significant. Test data usually bear out those distinctions. When they can't, they are the wrong test methods.
