At some point in the late nineties a particularly well thought of DAC and transport began to appear with an XLR socket alongside the coaxial and Toslink sockets. It was we think, the first appearance of a pro-audio digital connection called AES/EBU on domestic equipment.
We and quite a lot of the industry were rather exited. We had the DAC and transport so the first thing we did was to get some pro-audio correct (110 Ohm) impedance cable and build a 1m cable using Neutrik XLRs. When compared to a digital co-axial cable, the75 Ohm S/PDIF connection was better in every way. We found a cable that worked – it was nowhere near the 110 Ohm impedance but sounded good. Since then it’s a connection we’ve approached with caution. As more products have been appearing with AES/EBU connections (and because we use separate high frequency effective shielded conductors and Tuned/Super ARAY conductor configurations), it made sense to re-visit AES/EBU connections. The Signature Super ARAY AES/EBU cable is a very good place to start. We would still recommend that you try the S/PDIF Signature Super ARAY Digital at the same and decide for yourself which one is better.
- Revised Super ARAY conductor geometry
- Built from three conductors, each separately shielded
- Chord recommend the standard S/PDIF Signature
- Super ARAY cable is tried first
- Built by hand at The Chord Company
