Audioquest Cinnamon Digital Cables

Hey @Dave, any thoughts on this?

 

Marc, from my limited understanding Coax will be better sounding than Optical so you might want to wait, if it's even a possibility for you, and go that route. I haven't done the leg work on this theory though either.

 

Thanks man. I've already got two Carbon Coax cables. Problem is, I'm adding a third digital component and only have an optical input left.

My rational is, my Sony universal transport sounds better than my streamer, and hopefully the Cambridge Audio CXC will sound even better than the Sony with CDs, so I'd like to use the Carbon Coax with the new transport, and use the optical for the streamer.

I guess the question for those more familiar with optical cables than me and Dave, should I spend the money on an Audioquest Carbon toslink, or is the Blue Jeans optical cable good enough?

 

Understood and I believe you'd be better of with getting that Carbon toslink. There's got to be a reason why it's more expensive more than looks.

 

I was thinking the same, but was hoping because it's toslink I wouldn't have to lol

 

I've tried the Audioquest Forest and Cinnamon USB cables between my MacBook Pro and NAD M51 DAC, among numerous other USB cables. I could not hear any audible difference. One is green color, the other is red, and one costs more. That's the difference.

 

Gotcha, but I heard a definite improvement going from Forest to Carbon Coax cables between my Node 2i and Sony X800 to my PS Audio dac, so...

 

I found these two threads quite enlightening and they made me think twice about dropping too much extra cash on digital cables .......

Coaxial cables - does $$$ matter?

Anyone noticed a difference between digital cables?

 

The problem with those kind of threads is you've got two sides that won't budge. On the one side you've got people who've tried more expensive cables and most of them hear a difference, on the other you've got the objectivists, engineers and wannabe engineers, most of which have never even tried more expensive cables, spouting it can't make a difference, it's just 1's and 0's! It's in your heads! Double blind tests!

I've heard a positive difference with better digital cables, and I've even had my wife, who can give a schiit, listen to keep me honest lol, and she also hears a difference. If it's in our heads, so be it, better is better, no matter how you get there lol.

On that note, let's keep this thread on track. I'd rather it not head down the bumpy road of most other cable threads. Thanks

 

So last night I listened to an album I know very well, Radiohead In Rainbows, through the Node 2i with the Blue Jeans toslink cable, and man, it was noticeably worse. Ugh. Is it the change from coax to toslink? Or the Blue Jeans cable? Guess I'm gonna have to order the Carbon...

 

No problem ...... I actually found the first thread remained quite civil with lots of info that gave me cause to re-think my thinking, but you know if you're hearing substantial differences or not, so all the best with the quest.

 

Thanks. Substantial would be an overstatement lol, but it is noticeable.

I'm home today and went back and forth between the Audioquest Carbon Coax and Blue Jeans toslink cables. The difference wasn't as pronounced as a thought it would be, but still worth the extra cost.

Basically, the Carbon had a bit more air up top, slightly wider soundstage and deeper bass. The optical sounded more 'digital' to me, which as a mostly vinyl guy, is a no no.

I'm just wondering how much of that is going coax to toslink, or the quality of the cables themselves? Guess I'll order a Carbon toslink and see how it goes. Thanks for the feedback guys

 

I've owned Chord Chorus (£225), Atlas Navigator (£200+), JPS Labs The Analog Mains Cable (£450) and a few others at various price points down. I think that's good enough to form an impression with my gear. Oh, and that includes Audioquest's Cinnamon USB cable.

I'd probably recommend potential buyers to look at Fisual cables - hand made, well constructed and relatively inexpensive. I use Havana and Havana XL cables these days with a variety of XLR & RCA terminations. The AQ Cinnamon retails for £100 or so for the 2m length (I think) but was less noticeably different from the bundled WD USB cable that came with the external HDD I use. This wasn't surprising.

 

My rig is wired with pretty much all Audioquest, so I'm going to go the Carbon route, but thanks for the advice good sir!

 

The circuitry of the interface could sound different on your DAC. USB, coax, optical, are not always equal in SQ. That's why people think they need USB decrapifiers like the REGEN, JitterBug, etc. Ayre DACs are among the best, and they only support USB.

I have a NAD DAC. I don't hear a difference between USB, coax, and optical, but optical gets a bad rap for jitter when poorly implemented. I have a high-quality LifaTec glass toslink cable, but I prefer a $50 Kimber USB cable with my current setup.

 

If you can get them where you are, give the Fisuals a spin. £55 for a 1m pair of the Havana XLs, or about £35 for a 1m pair of the regualr Havana RCAs. Can't hurt to try at that money!

 

All this may be for nothing anyway. Just got the CXC and have it hooked up and I'm not sure it sounds any better than my Sony X800 universal transport. I'll let it run in a few days, and if it doesn't improve, it's going back to Amazon and then I'll be back to business as usual...

 

Yeah, the CXC is going back. If it's any better, it's a hair, and I'm not sure it's even that. The hit to the Bluesound going optical is subtle, but not at all to my liking. It's got a slight digital edge to it now that's a big turn off to these ears. Oh well...

 

Hi guys! Sorry to hijack your thread but it’s in context although 7 weeks late. I just joined The Forum after many years of lurking. Sorry about that, but I learn so much from you! I recently bought a Node 2i and am looking to buy a coax cable for it after listening to RCA and a cheap $6 Toslink cable. It’s a price/performance leader. Double wow!

My lead coax contenders are the new Black Cat Veloce replacement cable ($299), the AudioQuest Carbon and the WireWorld Silver Starlight 8. I’m also open to less expensive cables like the Cullen Nitin.

I listen to he Node 2i through a Cary DAC 100t and a Cary SLI-80 Signature. So I’m a total tube guy after years of SS. I don’t want to go too soft or too detailed (vinyl guy) but am looking for synergy with my current system. The RCA was okay with Harmonic Technology Truth Link but I thought my DAC through Toslink was better. So I expect a good coax cable to be even better through my DAC.

thanks!

 

I've not heard the other cables, but I'd definitely recommend the Carbon with the Node 2i. At least with my gear, the premium over 20-30 dollar entry level cables from Blue Jeans and Audioquest was well worth it...

 

Thanks SirMarc! I had the Carbon first on my choice list after reading your comments in this thread. I did some further research and found the other choices were frequently mentioned as popular cables in that price range. What did you find for burn-in time? Would a cable cooker help? I have one of the inexpensive ones (FryKleen, I think is its name) but haven’t used it in many years.

 

The difference was immediately noticeable. Maybe it got a bit smoother with some time on it? I'm always going back and forth from vinyl to digital, so I dont get a steady progression to listen for break in on digital cables.

 

I'm using AQ HDMI Chocolates for my tv's. I'm getting great pictures and no issues.

 

I just picked up some of these optical cables. They work great and the company is very good to deal with.
Toslink Optical – DH Labs Silver Sonic

 

A plague on this forum for sure.