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Model: | 1695a Digital Interconnect |
Category: | Cable |
Suggested Retail Price: | $65 |
Description: | Digital Interconnect |
Manufacturer URL: | The Bolder Cable Company |
Model Picture: | View |
Review by Sean H on September 18, 2001 at 15:09:00 IP Address: 216.243.207.214 |
Add Your Review for the 1695a Digital Interconnect |
After acquiring the peculiar Art DI/O DAC, I began thinking about a digital interconnect. Should I buy one? Make one myself? Based on my experiences in the past I knew that the quality of a digital interconnect was important, hearing this first hand when I graduated from a standard Monster Cable brand video cable to a Canare cable back when I owned an MSB Link DAC. How the heck does the quality of a cable carrying 0's and 1's make a difference in the sound? I soon learned how and why.I had decided to make my own digital interconnect to marry my Art DI/O to my Audio Refinement CD Complete, which was now delegated to the roll of being a "transport." I could all but hear the CD Complete moaning and groaning about having to relinquish the D to A responsibilities, looking at me with drawer wide open shouting "what and the hell is this thing you are connecting me to!?" After perusing the latest in DIY digital interconnect recipe's, I noticed the popular Belden 1506A was getting a lot of good comments as a good base cable to use. With some left over 89248 I had lying around I checked the Belden web site and realized it was nearly identical to the 1506A in terms of design and materials. Using fairly budget RCA's I built a one meter cable.
The sound of this cable was actually pretty good. At least as good as a Canare digital cable I once owned, if my memory is correct. Intrigued by the sound of this cable I decided I'd look into some better connectors and through this I realized much of the recent discussion of DIY digital interconnects involved using the slightly larger Belden 1695A cable. It was then, through this, that I found Wayne and The Bolder Cable Company. Intrigued by Wayne's enthusiasm and the design of his rendition of a 1695A based digital interconnect, that I decided to give one a try.
The Bolder Cable Company's digital interconnect is made of Belden 1695a Teflon insulated, 75 ohm, coaxial cable with an added external shield and a capacitor. This design helps to isolate EMI, ground out RFI and help reduce jitter pickup. Canare True 75 ohm RCA connectors are used to insure correct impedance matching. Available with RCA or BNC connectors, I have a RCA type. I was immediately impressed by the fit and finish, exhibiting a very high degree of craftsmanship and top quality construction. With cable installed and the CD Complete seeming in a better mood, I plopped in a CD which the CD Complete gobbled up with new enthusiasm. (ok, ok, enough with the annoying jokes).
The first thing I noticed was an immediate sense of increased air and dimensionality, an apparent increase in fine detail and transparency. There was a much increased sense of air around instruments, a fuller more palpable sense of space in which sounds were within. With the increased sense of air and space notes seemed to hang on longer and and were more telling of the acoustical environment. The high frequencies were smoother as well, airy and extended but very smooth and refined. I hadn't realized it but the Bolder cable made me realize just how edgy and slightly harsh the highs were before. I also noticed that the lower treble and upper mids were very smooth and liquid, where before there was almost a "shouty" character. This cable is also very quiet, seemingly lowered noise in the background, allowing better contrast among sounds, lending to a much more relaxed and effortless presentation of fine detail.
I was immediately reminded of another quality digital interconnect I once owned, an FMS Dataline Digital (retailed for $300): full, musical, clean, dimensional. If there was one word that could describe the Bolder digital cable it's definitely "musical," in my experience. For the first couple weeks I could sense a slightly rounded character in dynamics. But in time this seemed to have evened out. Wayne at Bolder Cables said the bass would deepen in time too, but I have to say I really didn't notice any lack of depth or quality of the bass. Not that I even cared in all honesty, the sheer musicality of this cable had me riveted upon first listen.
One note about using this cable with the Art DI/O. The Art seems to be very sensitive to the quality of the digital cable connected to it. I've tried three different cables with it and in each case I not only heard differences in the sound but also in the Art's ability to lock on to the digital signal. Though the Art still has some trouble locking on to the digital signal every once in a while, it's much less frequent with the Bolder cable. Sonically, I found the Bolder cable to be a great match for the Art. In my experience, the Art could sound a tad tense and at times seem a little overly excited in parts of the spectrum. With the Bolder cable in line the Art is more relaxed and more liquid, most notably from the upper mids through the treble.
I would have a hard time thinking that anyone would not like this cable, especially based on any sonic character it might seem to invoke of it's own. If open, clean, transparent, yet musical and smooth is your cup of tea then this cable might be right up your alley. I am sure much of this is due to the additional outer shield and capacitor. Whatever it is I simply loved the sound of this cable the moment I put it in my system. It made a huge impact and improvement and at $65 it's one amazing deal. My suspicion is this cable would give cables several times it's price a run for the money. Wayne at The Bolder Cable Company definitely has a skill in constructing cables, which is mirrored in all the other cables I have received from him, which I hope to report on soon. A pleasure to work with and noted as being "fast and friendly," I highly recommend his 1695A digital cable - and so does the CD Complete ;)
Sean H
Associated equipment click here or click A next to my name
Product Weakness: | None in my experience. |
Product Strengths: | Build quality, construction and connectors. Additional shielding. Able to sound open and detailed while remaining very musical and smooth. |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | . |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | . |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | . |
Speakers: | . |
Cables/Interconnects: | . |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | . |
Room Comments/Treatments: | . |
Time Period/Length of Audition: | 45 days |
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | . |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Your System (if other than home audition): | . |
Follow Ups:
Great review, Sean, and I totally agree with you. The Bolder is a big improvement over the Canare Digiflex I was using. I tried it with both Audio Alchemy DDE 3.0 and EVS Millennium II DACs and continue to be impressed with the improved transparency and dynamics. And even cold out of the box, the Bolder delivered a surprising increase in bass output. I'd have described the overall sound as being smoother, but you said it much better, "lower treble and upper mids were very smooth and liquid." It isn't "smooth" in the sense of glossing over or softening the sound, but rather letting note flow more easily, making them sound more connected. Really glad I tried it.Steve
My next upgrade. But since I'm a DIY type of guy, I'll be making my own, which hopefully won't be a lot worse. I've been saving my small length of 1695A for something special. BTW, how long is the Bolder cable? Is it the same length as your previous cable? There is some controversy about minimum length for digital cables. I really have no experience with them. (I'm using 2' 1506A with a new DI/O right now - nothing's burnt-in yet.)
Hi Craig,The last cable I was using was about 30 inches, the Bolder Cable is closer to 40 inches (1 meter). Though the Bolder digital cable uses the Belden 1695a base cable, the beauty of the Bolder design is an added outer shield as well as the inclusion of a capacitor as well. Not to mention Canare RCA's. It's the sum of all these parts that I think makes the whole of the great sound. Something to keep in mind if you make your own.
I see you are enjoying your Art DI/O! I meant to shoot you and email about it. It certainly is a nice little piece. Have you tried grounding it yet?
Sean H
Thanks Sean. Those extra features of the Bolder cable are what made me say "not much worse". The thing about building cables for me is not really a $$ thing, it's just that I like to build things, and will always be building something, so might as well make it something useful (instead of SOME of the things I make)... My 1506A cable looks kinda pretty, the way I dressed it, so naturally it sounds very fine... I'm blasting the full DI/O output through it, so I guess my pre is one that tolerates the higher voltage and still gives very good volume control range.I haven't done anything "different" with the DI/O yet, except having removed the tube and listened to it in the external sync mode for a few hours. I guess by grounding you mean connecting the DI/O case to the preamp case (in my case, the phono ground terminal)? Or is it directly to the AC supply ground? TIA
> I guess by grounding you mean connecting the DI/O case to
> the preamp case (in my case, the phono ground terminal)? Or
> is it directly to the AC supply ground?If the preamp's chassis is grounded to the AC ground then you could connect the chassis of the DIO to the chassis of the preamp. Myself, I simply ran a wire from the DIO chassis to the screw on the AC outlet. I noticed a nice improvement, as many have.
I do think this will vary from system to system. In my case, both my integrated and transport had power cords with a lifted ground, so in essence all the chassis in my entire system were floating. By connecting a wire from the chassis of the DIO to the AC outlet I created a ground reference for all the chassis, which created drain for noise. All the components are connected via interconnects, which are connected to the chassis (chassis ground) of each component.
Some have reported the type or size of wire matter when grounding the chassis, as well as where to connect it to the chassis, i.e. a screw, laying loose under the chassis. Give it a try, you might be surprised.
Sean H
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