Bits are bits. Well, not exactly.

Bits are bits, right? Well, not exactly. I expected digital cables to be the dull part of my testing, and they were the surprise.

I tested USB from cheap Amazon Basics to AudioQuest Carbon, coaxial from generic to high end, and balanced AES/EBU. On USB the difference is there, but how revealing your system is decides whether you hear it. Coaxial was more noticeable, smoother and more refined with the better cables, and AES/EBU into my high-end DAC is where I heard the real differences.

How can a digital cable rival a speaker cable? It sits right where the signal starts being developed, at the source, at the heart of the chain. The differences can be smaller than with analogue cables and still, surprisingly, bigger than with speaker cables. Upgrade them together with your electronics, never ahead of them.

Let me be direct about the conclusion, because I put it on my list of DAC lessons without any softening. Cables matter. If you cannot come to terms with that, you do not need to move an inch further, because you are in denial already.

Bits are bits until you sit in front of a revealing DAC. After that, a digital cable is a cable like any other.