How would a digital XLR 110 ohm cable compare to a more costlier Silver 75 ohm RCA cable? I will do the comparison between the two myself and post my results but I thought I would ask for other people’s experience between these two types of cables.
in theory they are two different digital formats going over them anyway (though practically they are very similar).
i use both formats in different places in my setup, though not “posh” cables, just regular home built using the appropriate impedance cable and neutrik connectors.
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Which would be better between Perfectwave transport and Directstream dac?
Honestly, I have no idea. With quality cables, I wouldn’t have thought very much, they are both (if I understand correctly) transformer isolated so preserving “islands of earthiness” as I like to call it, someone may weigh in with more authoritative knowledge here though 
I have always preferred AES/EBU (xlr) when available I don’t deal with DSD at all so I always use it between the streamer and the DAC instead of USB. Cost does not necessarily equate to better sound with cables. Sometimes just more advertising and dealer markup.
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I2s HDMI
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I dispensed with both a while ago when I decided to support DSD and very high rate PCM. Necessitating a switch to USB. That said, for years I used AES/EBU XLR which I strongly preferred. Kimber Orchid did it for me. It’s justly revered by many for AES/EBU. Were I still supporting AES/EBU that cable would remain my top choice hands down. It is still in Kimber’s lineup because of continuing demand.
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The better quality pure single crystal silver RCA Statement cable blows the lesser quality XLR cable out of the water. Between my Perfectwave transport and Directstream dac the XLR and RCA inputs are equal sounding but the better quality cable is mind blowing.
Between several Redbook transports and DACS over the years, I was a Kimber Orchid AES/EBU guy too. In all prior instances I found the Orchid sonically preferable to comparable premium S/PDIF cables from the same cable designer (Kimber D-60 & several Stereovox models). The Directstream likes a good I2S cable even better. Both the Wireworld Platinum Starlight HDMI and Revelation Audio Labs I2S/HDMI cables outperform the Orchid between a Jay’s Audio CDT2 MkII and a DirectStream Dac.
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