does its job very well (see review summary); robust construction

none, but even though the company says the cable is non-directional, it does produce more "air" around the instruments runnning in one direction than in the other. (I wonder if the folks who weren't as enthusiastic aboout this cable tried doing that)

Relatively short (50 hours or less) burn-in leads to a wide open soundstage with tons of detail, well-proportioned tonal balance and huge dynamics. All this means is that the cable is doing its job--transmitting digital data. The same can't be said about some other digital coaxials in its price range.

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Cardas High Speed digital/video cable, AudioQuest Quartz (single IC used as digital cable)

THE BULLET PLUG!!!!!! Also, a very well built, handsome cable, priced right, from a very good cable company. But it is the combination of a great cable and a great connector that has me sold!

None, worth every penny.......

Digital Coax Cable...Wow! Holy mackeral!!! I am a devoted Outlaw cable man, having written a very good review for their PSC Digital Coax Cable recently, but I had a chance to try the Silver Serpent Digital Coax w/ Bullet Plug RCA's, and I must say, these cable prove there are differences between cables, types of cables, etc.......This cable is remarkable, and I have feeling alot of it has to do with the EICHMANN BULLET PLUG. Both the Outlaw PSC and the Better Cable Silver Serpent use silver in their cables...Outlaws is 100% silver, while Better Cables is a silver coated copper cable.....but the Bullet Plugs...they truly deserve a whole category for themselves. Seriously!!! They are so different, and so logically superior.....why didn't someone think of them sooner!!! An Australian invention, and I think this new plug has alot to do with what I am hearing. I was told they are best for audio applications, not for video (sure would like to know what the differences are). When comparing with my analog cables, Cardas 300B Microtwin (I am an analog "believer") I must admit that the differences are there, subtle, but noticable. It has a warmth I never thought you could get from digital....hence my analog preference. But I am finding myself listening, and preferring, the digital connection now, something I never thought possible!! I seriously think the EICHMANN BULLET PLUG is one of the BEST NEW IDEAS in cable design in a long time. I think this is the reason I love these cables, and would never want to go back to regular RCA plugs on any of my audio cables again. I am sold on the Bullet Plug, and think it makes the difference. Better Cables and Bullet Plugs...remember these names when shopping for an audio cable!

Similar Products Used:

Outlaw PSC

PLEASE understand that you are transmitting not only a DATA stream but a CLOCK signal. This clock is embedded in the data and is used to reconstruct the ANALOG signal that is what you listen to. You DON'T listen to bits. You AREN'T getting any bit errors. You are introducing time-based ERROR into the reconstruction of the signal. This is called jitter. It's nothing new. In digital systems, as long as the jitter doesn't "clip" the digital signal from being received, all is well. However, when this signal is source-sychronous and the receiver uses its to reconstruct the analog waveform, the timing of this clock can become very important. The public has been convinced that "digital is better". The term CD-quality now refers to everything analog signal that has been digitized regardless of quality (bitrate). Have you heard XM radio? It's horrible - it makes me cringe. It's advertised as CD quality. Anyway, back to digital interconnects.. No, your average Joe isn't going to hear the difference. If it makes you happy to use spaghetti to connect your system, then so be it. However, please do some research and get your facts straight. Talk to a professional. I've spoken with engineers at Dolby Labs, and engineers that designed DVDs/DVD players/DVD writers, as well as read many publications on the topic (and am also an engineer by trade). There is an excellent article by Bob Katz, a very highly respected recording engineer. I will send a link to you if you'd like. But, you are probably convinced that you are right and you'll never give what I'm saying a chance. That's why you'll never hear the difference. Why you'd even post a "review" here must be trollish in nature. $60 is rather expensive for spaghetti, no? Brad Marcus sent me this cable for a professional review. That is what I conducted. It's funny to see how many people don't even read it before they comment on it, or even completely dismiss it as hype. Yep, Monster Cable is to high end cables as Bose is to high end speakers. "Better sound through marketing". I'll give you that!

I hear basses much better,but not only basses.

hallo, I bought this cable from better cable,and I use this cable between my satellite receiver (which has a SPDIF output) and midiman CO2 converter. Before this cable I was using a digital cable. But now I hear much better music with silver serpent digital coax cable. The sound from Violoncello is now first class. Hawe a nice music. cetinkaya oncul ankara/turkey (from bettercable)

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Yes I used from Ecosse reference high defination 75 Ohm cable.

Price, quality, and ease

None

Knowing that a digital stream is a digital stream, and that the analog medium it travels over contributes nothing to the sound (as long as it doesn't introduce errors), I happily use the cheapest RCA cables I can find - forget even 75 ohm connections, as I'm only going two feet or so. S/PDIF is a digital format with error checking built in - as long as the digital stream gets through, it will get through clear and pristine. If it doesn't get through, it will cause errors, which will then usually be corrected automatically. If they can't be corrected, there will be OBVIOUS pops and clicks as loss of frame or block error rate problems occur. If so, replace the cable. But if it gets through, it gets through. Additionally, the cable doesn't know or care which bit is which when it passes the digital stream - it doesn't know which are the highs or lows, and since the data is being passed as a constant rate bitstream, there's not more data being passed when there is high frequency content as opposed to low. Thus, it's impossible that a cable could 'reduce treble' or 'make the bass weak' as some other reviews suggest. Repeat after me: if the digital stream is passed, it is passed cleanly with no effect on the analog data that has been encoded. It can't affect it, no matter what you'd like to imagine. I'm not a home-stereo-type audiophile. I'm a professional, with more than a decade in the industry, working on high-end audio production, repair and maintenance. I've built six professional studios, and have refurbished SSL, Neve, and Trident consoles (upwards of a half-million dollars each). If you want good audio, save money on your cables, especially the digital ones - that's just a joke. Spend it instead on better speakers, better DACs, better amplifiers, and better source material - look at the engineering, not the hype.

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Zip cord (really!) and Chinese-made RCA connectors (9 out of 10 guaranteed to work)

the company gets free profit

the minds of the purchasers

This answers the question, Do audiophiles imagine things which aren't there? Yes, apparently they do. Big surprise.

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basic copper wire

Makes people spend money who shouldn't have it to begin with.

Overpriced junk that should be used for analog hookups.

All of you people here who are pretending you can hear the difference between this cable and a standard, $5.00 RadioShack RCA cable are fooling yourself. Maybe you haven't read up the SPDIF specifications, but all you need is roughly 75ohm cable, capable of RS-422 signaling at 3MHz, which can easily be met by non-"digital" RCA audio cable, RF coax, CAT5 or even short runs of modular cord. Read up here: http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html If the signal is getting mangled, then we can assume bit errors are occuring at some unknown rate. One in every 32 of those errors will occur in the highest bit of a transmitted frame, which will result in an annoying pop that will definitely be noticable. It will happen once in every 32 errors: RF-leakage doesn't "know" one bit from the next. Noise is noise. So if the cable sucks, you'll hear it right away. If it sounds good, that means it's a perfect connection. No cable can make it sound better. The standard allows either perfect information, or an annoying, grating static. No more information can be conveyed (since it won't be decoded), and cabling isn't going to change that.

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Twisted bell wire and alligator clips (no joke).

Price, price, price $80/1 meter. Clean highs and bass is much faster and cleaner in comparison to Monsters ILS 200.

None yet.

This cable opened the highs and got rid of the hissing sound I experienced with Monster ILS100 & ILS200 female voices (immediately after switching-WOW). Did not think a digital cable can make this much of a difference. Highs and lows are cleaner and lean soundstage is no longer there. My normal listening volume level increased in sounds and I no longer have to turn up the volume to feel that bass and high extension. I never thought spending $80 would improve my system this much. Sounding better everyday. I'm finding myself listening to more music and cd's I've not listen to in a while. For those of you who has a system similar to mine (Onkyo 797, Polk RTI100/fronts, CSI40/center, fx500/rears, Def Tech 200tl, Kimber 8VS fronts and center bi-wired)give these a try. I will now be getting rid of my Monster MK400 (connected to my Denon CD Player) interconnects and will purchase BetterCables interconnects. PS: When I made the switch from Monster ILS200 to this cable - I did not make any adjustments on treble & bass controls. It's a much cleaner sound all in all.

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Monster Cables. Never again.

Wide soundstaging Less money spent on packaging Looks like a serious cable

Lacked detail, depth and dynamics Harsh treble

For the full review see http://www.pobox.com/~migliore --- February 13, 2000 Copyright é 2000 by Rob Migliore, migliore@pobox.com. http://www.pobox.com/~migliore Better Cables 75-Ohm Digital Audio Coaxial Interconnect Conclusion I must look at this cable s success in two ways: aesthetics and performance. You might ask what aesthetics have to with cables. I suppose you could place people into three groups: " Musical Experience is Enhanced by Performance and Looks " Musical Experience is Enhanced by Performance Only " Musical Experience is Enhanced by Looks Only It might be hard to imagine folks fitting into the last category, but I can think of at least one manufacturer that thrives off of these guys. Anyway, my point is that performance isn t the only key thing for some folks and Better Cables realizes this. Many suggest that the boutique cable market is founded on it. Better Cables strives for both aesthetics and performance. While the Better Cables Digital Cable couldn t compete with my boutique cable in terms of looks, it certainly appears more high-end than my Monster Cable. I give a big thumbs up for the braided sheath. But, looks only get you so far. You may think by my blind tests results that the Better Cables Digital Cable doesn t belong anywhere in your system. That is not true. I would conclude that my boutique cable did outperform the Better Cables, but you must decide by how much. By $310? Is that the best place for my money? But wasn t the Monster Cable better for about the same money? Maybe, maybe not. The cables showed diversity rather than clear superiority. System matching would be an important deciding tool to use when choosing between them. How will they work in my system? Also, do you prefer the aesthetics of the Monster Cable or the Better Cable? I surely wouldn t hesitate to recommend the Better Cables Digital Cable. However, one cable does not fit all. Let your ears decide in the comfort of your own home. Addendum Near the completion of my review, Brad Marcus of Better Cables sent me a new and improved digital cable. I cannot physically distinguish it from its predecessor, but I m told it s completely different . In fact, I had to put a piece of tape on one of them to tell them apart. After awhile, I noticed that the new cable was more flexible maybe one has a braided center conductor and the other has a solid core one? This new cable is more expensive than the old one: $60 versus $40. Let s hear how it sounds . . . I didn t have much of a chance to do a complete blind test, so I did some casual listening between the new cable, the old one and my SR reference cable.

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Synergistic Research Digital Corridor Reference Phase II, RCA 1m, $350 (my boutique cable) Monster Cable Datalink 100, RCA 1m, $40

Excellent sonics, build quality, and customer service. An extremely neutral cable - can't believe it's only 80 bucks!

None found.

This seems to be a super cable for the money. I'm running it between an older CD player and a 24/96 D/A converter. The results are fantastic - natural timbre, from the extended, well-defined bass up to the crystal clear treble. This cable does not seem to add any jitter, as the upper frequencies are totally free of grit and grain. Tons of detail and air, with awesome rhythm and pace. Hmmm, perhaps it's my new DAC, but there is no question that this cable is delivering an accurate digital signal. I have also tried an Audioquest digital cable, but it sounded nowhere near as open and detailed as the Silver Serpent. I was amazed at how fast I received the cable after ordering it. I placed the order late on a Friday afternoon, and received it on Monday.

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Audioquest digital cable.