Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual page 58

Prism Sound Titan
digital audio use, especially at high sample rates. Prefer also the shortest cable, since (all other
things being equal) loss of bandwidth is proportional to length.
Maximising cable bandwidth is important in optimising AES3 and S/PDIF data integrity at high sample
rates such as 192kHz, and in optimising conversion quality in systems which include poor-quality
converters. It is of little importance in protecting the data integrity of low sample rate systems, unless
cable lengths are very long.
We are taught to choose cables of the correct impedance for the job. Whilst this doesn't have a direct
impact on bandwidth, it can have a significant effect on data integrity at high sample rates and where
cabling is short (and let's face it: at 192kHz cables had better be short...) because the reflections
resulting from an impedance mismatch can affect the eye pattern at the receiver horribly. This can be
much worse where non-matched connectors (such as XLRs) are present part way along the cable,
such as in the case of 'breakout' cabled systems. For this reason, it may be better at high sample
rates to use a continuous cable suitably terminated at each end rather than a 'breakout' arrangement.
In summary
· Use good-quality high-bandwidth cables - this means cables specifically designed for digital audio,
or perhaps for analogue video - analogue audio cables are not suitable;
· Don't use cables that are longer than you need;
· At high AES3 or S/PDIF sample rates, consider eliminating 'breakout' connectors in the line by
using a single length of high-bandwidth cable suitably terminated at each end;
· Consider using TOSLINK interconnections in systems where switch-mode interference is a
problem, but remember that poor-quality TOSLINK cables can have very low bandwidth.
© 2013 Prism Media Products Ltd
Operation Manual Revision 1.00
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