Since the day I published the Reference Music Server article and briefly mentioned a custom cable I use to connect my Lynx AES16e card to my DAC I have received several inquiries about this cable. It's really no surprise that audiophiles want a better cable than what's currently available. Especially when the only cable available to consumers is a breakout cable with eight AES/EBU wires. For single wire applications this breakout cable leaves an extra eight cables hanging from the back of the computer (7 AES & 1 BNC). This doesn't sit well with many audiophiles. Fortunately there is progress being made and Lynx AES16/e card users will be very happy in the near future.

People are always asking whether USB or S/PDIF is better. To me the only "better" I am concerned with is better sound. I really don't care that much about which one measures better on a test bench. If specific measurements equate to audible differences then I'm all ears. One very popular topic related to this discussion is Jitter. Jitter is commonly referred to as the antithesis of good sound. Toslink is often considered the worst connection because of very high jitter measurements. Does that mean USB is the better method of getting digital music to your DAC? The S/PDIF fans suggest that USB is inferior and not ready for prime time. Since this is an election year in the US, I decided to find out for myself whether I'll be voting for USB or S/PDIF.

My motto when it comes to high end audio equipment is simple, "Everything matters." There are countless arguments on the internet about whether certain parts of the audio chain really matter. There are more so-called experts trying to pass their opinion as fact and even more followers grabbing on to that opinion and spreading it like a virus. More on this whole topic to come on a later date. I briefly mentioned my everything matters motto because of the high quantity of people who believe different USB cables in an audio system do not make a difference. I can imagine their listening tests consisting of one zip cord USB cable versus another zip cord USB cable. The infamous saying "bits is bits" can be found all over the web. Without many many vocal audiophiles out there dispelling the myth, it continues to snowball. I'm happy to say Kimber Kable has created a product that melts this proverbial snowball. The very appropriately named Kimber USB.