On October 23, 2018 at 16:58, davidcasemore said...
Standard Quad Shield RG-6 is typically made with a copper-clad steel center conductor. Which is exactly what you don't want for S/PDIF.
This needs a bit more info. Standard CABLE COMPANY DROP CABLE is steel core. Those of us who are aware of this fact ditched that kind of cable for satellite and TV antenna use years ago. We carefully never buy CCS, which is short for "copper-clad steel."
As far as whether a variety of RG6 is "the best," I don't think so. If you buy compression RCA plugs, then yes, the shielding ability of RG6 Quad is of benefit. But if you use F connectors of any sort and then go through an F to RCA adaptor, you introduce two points of failure into your cable. Failure is likely due to simple atmospheric corrosion of the contact between the center conductor and the adaptor.
It's also not the best because it's rather stiff. It's also not the best because it's overkill. I once discussed this with the guy from Belden who wrote the low voltage installation guide. When I posed the question as to the benefits of Quad over foil plus braid, he agreed that the only place this might be necessary would be, for instance, in a building directly below or adjacent to a TV transmitting tower.
There's only one real advantage to using quad: the next installer who looks at the installation can't fool the customer (and himself) by saying "wow, looks like the last guy didn't use the best wire. Quad has gotta be better because it has twice the shielding! We gotta replace this stuff!"
You need a high-quality digital audio cable. There are dozens of manufacturers of pre-made, pre-terminated cables like these. If you need a long run then I would go with a high quality cable such as Belden 1694A and terminate it with a high-quality connector from Belden or Canare.
This should give you excellent results.
