Next I exchanged the Sommer Cable with the high priced Boaacoustic AES/EBU and compared it to the less expensive SPDIF. To my surprise, the Stones sounded really good: well balanced, precise, not harsh, with lively timbres, dynamic and loud. There they were, just like they always were. I can't explain it. Previously, except with the luxury cable from Kubala-Sosna, I had the experience that high priced digital cables which were agreeable in tonal range, spatial characteristics and tonal colors also had a blanket of dullness or imparted laziness to the music performance. The JIB Silver Digital Krypton delivered a completely different performance. In comparison to the Digital Diamond good quality recordings sounded more lively, delivered more fine detail, were profoundly outlined and layered. It seemed that the music was being played with just slightly more speed. The vocal spectrum on the high-res album Nouveau Monde by Patricia Petitbon appeared more direct and full of energy. The difference was remarkable. The quality gain from the Digital Diamond verses the Carbokab was clearly verifiable. You don't have to be blessed with the absolute pitch to be able to experience the additional advantages of the Silver Digital Krypton. In the Melco-Mutec-Audio-gd-chain, the gain in musical value could not be denied and justifies, in my opinion, the price difference. Next I switched the SPDIF cables; replacing the Digital Diamond with the Silver Carbon which is in the same price category as the XLR it must now compete against. I listened to many different titles stored on the Melco and simply could not make any kind of a significant comment. Sometimes I was under the impression the SPDIF was a bit warmer and the AES/EBU just a whisper more filigree. It was not possible for me to rate the differences as from moment to moment, the impressions switched back and forth. Without the direct comparison and playing the same music passages over and over again, I would not have been able to detect these minute differences. In my opinion, both of these high priced cables perform at the same level and if I had my choice, either one would make me happy. The main reason I would choose the Silver Digital Krypton is I like its bright color design.

In order to verify the positive experience in another constellation, I exchanged the Melco with my CD-Player. First, I connected the CD-Player with both the Sommer Cable and the high priced Boaacoustic SPDIF to the Audio-gd D/A converter. Immediate results were delivered from the live album Memory Lane by Cécille Verny. After the first listening tests, this result was no big surprise. The Boaacoustic revealed much more fine detail and provided significantly better structure in staging the music. This was a significantly higher level of sound than with the Carbokab which sounded flat and lazy in comparison. The Sommer Cable also had to take second place in comparison to the less expensive Silver Carbon with the CD-Drive as the source. The differences were not that large but easily audible. The bass drum was a bit more crisp, the cymbals more brilliant and above all, Cécille Verny's vocals were more natural because they came across somewhat fuller and more forward. Overall, the staging seemed less cluttered. The ensemble played their music with a bit more dynamic and intoxicatingly rhythmic. The bottom line was, the Silver Carbon simply delivered a higher fun factor.

The size of the grand piano in the second movement of Beethoven's “Piano Concerto Nr. 3” with Ronald Brautigam and the Norrkoepping Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Parrot became clearly evident as soon the lower priced Boaacoustic was in play. The tones had an effect of being more steadfast. As with the Sommer Cable, the tonality of the string instruments appeared supple, showing more nuances and openness. The Digital Diamond confirmed it's capabilities with the last album from Frank Zappa, The Yellow Shark. But how would it stand up against the 4 times more expensive AES/EBU? Once again, the better being the enemy of the good was proven. With the Silver Krypton in play, the multi-layered sound experience from Frank Zappy and the Ensemble Modern showed more tonal colors, more transparency, was fascinating – leaning towards explosive. Each single instrument stood out more clearly and above all, gave a vivid impression interlaced with finer detail reproduction. The high priced SPDIF, in comparison, delivered a touch more weight – in a positive sense – and played a little more forward than the XLR. With Cecilla Bartoli's album St Petersburg, I preferred the XLR again with the Cimarosa piece “Agitata in tante pene” as it gave the strings a breath more fine resolution whereas the SPDIF contributed more warmth. These differences are also just a matter of personal taste. Both silver coated Boaacoustics have mesmerizing characteristics. Listening to music with them is extremely fascinating.