Hand-built in France — usually ships in about 2 weeks.
Richard Cesari says the importance of the connectors on an S/PDIF cable is enormously underestimated. Fit a brass connector or a poorly chosen plating to a very good S/PDIF cable, he says, and it is as if you had soiled the signal.
The Esprit Beta S/PDIF Coaxial Digital Cable is a coaxial digital cable from Esprit's Beta range. The Beta S/PDIF cable is assembled by hand at Esprit's workshop in Confolens, in 1 and 1.5 m and in 50 or 75 ohm.
The idea
Inside Esprit, the Beta range goes by a nickname, the "cable killer", and the Beta S/PDIF cable belongs to that family. Esprit builds Beta around fine-strand pure copper, optimized insulation and protection against high-frequency interference, the foundations of the Beta S/PDIF cable. Its dielectrics are controlled and its shielding is adapted to each use, so the Beta S/PDIF cable is protected in the way its own signal needs. The aim Esprit sets for the range is fluid, coherent transmission in analog and digital alike, and the Beta S/PDIF cable is built to that brief.
By hand, in Charente
In Confolens, Charente, the Beta S/PDIF cable is made the way Esprit has always worked, entirely by hand. Esprit says this hand method lets it control every step of making the Beta S/PDIF cable and keep each one consistent. Each Beta S/PDIF cable then passes two complete inspections, one by its assembler and one at final packing, before it leaves the workshop. It is unhurried work, and the Beta S/PDIF cable is made at its pace.
How it sounds
Esprit describes the sound of the range as balanced, dynamic and remarkably legible, and it presents the Beta S/PDIF cable as a foundation for a stable, musical system.
Its connectors are Esprit's own Eh 50 type, built around a copper body with a silver-plated copper center pin (5-micron silver), because Esprit designs a connector on the Beta S/PDIF cable as an extension of the conductor itself. Inside, the Beta S/PDIF cable uses a coaxial construction, insulated in polyamide imide rated to thermal class 200°. Esprit specifies the shielding of the Beta S/PDIF cable as fully shielded. For Esprit, a cable such as the Beta S/PDIF cable should simply let the system express what it can do.
Finding your place in the range
The Beta S/PDIF cable is level 2 of Esprit's nine and the first level in which Esprit offers an S/PDIF cable, below Celesta. Order the Beta S/PDIF cable in 50 or 75 ohm, whichever your equipment specifies, and in 1 and 1.5 m. You can see the Beta S/PDIF cable beside the other Esprit ranges in our Esprit collection.
Specifications
| Range |
Beta, Generation 10 (GenX), level 2 of 9 |
| Type |
S/PDIF Coaxial Digital Cable |
| Sold as |
Single cable |
| Lengths |
1 m (3.3 ft), 1.5 m (4.9 ft) |
| Connection |
Coaxial S/PDIF |
| Connectors |
Esprit Eh 50 connectors: copper body with a silver-plated copper center pin (5-micron silver) |
| Impedance |
50 ohm or 75 ohm |
| Geometry |
Coaxial |
| Dielectric polarization |
No |
| Insulation |
Polyamide imide insulation thermal class 200° |
| Shielding |
Fully shielded |
| Plating |
5 micron copper/silver multilayer plating |
| Made in |
Confolens, France, assembled entirely by hand |
Questions
How does the Celesta S/PDIF cable compare with the Beta S/PDIF cable?
The Celesta S/PDIF cable is the next level up from the Beta S/PDIF cable. Where it differs from the Beta S/PDIF cable, the Celesta S/PDIF cable uses a twinax geometry and shielding specified as double fully shielded.
Which connectors does the Beta S/PDIF cable use?
The Beta S/PDIF cable uses Esprit Eh 50 connectors, which have a copper body with a silver-plated copper center pin (5-micron silver). Esprit has developed several connector generations so that each range, the Beta S/PDIF cable included, has an interface matched to it.
Should I choose 50 or 75 ohm for the Beta S/PDIF cable?
Choose the impedance your equipment specifies for that connection; the Beta S/PDIF cable is made in both 50 and 75 ohm versions. If the manuals are unclear, send us the model names and we will help you check before you order the Beta S/PDIF cable.
What does the Beta S/PDIF cable cost?
The Beta S/PDIF cable is $399 for 1 m and $499 for 1.5 m. Sales tax is included in the price of the Beta S/PDIF cable, and we deliver it free anywhere in the USA.
Where is the Beta S/PDIF cable made, and when will it ship?
Esprit builds every Beta S/PDIF cable by hand in its workshop in Confolens, France. The Beta S/PDIF cable usually ships in about 2 weeks, with free delivery anywhere in the USA and sales tax included in the price.
From our boutique to your listening room
HiFi Boutique is an authorized Esprit dealer. Delivery is free anywhere in the USA, and sales tax is included in the price. Hand-built in France — usually ships in about 2 weeks.
