USB Cable Shootout

Lee-Are you happy with the sound quality of the Beatles 24/44 Flac files?

Lee said:

They are, in my opinion, an improvement over the 16/44 stereo remasters. But I would really like to have seen 24/96. In my experience, the difference between 24/44 (or 24/48) and 24/96 is not subtle.

Click to expand...

I have all of them and I think they all stink. Something about every one of them bothers me and I just can't pull the trigger for more than a few moments before I have to shut them off. I don't feel this way with lots of my other digital files, but I do with all of the Beatle remasters.

I would suggest that you try a direct USB connection (if it's topologically possible) - it has been reported to sound better than most "audiophile" USB cables
I don't know the USB sockets you have but if going from A to B then you would need something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-typ...ltDomain_3&hash=item3a533229f7#ht_2108wt_1336

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-Degree-Adapter-Male-Female/dp/B000QY0NVG/ref=pd_bxgy_ce_img_b

Lee said:

jkeny,

You can't plug the Benchmark into the Mac Mini in this fashion, hence the need for a cable. I suspect there are relatively few products that would work in this fashion but its an interesting idea.

Click to expand...

Yes, probably true but what this experiment revealed to me was that shorter USB cables (the shorter the better) sound so much better!!

Just my 2c!

Looking forward to hear news about the shoot out.

I have done this in entry level with Wireworld Starlight, FURUTECH, Kmber, Ridge street, plain computer, Audioquest coffee,
oellbach and found Wireworld to be better for my tastes.

Since then bought Wireworld Platinum Starlight and end the search.

I don't have a computer in my music system, so forgive me.

How do zeros and ones sound different in a wire?

If I do a file transfer in my computer network and a WORD file is missing one bit, it is corrupt and will not print, so how does an audiophile USB cable improve on the typical perfection of a normal USB cable for its data transfer--it ISN'T music that the audiophile USB cable is carrying--it's digital DATA.

Finally, if you do a musical download, either an iTunes lo-rez or an SACD hi-rez download, how does the last couple of feet of USB cable change or improve the musical data that travelled a thousand MILES from the server to your house?

GaryProtein said:

I don't have a computer in my music system, so forgive me.

How do zeros and ones sound different in a wire?

If I do a file transfer in my computer network and a WORD file is missing one bit, it is corrupt and will not print, so how does an audiophile USB cable improve on the typical perfection of a normal USB cable for its data transfer--it ISN'T music that the audiophile USB cable is carrying--it's digital DATA.

Finally, if you do a musical download, either an iTunes lo-rez or an SACD hi-rez download, how does the last couple of feet of USB cable change or improve the musical data that travelled a thousand MILES from the server to your house?

Click to expand...

Hi Gary welcome...

I do have a computer in my system ... I, share your point of view ... I have heard some explanations but ... none that satisfy me .. besides I can't hear those substantial differences ...

Nobody is saying that there are bit errors happening in the USB cable - that would probably lead to gross, unmistakable glitches in the sound. That is not happening!

I TOO WAS a USB cable sceptic, particularly as I was using a USB device that operated asynchronously (clock in the device was the master), that was not powered from the USB port so no power carrying wire in the USB cable. I tried a number of recommended USB cables & heard no difference but still people who use my devices said that the cable made a difference to the sound. I decided to do the last test I was going to make & use NO USB cable & if there was no difference in the sound then QED. To my surprise, no USB cable, just USB connectors, made a very noticeable difference to the sound i.e.it was far more incisive & faster in that the attack transients struck with a quicker onset, the sound stage was more palpable & there was generally a more dynamic sound.

So, I'm no longer a sceptic What is going on?

Well, for a start, let's look at other digital cables - namely SPDIF cables. These can sound different also. Some of the issues with digital cables that cause sonic issues would be reflections of the signal back down the cable & also bandwidth limitation in the cable i.e it not having a high enough bandwidth to accurately carry the square waveform signal that represents a digital signal i.e a rounding off of the corners of this squarewave - some even look like sawtooth waves rather than squarewaves. The other factor that can have a significant sonic effect is the noise that can be carried on the digital cable. None of these issues will cause the bits to be changed so what is happening? Somehow, it would seem that their influence is getting through to the sensitive digital to analogue conversion stage! There are lots of ways that this could be the case - reflections can cause the correct interpretation of the bits & maybe a retransmission has to occur, squarewave ristetimes can cause similar issues, noise on the digital line riding on the ground can leek through to the DAC ground. All this is speculative as I don't think anybody has successfully pinned down the exact mechanism(s) yet.

I, nor others, can say exactly the mechanism by which these factors operate but it seems that they do & once you hear the difference by changing a USB or SPDIF cable you will wonder how it could be possible!

jkeny

As I said no explanation that have satisfied me so far. Allow me me to be skeptical of the claims by the usual suspects aka the High End Audio cable manufacturers .. Another opportunity for gravity defying profit margins ...
Your honesty is commendable. Simple, you don't know .. What do cable manufacturers know that most human beings including DACs designers don't ? My skepticism went a few notches up ....

Frantz,
I'm not defending cable manufacturers, as I would never, ever, spend over about $50 on a cable but I don't think that the good cables are actually based on any new theoretical knowledge rather it is experiential knowledge gathered through trial & error i.e the best ones know what seems to work but I don't think they know why.

If you read a few posts back my experiments have shown me (& others) that direct USB connections & shorter USB cables (6 inches or less) seem to sound better. Why? I've given my guesses but can't be sure.

In the meantime, if it sounds better (in blind tests ) then I don't deny it even though I don't know why!

GaryProtein said:

I don't have a computer in my music system, so forgive me.

How do zeros and ones sound different in a wire?

If I do a file transfer in my computer network and a WORD file is missing one bit, it is corrupt and will not print, so how does an audiophile USB cable improve on the typical perfection of a normal USB cable for its data transfer--it ISN'T music that the audiophile USB cable is carrying--it's digital DATA.

Click to expand...

The data is digital. But the DAC which converts them to analog needs one more thing: timing. Without it doesn't know at what rate it should send out the samples. The timing unfortunately is conveyed using the waveform shape which is analog in nature and hence subject to variability. Here is an article I wrote for Widescreen Review which explains this in more detail: http://www.madronadigital.com/Library/DigitalAudioJitter.html

When used for computer data the final target is just the bits and so timing variations do not matter (up to the failure point).

Finally, if you do a musical download, either an iTunes lo-rez or an SACD hi-rez download, how does the last couple of feet of USB cable change or improve the musical data that travelled a thousand MILES from the server to your house?

Click to expand...

It is digital all the way to your computer so its timing matters not. It only matters at the point you try to convert it to analog. And that does not happen in the rest of the chain upstream.