USB cable recommended?

[highstream]

It won't work like that)). And selling a top-end USB cable is not an easy and long task.

At half price for the SRX, if you want to break even, you’d have a taker here, that is, unless there was a big mark up, you being in Minsk.

 

[highstream]

I have a sotm tx-usbultra regenerator, a Synergistic Research srx usb and a ww platinum usb 8. I want to change the ww platinum to a top cable. The Synergistic Research will remain. I need two top cables for the regenerator.

I’m a little confused here. What does the 8 refer to on the WyWires Platinum? I’m very familiar with the better WW cables and have never seen such a designation. I agree, though, that you could do a lot better than WW on USB cables. They are not Alex’s best accomplishment.

You just need to determine what kind of sound you like, then read the reviews, maybe ask users, and go from there.

Btw, I wouldn’t be mentioning “50% discount” and “dealer” publicly, as the developer may not take kindly to it, and have a talk with the dealer.

 

[TRHH]

Any recommendations for USB-A to USB-C cable?

It is for connection a streamer with an DAC/AMP

Thanks

 

[ozzzy]

highstream,
The WireWorld Platinum 8 are made by Wireworld, not WyWires. Different companies and products.

ozzy

 

[highstream]

After spending a few weeks with both the Shunyata Omega-X and the Synergistic Research Galileo Discovery USB cables, both in the $3K range, here's what I found:

Galileo Discovery (Gold module). -- a little laid back, easy listening in the best of senses, clear, articulate, tight, clean, smooth, balanced. It comes with the Gold and Master modules. So far I've found the Gold does everything a touch better.

Omega-X — Swings!, alive, expansive, clear, detailed, a little on the neutral side, in many ways an ideal sound

Both are clearly a-level-above cables. I hope to get another shot at the Omega-X to see if I can coax my system a smidgeon into the warm side with it. I had started to move there when I had to return it.

To update my previous post (#422), I spent 300+ hours with the Infigo cable, including 100 before it arrived, thanks to CalvinJ. Along with that, I got another round with the Omega-X, and also pulled in my CAD II-R, which had been sitting around during the previous testing. While I of course listened to a lot of music with each, when it came down to a final comparison, there were three, all live audio performances (FLAC files), that were used for final comparison. I list their YouTube links below.

Setup: All the cables were run from a Samsung 850 Pro SSD in an Innatek case to a highly modified, digital-only Oppo 203. On the source end was an Audioquest Jitterbug FMJ, and at the Oppo end there was a B to A adapter. I’ve yet to find a USB cable whose sound doesn’t benefit substantially from the FMJ, while I’ve found the adapter (from the SF cable co., as I recall), has negligible effect on sound quality. Likewise, I’ve found the 850 Pro to be the best sounding SSD of the several later Samsungs and other brands I’ve tried. See my Sig for the rest.

Here's how the cables fared in my system:

- Shunyata Research Omega-X: Clean, clear, fast, rhythmic, quiet! (hearing space between notes), balanced, good sound stage, as accurate pitch as I've ever heard, foot tapping. As I wrote earlier, it swings! Drawback: emotionally laid back, not quite present, sometimes more than a little (e.g., famous Talking Heads concert). For me, frustratingly not quite satisfying, all the more so at the price ($3800 less Cable Co benes).

- CAD II-R: A lot of the good, relaxed characteristics of the Omega-X, but not as clean and clear, as one might expect of a mid-priced cable ($1500). A bit more voiced to the lower end than the Omega, with the perspective a little back from the speakers. Its touch of warmth makes it very listenable for me. A few months back, I spent time with the Sablon Evo, and remember hearing a bit more details with it vs. the CAD, but also its balance was tilted upward, so not as relaxed as the CAD.

- Infigo: Present, dynamic, not quite as clear as the CAD, but an overall good performer with the balance a little more to the upper half of the register, though (from memory) less so than the Sablon, and with a bit of warmth. A reasonably capable cable for the price ($1200). Be a an interesting comparison with the similarly priced Sablon.

- WyWires Diamond: I mention this former cable of mine because I use the excellent WW Diamond PCs and ICs almost everywhere, but Alex's USB cable, while definitely better than the FTA Callisto, is not up to his others, nor to the CAD, Galileo or Omega.

Right now, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The Omega has created a standard that puts the mid price level cables in a different perspective. Given a few changes to my AC cabling/adapters since the earlier review, I wish I had access to the Synergistic Research Galileo Discovery again, and even a moment with their top-of-the-line SRX (not that I can afford it retail ($6K), or even the price of another cable loan from Cable Co.

YouTube versions of key tracks used for final comparison:
1) Ahmad Jamal & Gary Burton Live (France, 1981), "Bogota” (36:35), Great playing and a demanding rapid fire instrumentals test (Cut 6, “Autumn Leaves,” is also a good test).

2) Sinatra Live at the Sands with Count Basie and the Orchestra, (1963, Reprise), "I've Got You Under My Skin"
The rendering of Sinatra and the orchestra tells a lot about how a system handles voices, as well as orchestral dynamics.

3) Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall (1972, Original Master Recording), "I Can't Write Left-Handed." Hymn to a returned soldier who got shot in the shoulder in 'Nam and lost his arm. If it don't truly sound like a hymn...

4) Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition video, 2023). Test of emotional presence and ability to understand David Bryne's lyrics. Omega-X was head and shoulders above the rest in the latter.

 

[Darion]

Thank you very much for your experience. Especially in the OMEGA X part. I am inclined to think that Synergistic Research srx usb is a very successful cable. I recommend looking for a dealer who can offer you a price lower than the official one, I think it is real. Albedo Silver Usb will arrive at the end of August. Its retail is about 1000 euros. It is created using monocrystalline silver technology, and without filters. With polishing of all silver wires. I can compare with Srx usb and ww platinum usb 8.

 

[cd45123]

New version of a cable that’s supposed to be very good, fwiw: https://www.madscientist-audio.com/white-magic-usb-cables/

 

[Zappadaddy]

Has anyone tried cables from Authentic Audio Image I tried their top ethernet cable and was blown what a good ethernet cable can do to the sound Try the AAI you will be shocked.
I have also placed their USB Assoluto cable which will reach me 1st week june will let people know how it sounds.

let us know, I have few lan cables AAI Maestozo 1 for sale if someone interested, for great price

 

[highstream]

let us know, I have few lan cables AAI Maestozo 1 for sale if someone interested, for great price

So AAI makes USB cables? Maybe I was on the wrong place, but I couldn’t tell from the company’ site.

 

[Zappadaddy]

So AAI makes USB cables? Maybe I was on the wrong place, but I couldn’t tell from the company’ site.

yes they make usb cables

 

[jadedavid]

Among the many other USB cables that I have tried, the Veritas AUDAX
Reference was a real eye opener.
Smooth with great detail and extension at both extremes. Imaging and soundstage are also strong suits with this cable.
Well worth an audition.
They have a trial period and are very responsive to emails.

 

[highstream]

yes they make usb cables

I see they do, thanks. Your reply set off a process of finding out more, which led me to the Czech review site Audiodrom. Quite a thoughtful and diligent site (although some reviews are without full burn in, some admittedly with little at all). The site owner posted a long article, much of it experiential, about AAI gear and, in particular, the Estremo cable line, which in general he -- I'll guess a "he" -- considers among the very best in the world (AAI pricing, though, is not up there with many of the others). However, he wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the Estremo signal cables when compared with some of the other very best, although he emphasized that results will vary depending on the cable and the gear it's connected to, case by case. https://www.audiodrom.net/en/special-edition-reviews/192-aai-goes-extreme-estremo (down near the bottom).

 

[highstream]

I corresponded with Audiodrom, asking about the SRX vs. AAI Estremo. He visited a friend with lots of SRX and SRX-XL cables and said the improvements in soundstage, purity, and pitch were substantial when they were replaced by AAI. The Estremo is less than half the price of the SRX, but still I'd like to hear it first. Not sure how that can be done.

 

[Legolas]

Your issue here is that the search term is wrong (and no, colleagues, I don't believe I'm simply feeding the troll).

I hope no-one is claiming that one USB cable performs better than another in audio terms because it produces fewer data errors. That would be a rookie error.

There is more to the performance of a USB cable than data accuracy, and the same applies to ethernet cables. They both transport packets of data asynchronously, so timing is all down to the quality of the clock in the receiving device. The fact that digital signals don't exist per se, so digital data is transported in analaog(ue) form and intepreted as 1s and 0s at the receiving end is a red herring, as the data is all but guaranteed to arrive accurately, neither diminished nor enhanced, because of the protocols at play.

If there is a difference between cables, it is nothing to do with the "digital" signal and whether there are or are not errors; it is everything to do with the fact that that digital signal comes over a bunch of wires and in some cables there is also a cable shield. Noise can travel down the wires and, ironically perhaps, also down a shield if it is connected/grounded at both plugs. Noise is the difference, and it is a difference which is hard to measure but clearly audible.

Not this old idea again. The data is send as analog a/c waveforms, so not on and off data / code. This is why USB cables sound different. Believe me, I wish they didn't but there we have it.

 

[highstream]

Not this old idea again. The data is send as analog a/c waveforms, so not on and off data / code. This is why USB cables sound different. Believe me, I wish they didn't but there we have it.

In response to my saying that USB cables are voiced by developers and tonally (cold to warm) sound different in use, I got an email from a Senior Consultant at the Cable Co saying the following:

“I find the difference between high performance USB cables to have no effect on tonality or harmonics - only soundstaging, imaging, PRAT and a few other factors.”

I stick to working with Steve Aug there.

 

[NigelB]

Not this old idea again. The data is send as analog a/c waveforms, so not on and off data / code. This is why USB cables sound different. Believe me, I wish they didn't but there we have it.

It's not an old idea, it's actual fact. I know how digital signals work and USB is asynchronous. Every "digital" signal is of course transmitted as an analog(ue) waveform and this is interpreted as 1s and 0s at the receiving end. In the synchronous digital domain, timing matters and jitter is a thing, but in the asynchronous world it cannot have any impact on sound quality as there is no mechanism for it to do so.

USB cables do indeed sound different, but it's nothing to do with the signal itself and any waveforms used to transport it.

 

[V-Fi]

Among the many other USB cables that I have tried, the Veritas AUDAX
Reference was a real eye opener.
Smooth with great detail and extension at both extremes. Imaging and soundstage are also strong suits with this cable.
Well worth an audition.
They have a trial period and are very responsive to emails.

My experience as well. I'm a huge fan.

 

[Geerock]

I've recently purchased the latest White Magic Prime USB from Mad Scientist Audio. It is certainly the best cable ive heard in my system, and ive tried plenty. It works very well connecting my modified Musica Pristina streamer to my recently upgraded Lampizator Golden Gate 3 DAC. It was very nice right out of the box but really gave me all i was looking for after 8 days of running data through it 24 hours a day. Its definitely something special.

 

[flowcharts]

@Geerock what have you compared it against? What do you consider its strengths to be in comparison to the other cables?

 

[Geerock]

I've had FTA Callisto, Supra Excalibur, Curious Cable, and most recently the Mad Scientist Black Magic. There were a couple others Ive tried earlier that I had laying around. And I am very reluctant to spend much over 8 or 9 hundred for a cable, in fact I like to stick around the 4 to 5 hundred mark. But Bob at Mad Scientist has always been straight with me and he has his no questions asked return policy so I took a shot. Every other cable Ive tried has had some great things working, and other things not so great. This White Magic cable just had it all for me and in my system it just works. Most importantly the liquidity to the music and a great sense of being surrounded. I can just sit back and enjoy and not analyze. It clicked all the boxes.
Im not going to get into all the audiophile buzz words about musicality, PraT, and all that stuff. When something is right I just let myself get immersed. I don't analyze. Im sure some folks will be reviewing this cable very soon, but it's quite new so it may take some time.
All the best to you.