Hifi usb cable

[gasolin]

I use this cable javascript:;from my pc to my dac (black) http://passionforsound.lachlanfennen.com/massive-usb-comparison-test/ it made me wanna try something different, mabye furutech Formula 2 http://www.viablue.de/com/kr_2_silver_usb_cable_a_b.shtml or a another cable

For my usb harddrive i just bought the Qed Performance usb cable for about the same price as the one from supra

Anything you can recommned over let's call it standard "hifi" usb cable? It seems from the test that with only a few exception (ifi mercury and Chord Co.Silver Plus) that a slight more expensive cable have a more open sound without sounding bright

I use this cable from my audio interface to my nad amp and to my active speakers http://www.real-cable.com/our-products/moniteur-by-real-cable-range/cables/2rca-1-190.html

If changing usb cable how important is it to also upgrade the analog interconnects instead of those i use from real cable? They are also just reasonable priced audio cable and they where white *biggrin*

Another thing is the stock focusrite usb cable is something with a ferrit core like this usb cable https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2013/01/Ferrite-Core-USB.jpg where the one i use from monster that i bought really cheap to get better sound,cheap upgrade, doesn't have this ferrit (magnet) core, i do sometimes get a high pitched noise after i have turned on my pc and amp (preamp) and speakers, i then reboote or disconnect the cabel and all is fine, no high pitched sound,noise,test tone for the rest of the day, it never comes back.

 

[chebby]

Another thing is the stock focusrite usb cable is something with a ferrit core like this usb cable https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/media/2013/01/Ferrite-Core-USB.jpg where the one i use from monster that i bought really cheap to get better sound,cheap upgrade, doesn't have this ferrit (magnet) core, i do sometimes get a high pitched noise after i have turned on my pc and amp (preamp) and speakers ...

Return to the stock cable.

 

[lpv]

you are a member of the forum for the last 4 years and 2000 posts.. did u sleep while every cable thread was in full swing?

 

[ellisdj]

there is a lot you can do to the usb connection to improve it for audio.

- seperating data from power.
- better screening
- nulling negative effects of
- computer noise on power line
- adding in external clean power
- filtering of pc noise
- galvanic isolation
- and more

I would say look beyond just the cable itself although I think they are important personally and look at what exists to improve the usb connection and the user feedback. very few people on here seem to have even tried any of the above.
I have tried lots and its very worthwhile

best of luck

 

[insider9]

there is a lot you can do to the usb connection to improve it for audio.

- seperating data from power.
- better screening
- nulling negative effects of
- computer noise on power line
- adding in external clean power
- filtering of pc noise
- galvanic isolation
- and more

I would say look beyond just the cable itself although I think they are important personally and look at what exists to improve the usb connection and the user feedback. very few people on here seem to have even tried any of the above.
I have tried lots and its very worthwhile

best of luck

+1

However I'd look at something like USB REGEN by UpTone Audio which should bring more improvements than cable upgrade.

 

[abacus]

1st of all the differences you mention relate to analogue sound, not digital data, (Which is what USB is) so forget it.

We hear everything in the analogue domain, and it is just converted to digital for transmission or recording purposes as it doesn’t suffer any of the analogue problems, the downside is that the analogue sound has to be first converted to digital with an ADC and then converted back to analogue via a DAC, failure to do this correctly at either end will cause a degradation of the original sound. (Providing the USB cable transfers the digital signal accurately it will not make a difference to the sound, however if it doesn’t, then the sound will break up or not work at all and is the only difference you will get, so if you don’t get this then the cable is fine so you can forget about it)

The items that Ellisdj mentions will be corrected and filtered by any decent quality DAC so can be safely ignored.

Tip: If you are having problems with the analogue sound quality from a digital source, then consider changing the DAC, as this is what will alter the sound. (Just because a DAC is expensive or made by a Hi-Fi manufacture doesn’t mean it is any better than a cheaper one, so don’t fall into this trap)

All the above is verifiable scientific fact, whereas the other stuff mentioned is not verifiable, so it is up to you, what you believe in (Fact or Fiction) and spend your money on that basis, as you are the one that has to live with your decision.

Have fun choosing, but don’t get sucked in to myths and legends.

Bill

 

[Oldskool1976]

A delicate subject for sure.

How mad are companies going?

Anyone deranged enough to go down the Nordost Vahalla price route , those guys kill me!!

 

[ellisdj]

1st of all the differences you mention relate to analogue sound, not digital data, (Which is what USB is) so forget it.

We hear everything in the analogue domain, and it is just converted to digital for transmission or recording purposes as it doesn’t suffer any of the analogue problems, the downside is that the analogue sound has to be first converted to digital with an ADC and then converted back to analogue via a DAC, failure to do this correctly at either end will cause a degradation of the original sound. (Providing the USB cable transfers the digital signal accurately it will not make a difference to the sound, however if it doesn’t, then the sound will break up or not work at all and is the only difference you will get, so if you don’t get this then the cable is fine so you can forget about it)

The items that Ellisdj mentions will be corrected and filtered by any decent quality DAC so can be safely ignored.

Tip: If you are having problems with the analogue sound quality from a digital source, then consider changing the DAC, as this is what will alter the sound. (Just because a DAC is expensive or made by a Hi-Fi manufacture doesn’t mean it is any better than a cheaper one, so don’t fall into this trap)

All the above is verifiable scientific fact, whereas the other stuff mentioned is not verifiable, so it is up to you, what you believe in (Fact or Fiction) and spend your money on that basis, as you are the one that has to live with your decision.

Have fun choosing, but don’t get sucked in to myths and legends.

Bill

some of the best dacs I have messed with take great care to try abd reduce incoming noise but they wont do it 100%. so dacs are more modest prices wont either.

in the ideal world the dac would be connected to the master clock and they would both live in the tranquility of freedom from electrical mechanical and radiation based noise - this is never the case though. the usb cable is usually the first antennae before the dac and often carries all the filth from the pc with it. hence the importance of all the things mentioned.

usb Regen is one option.
jcat usb isolator is another
ifi make units as well.

some dacs have gavanic isolation already some dont chord hugos for example so its not a case of rule everything out. its a critical area to pay attention to

 

[macdiddy]

abacus has a history on this forum of insulting peoples intelligence, he's even called What Hifi reviewers "stupid" several times and the mods do nothing about it !

*fool*

 

[gasolin]

you are a member of the forum for the last 4 years and 2000 posts.. did u sleep while every cable thread was in full swing?

Yes every usb cable test, i have not been into usb cable for hifi other than a couple of cables ;-)

 

[gasolin]

Im not shure though what the ferrit core does other then reduce high frequency rf (radio frequency) noice, right?

For 6€ with shipping, it was a cheap upgrade (shipping was more than the price of the cable).

Going back to this 4 years and cable test, i don't think there has been so many topics about usb cable as for analog

cables and speaker cable.

I do have a AQ jitterbug but i think i make music more agressive metallic, so i havn't used it for more than a year

 

[gasolin]

1st of all the differences you mention relate to analogue sound, not digital data, (Which is what USB is) so forget it.

We hear everything in the analogue domain, and it is just converted to digital for transmission or recording purposes as it doesn’t suffer any of the analogue problems, the downside is that the analogue sound has to be first converted to digital with an ADC and then converted back to analogue via a DAC, failure to do this correctly at either end will cause a degradation of the original sound. (Providing the USB cable transfers the digital signal accurately it will not make a difference to the sound, however if it doesn’t, then the sound will break up or not work at all and is the only difference you will get, so if you don’t get this then the cable is fine so you can forget about it)

The items that Ellisdj mentions will be corrected and filtered by any decent quality DAC so can be safely ignored.

Tip: If you are having problems with the analogue sound quality from a digital source, then consider changing the DAC, as this is what will alter the sound. (Just because a DAC is expensive or made by a Hi-Fi manufacture doesn’t mean it is any better than a cheaper one, so don’t fall into this trap)

All the above is verifiable scientific fact, whereas the other stuff mentioned is not verifiable, so it is up to you, what you believe in (Fact or Fiction) and spend your money on that basis, as you are the one that has to live with your decision.

Have fun choosing, but don’t get sucked in to myths and legends.

Bill

I did have the HifimeDIY sabre 9018 that had som kind of sharp top no matter what cable i used, so i changed it to what i have now and i was gone also the fullbodied midbass https://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/hifimediy-dac

 

[BigH]

I would take all cable reviews with a huge pinch of salt unless they are blind tests.

 

[steve_1979]

some of the best dacs I have messed with take great care to try and reduce incoming noise but they wont do it 100%.

How did you come to this conclusion?

 

[steve_1979]

I would take all cable reviews with a huge pinch of salt unless they are blind tests.

I would take all cable reviews with a huge pinch of salt and a ruddy great sack of BS unless they're blind tests.

 

[Pedro]

I would take all cable reviews with a huge pinch of salt unless they are blind tests.

I would take all cable reviews with a huge pinch of salt and a ruddy great sack of BS unless they're blind tests.

All hail the placebophiles.

 

[chebby]

Pedro, your quoting errors are putting words into people’s posts that they never wrote.

It’s misleading and confusing.

 

[ellisdj]

some of the best dacs I have messed with take great care to try and reduce incoming noise but they wont do it 100%.

How did you come to this conclusion?

 

you can watch interviews with Ted Smith the designer and he explains a lot about incoming noise and the importance of keeping noise away from the Dac

 

[BigH]

Well there are a lot of gullible audiophiles, who pay out shed loads for things they don't need or can buy far cheaper than some audiophile products. Ferrite blocks are very cheap and will cut out some noise. Hifi and audiophile products you are paying a lot for marketing, low economies of scale and high profit margins, hifi is a very niche market.

 

[daveh75]

abacus has a history on this forum of insulting peoples intelligence,

And the terminally ignorant/ill informed spouting bollox doesn't?

 

[BigH]

1st of all the differences you mention relate to analogue sound, not digital data, (Which is what USB is) so forget it.

We hear everything in the analogue domain, and it is just converted to digital for transmission or recording purposes as it doesn’t suffer any of the analogue problems, the downside is that the analogue sound has to be first converted to digital with an ADC and then converted back to analogue via a DAC, failure to do this correctly at either end will cause a degradation of the original sound. (Providing the USB cable transfers the digital signal accurately it will not make a difference to the sound, however if it doesn’t, then the sound will break up or not work at all and is the only difference you will get, so if you don’t get this then the cable is fine so you can forget about it)

The items that Ellisdj mentions will be corrected and filtered by any decent quality DAC so can be safely ignored.

Tip: If you are having problems with the analogue sound quality from a digital source, then consider changing the DAC, as this is what will alter the sound. (Just because a DAC is expensive or made by a Hi-Fi manufacture doesn’t mean it is any better than a cheaper one, so don’t fall into this trap)

All the above is verifiable scientific fact, whereas the other stuff mentioned is not verifiable, so it is up to you, what you believe in (Fact or Fiction) and spend your money on that basis, as you are the one that has to live with your decision.

Have fun choosing, but don’t get sucked in to myths and legends.

Bill

some of the best dacs I have messed with take great care to try abd reduce incoming noise but they wont do it 100%. so dacs are more modest prices wont either.

in the ideal world the dac would be connected to the master clock and they would both live in the tranquility of freedom from electrical mechanical and radiation based noise - this is never the case though. the usb cable is usually the first antennae before the dac and often carries all the filth from the pc with it. hence the importance of all the things mentioned.

usb Regen is one option. jcat usb isolator is another ifi make units as well.

some dacs have gavanic isolation already some dont chord hugos for example so its not a case of rule everything out. its a critical area to pay attention to

Have you tried the Remedy Reclocker in your system?

 

[ellisdj]

Hi Big H

I wasnt aware of the Remedy Reclocker until just now - however I have been using a Mutec MC3+ USB for a long time - way before Andrew Everard Reviewed it singing its praises.

That does a similar thing I would guess and is one stage of galvanic isolation - I also use other products on the USB connection to the Mutec as well

 

[BigH]

OK thanks, yes it does seem similar, I have read good things about the Mutec MC3+.

 

[gasolin]

Almost 2 month later i got a new usb cable

http://www.in-akustik.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/Fidelity_Exzellenz_Kabel_02_2017-.pdf?ed1219f06da03c75ef3680b9abb7657a

I noticed a more open top from some youtube video, sounded louder but not agressive,mabye more analytic,detailed in the highs, more air around the voice,instrumnets,better stereo image and more controlled bass,even noticed a little tigher and deeper bass going from my monster usb cable to inakustisk

Less than £40 including delivery, worth every penny if you use standard cable, compare to my old monster usb, inakustik is better

Starting to like inakustik more and more, i have some reasonable priced rca to rca from my marantz pm5005 cdplayer http://www.in-akustik.de/de/kabel-zubehoer/home-hifi/audiokabel/premium-audiokabel-rca-00404007/ and used a mini jack to rca http://www.in-akustik.de/de/kabel-zubehoer/head-smartphone/klinkenkabel/premium-mp3-audiokabel-004100015/ with my old HIFIme Sabre 9018 usb dac