My local Sevenoaks dealer was stating the importance of a good (circa. £40) USB cable for my Arcam rDAC, for sound qality. What are your thoughts on this?
Importance of good USB cable between computer and DAC
- Thread starter Willferox
- Start date
Straight to the bottom of the page, there having a Tin Bath.
IMHO save your money and buy a cheap one.
IMHO save your money and buy a cheap one.
See here, about half a dozen threads down:-
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/usb-cables-please-share-your-experience
http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/usb-cables-please-share-your-experience
The guy from the shop said he tried a £1000 USB cable and almost fell over because it sounded so much greater than other cables. Just thought I'd throw some EDITED into the mix with that statement! I hope I dont trigger Cyber-WW3.
He's in need of some extra commission for his Christmas shopping. A £1k USB cable? Baloney, no more, no less. And when it comes to cables, we've in the post-Apocalyptic stage here.
Willferox said:
What I would suggest is you borrow the same cable from the dealer (if he's willing to do that) and try at home with your music and an environment you know. I suggest you start with the new cable and listen for a few hours, than switch back to the old one. It is an easy way to spot a difference. I am using now a 600 euro interconnect and I can assure you the difference in my system is really evident...
"To complete this form, please complete the word verification below."
The update didn't work then. Shockng that a magazine that pushes technology can't sort something as simple as a forum. Put down the mince pies and get it sorted.
The update didn't work then. Shockng that a magazine that pushes technology can't sort something as simple as a forum. Put down the mince pies and get it sorted.
MUSICRAFT
Well-known member
Hi Willferox
A basic USB cable will do the job perfectly well. Fwiw, i use a basic USB cable which i bought at the local market for £1 with a Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC (£4140).
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
A basic USB cable will do the job perfectly well. Fwiw, i use a basic USB cable which i bought at the local market for £1 with a Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC (£4140).
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
MUSICRAFT
Well-known member
USB cables carries a digital signal so as long as the cable makes reliable contact, there will be no difference in sound quality. A cheap and nasty cable may be more fragile and may break more easily, but if it does, it will simply not work.
£1000 USB cable lol; could get a decent gaming PC for that!
£1000 USB cable lol; could get a decent gaming PC for that!
Alec
Well-known member
usb cables can make a difference but it will depend on your system as to weather you will hear an audible difference, saying that a cheap £1 cable is not going to be as good as a well built £50 cable and anyone who says it will is quite frankly wrong,
i have tested several usb cables in different price catagories and the biggest audible difference was cables ranging from £1-£50, this is were i heard the biggest difference, i tried a belkin usb cable from poundland against a chord usb cable and immiediatly threw the £1 cable in the bin, utter rubbish.
saying that i have tested the same chord usb cable against a £400 tellurium q usb cable and although there was a very slight difference i wouldnt pay an additional £350 for it.
in conclusion i would say a well built usb cable is all you need, there is no need to pay mega bucks but on the same note i wouldnt scrimp and pay peanuts.
i know alot of people are set in there ways and will want scientific proof, to those people i would say just try it, if your happy with your 1 pound special from world of quid then good for you, but you wont be getting the best from your system.
here come the fireworks..... im off.
i have tested several usb cables in different price catagories and the biggest audible difference was cables ranging from £1-£50, this is were i heard the biggest difference, i tried a belkin usb cable from poundland against a chord usb cable and immiediatly threw the £1 cable in the bin, utter rubbish.
saying that i have tested the same chord usb cable against a £400 tellurium q usb cable and although there was a very slight difference i wouldnt pay an additional £350 for it.
in conclusion i would say a well built usb cable is all you need, there is no need to pay mega bucks but on the same note i wouldnt scrimp and pay peanuts.
i know alot of people are set in there ways and will want scientific proof, to those people i would say just try it, if your happy with your 1 pound special from world of quid then good for you, but you wont be getting the best from your system.
here come the fireworks..... im off.
The problem with cables is that people where conditioned to expect differences in the analogue domain. That expectation is being carried into the digital area. It may be for audio, but it is digital packages being carried. When did you last upgrade your hard drive cable because its carrying audio files. I have over the years found that computer cables work, or dont. They do not carry brighter colours in your pictures, turn your scribbles in word into a best seller, why should they have any effect on music files.
matt49
Well-known member
MakkaPakka said:
Well, regardless what one thinks about the issue of USB cables (and I happen to think that either they work or they don't), by resurrecting an old thread he at least has abided by the spirit of point 13 of the Forum House Rules: "Members are also encouraged to search for the topic they intend to post before starting a new thread, as existing discussions may already exist for them to join."
:cheers:
Matt
Hi-FiOutlaw
Well-known member
busb
Well-known member
Are those sirens I can hear? :clap:MakkaPakka said:
I've not noticed any difference between my Chord & a Belkin
Ending a post with "here come the fireworks...im off" would not be within the spirit of the rules I would suggest.
He is obviously seeking a thread which can be summarised as follows:
Your equipment is not good enough to hear a difference.
Science, etc.
Your ears are not good enough.
Science, etc.
Even my wife who has been profoundly deaf from birth and was in a different room heard a difference.
Science, etc.
Just trust your ears.
Science etc.
Thread drops off page because no one really cares.
He is obviously seeking a thread which can be summarised as follows:
Your equipment is not good enough to hear a difference.
Science, etc.
Your ears are not good enough.
Science, etc.
Even my wife who has been profoundly deaf from birth and was in a different room heard a difference.
Science, etc.
Just trust your ears.
Science etc.
Thread drops off page because no one really cares.
I find the USB cable topic quite interesting because when dealing with computer files nobody complaints about cables. We all use cheap cables to move Terabytes of data every day to and from external drives. How many times do we experience errors due to a bad cable when copying files? (bear in mind that most applications do a check (CRC) after the file is copied to the destination to verify there are no errors).
I don't see any reason why the usage of the same type of technology to transmit data when dealing with audio files has to be different. Any difference a listener can identify when only a USB cable is changed has to be due to a perception bias.
I don't see any reason why the usage of the same type of technology to transmit data when dealing with audio files has to be different. Any difference a listener can identify when only a USB cable is changed has to be due to a perception bias.
Old thread maybe, but it is pertinent.
Personally, I think any dealer that suggested the use of an "audiophile" usb cable should be named, shamed, and with any luck driven out of business.
It's no better than selling a 90 year olf couple a super duper alarm system for their house that costs just about what they have left from their pension.
ie, they are dirty con men, no more, no less.
Personally, I think any dealer that suggested the use of an "audiophile" usb cable should be named, shamed, and with any luck driven out of business.
It's no better than selling a 90 year olf couple a super duper alarm system for their house that costs just about what they have left from their pension.
ie, they are dirty con men, no more, no less.
Good to see the warmth of humanity running through your veins, frog.
So you can prove the paul miller review and tests are junk, can you?
So you can prove the paul miller review and tests are junk, can you?
altruistic.lemon said:
No, but personally I can't "prove" that the moon is actually smaller than the sun.
Your point is?
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