usb cables expensive v cheap

[papagoz]

hi i need to connect my new marantz 7004 media player(inc amp and bx2 spks) to my laptop via usb to access spotify,trouble is i have looked at various forums and info sites and opinion seems to be 50/50 as to wether expensive usb cables give better performance in this instance over less expensive cables.any opinions please.

 

[simonlewis]

If you buy an expensive one you were ripped off.

 

[papagoz]

i have not bought one yet,why do you say purchasing an expensive one means you're being ripped off ?

 

[pauln]

Something like this will be more than good enough:

http://www.lambda-tek.com/CU1000CP3M-Belkin-USB-A-B-DEVICE-CABLE-A-B-DSTP-3M~cs/B931192&origin=gbaseGB5.4

Don't buy any digital cable with the word "audiophile" anywhere near it. It's all bulls#it

 

[abacus]

So long as it is a quality cable (Good connectors and flexible) than any cable will be fine, and shouldn’t cost more than a fiver for a 1-2m length.

Apart from the above, there will be no difference however much you spend.

You can safely ignore anybody that says there is a difference (Just like all professionals do)

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[fr0g]

+1 "Audiophile" usb cables are a con. Nothing more. You can bet any equipment used in the studio to master the music that required a USB cable will have more than likely been using a free one. Who buys usb cables these days? I have about 30 in all. All work equally well.

 

[theexcitableboy]

This is not dissimilar to the HDMI cable debate.

To sum it up, the signal is digital. It is not affected by cable quality in the way that analogue signals used to be. Buying a 'better' cable means better build quality. If you're going to take the cable around with you, and plug and unplug a lot, spend just a few more pounds on something a bit more solid.

If it's to plug-and-forget, just buy whatever Amazon has cheapest. Will probably be a Belkin. Doesn't matter. Doesn't make a difference. The end! :wave:

 

[BronC]

There is some justification in (slightly) more expensive USB cable - especially if you want it for streaming rather then straight forward non time dependent data transfer.

If you are transferring data via USB there will be error correction software running to identify errors and to re-send any faulty data. If it is not time critical then it does not really matter if it takes 5 seconds or 7 seconds to transfer your data.

If you are streaming stuff then it matters more. For any devices that are not bufferring the data before they use it then they will "make do" with what they have got and process it - errors and all as they can not wait until the data is error free before they process it.

A similar example is the HDMI to your television monitor. A very poor quality (or damaged) HDMI will still transfer some data and your screen will display it - but it amount of data it would have to display if it was a good quality cable would be greater - hence a better picture.

It is a law of deminishing returns - I would spend say £20 or £30 on a thicker USB with better quality connections - but I've seen some at £300!!!

 

[chebby]

Argos.

Belkin.

Take somewhere between £5 and £9 with you (depending on the length you need).

You will probably have a decent USB 2.0 A - B type cable kicking around somehere if you've ever owned more than one printer or scanner. If it's long enough, use that.

 

[ifor]

This might interest you.

http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/lautus-audio-interconnect.htm

 

[chebby]

This might interest you.

http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/lautus-audio-interconnect.htm

£96 for 1.2 metres of USB !

 

[BenLaw]

This might interest you.

http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/lautus-audio-interconnect.htm

Oh good, they 'clean and shape the audio data.' Following that convincing explanation, I've ordered several of them.

 

[Covenanter]

This might interest you.

http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/lautus-audio-interconnect.htm

£96 for 1.2 metres of USB !

You can fool some of the people some of the time ...

Chris

 

[abacus]

This might interest you.

http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/lautus-audio-interconnect.htm

What a load of clap trap, A digital interconnect only carries digital data, NOT audio or video.

As for the rest of the gobbledygook on the website, words fail me; I had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t April Fools Day.

Unbelievable (Literally)

Bill

 

[the record spot]

Good well built USB cables are available for less than a tenner. Belkin make some good ones if you want a good brand name.

£96? LOL, fools and their money, step that way....

 

[Andrew Everard]

Who buys usb cables these days? I have about 30 in all.

Question and answer

 

[BenLaw]

Who buys usb cables these days? I have about 30 in all.

Question and answer

Maybe by using the word 'who' he was limiting it to humans and excluding amphibians?

 

[El Hefe]

Try to borrow a decently priced cable, say the Supra 2.0 and compare it with a freebie or a USB printer. Only you can say whether it sounds different or not. I think the Supra is selling at GBP 29/metre.

 

[Overdose]

Try to borrow a decently priced cable, say the Supra 2.0 and compare it with a freebie or a USB printer. Only you can say whether it sounds different or not. I think the Supra is selling at GBP 29/metre.

Not bad advice, but to save the OP time, the answer is...no difference.

If you had bought an expensive USB cable, you might feel the need to believe it made a difference, otherwise you'd feel like a right lemon.

 

[steve_1979]

All USB cables will function the same and will not effect the sound in anyway.

My advice is to go for any cheap one that looks well made (you don't want to have to replace it in 6 months time because it's falling apart).

 

[El Hefe]

Try to borrow a decently priced cable, say the Supra 2.0 and compare it with a freebie or a USB printer. Only you can say whether it sounds different or not. I think the Supra is selling at GBP 29/metre.

Not bad advice, but to save the OP time, the answer is...no difference.

If you had bought an expensive USB cable, you might feel the need to believe it made a difference, otherwise you'd feel like a right lemon.

On the contrary, I am using an el cheapo cable...regardless that I did hear a difference with a USD600 USB cable when I did a review on it. Mainly because I am not a true CAS fan....so would not spend that amount of money on USB cable.

And the main advice above is actually borrow and decide by yourself...

 

[ID.]

Who buys usb cables these days? I have about 30 in all.

Question and answer

I'm assuming he meant he has that many kicking around due to always receiving a free one when he buys some equipment (we'll ignore the fact that they aren't actually free and the price is incorporated into the price paid for the piece of kit one purchases).

I'm also prepared to accept that he may have stolen them, which is why mine always seem to go missing. Or that he used to purchase them all the time, so has no need to "these days".

 

[andyjm]

As an ex engineer, most of my posts on here have to either help someone with a technical point or challenge the absurdities in some of the claims made for mains cables / speaker cables / interconnects ......

However in the spirit of fairness, there are situations when the design of a USB cable can matter. In fact, it is only when a USB cable is used for async transfer in a design where the DAC is not powered by the USB cable that I would put my hand on my heart and say the cable could have no effect. If anything, the situation can be worse than the pig's ear that is S/PDIF -

1. USB powered DAC - while not exactly HiFi, by my definition, any DAC that is USB powered will be getting its supply down the USB cable. The DAC needs a clean, low impedance supply. Thin conductors, badly shielded construction, poor connector quality could impact this.

2. Synchronous data transfer - Just as with S/PDIF, in this mode the DAC will be deriving its clock from the incoming data stream. Badly shaped pulses, noisy data lines, could lead to an increase in received jitter in the DAC.

So, in any proper USB implementation (DAC not powered from the USB, async data transfer), any USB cable that doesn't fall apart when you plug it should be fine, but if the DAC is USB powered or the DAC derives a clock from the data (sync transfer) the cable could just possibly matter.

 

[WinterRacer]

As an ex engineer, most of my posts on here have to either help someone with a technical point or challenge the absurdities in some of the claims made for mains cables / speaker cables / interconnects ......

...

So, in any proper USB implementation (DAC not powered from the USB, async data transfer)

andyjm, you might be intereseted in the views of nwavguy, the engineer that designed the ODAC on async and bus power.

From http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/odac-update.html#odacfaq

IS THE ODAC ASYNCHRONOUS[/b] There’s a lot of marketing and other hype lately surrounding asynchronous DACs. Much of it is myth. Just like op amps got a bad name from the old 741 released many decades ago, so did USB audio based on early synchronous designs. But most modern USB audio devices use an adaptive interface where alocal clock controls the DAC and is only loosely coupled to the PC’s timing. Contrary to popular belief, with an adaptive interface the data is not directly clocked by the USB port. This method has been refined over the years and can work very well. It’s also natively supported by all major operating systems. Most methods of true asynchronous USB audio require proprietary drivers under Windows and proprietary drivers are rarely a good thing. Judging a USB DAC by whether it’s asynch or adaptive is a bit like judging a car by the engine configuration—i.e. an inline six in a BMW vs a V6 in a Nissan GT-R. Other aspects of the design are more likely to limit the performance and there are plenty of examples of outstanding USB DACs using adaptive interfaces.

He also believes USB powered DACs have many advantages and the challenges can be overcome, with careful design.

Power Noise Below the DAC’s Noise Floor[/b] – It turns out ground and conducted (electromagnetic) noise are typically as significant as noise on the USB power line. Because a connection to the PC’s ground is required regardless, simply using an external power supply doesn’t automatically mean freedom from USB bus noise. With the ODAC the solution involved careful routing of ground currents, different power supply conditioning for the digital and analog sides, careful capacitor selection, and inductive filtering. The result is the latest prototype’s noise floor is mainly determined by the DAC IC itself not the USB power bus. Put another way, an independent power supply wouldn’t make much difference.

 

[paradiziac]

And the main advice above is actually borrow and decide by yourself...

+1