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How important is the digital cable (USB) for quality?

post #1 of 6
5/8/03 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
For those that use computers as a source and an external USB "soundcard" device, how important is the USB cable? Know there are length issues (and small cable magnets to keep the signal "clean"), but haven't heard the cable itself discussed. Are there "quality" USB cables? Any difference in sound?
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post #2 of 6
5/8/03 at 4:13pm
We're still riding the same wavelength! I just got a M-Audio Sonica and so far it's a nice improvement over the internal sound of my G4 dual. It's actually quite impressive sounding, really nice bass. I'm giving it some more time before posting some detailed impressions. I'm also wondering too if the quality of the USB cable, essentially acting as a digital cable, makes a difference. I would assume so.
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post #3 of 6
5/8/03 at 7:38pm
As long as the cable works correctly at all, there should be almost no difference - for not directly bus powered devices, there should be no difference at all. On the USB side of things, the sound data don't have to meet an exact timeframe (unlike S/P-DIF), so you don't have to worry about jitter. For directly bus powered devices better cables could cause a little improvement, though, by providing cleaner and more stable power especially to the analog part of the USB sound device.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
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post #4 of 6
5/9/03 at 4:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by lini
For directly bus powered devices better cables could cause a little improvement, though, by providing cleaner and more stable power especially to the analog part of the USB sound device.
Is there a source for better USB cables? Several of the boxes by Xitel, M-Audio, etc. are bus powered. How much power do you believe is lost in a short stock USB cable? Also how does a powered hub affect distance? Curious how far do you think you can go if you keep using powered hubs with no other USB devices?
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post #5 of 6
5/10/03 at 11:10pm
This is a somewhat complicated question to answer. Short USB cables won't make a difference. However, as the cables get longer, time domain jitter and error/retransmission rates increase. USB audio transceivers are designed to buffer incoming data to handle this, up to cable lengths of 10 meters. However, buffering means increased IC complexity (number of transistors), so you can't necessarily count on all manufacturers to go over-the-top with buffering.

Like anything, if you're pushing the limits (say, for example, you're using an 8-meter cable and live in an RFI-rich environment), you may find that a higher quality/better shielded cable will make a difference. It also depends on the USB device in question.
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post #6 of 6
5/10/03 at 11:23pm
blessingx: I'm not aware of any existing USB cables marketed for special or even audiophile quality, yet. But a little DIY could come in handy: If you can dig up the plugs, why not chose the cable you'd like? I guess, I'd go for some copper litz type with individually shielded conductors...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
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