Quote:
Originally Posted by gadgetman  Hey quaddy, what kind of sonic differences do you notice between the different high end USB cables?
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i always equate it to a standard analogue audio interconnect
i hear differences in those, and often the materials can inflect a certain signature upon the sound, the age old addage of copper being warm and silver more detailed is apt and true in my experience
this follows also in the digital realm, i never thought it would do, but i hear differences betweeen digital cables just as i do analogue cables, beit coax, toslink, usb, AES etc, each cable is individual within reason, certainly moreso if the cable has been designed with a mind to maximize quality and noise rejection, along the lines of the locus/ridgestreet products where they separate the voltage lines and add EMI material, the result is a cleaner, less veiled, more open sound than a standard or cheaper cable.
i dont argue that digital isnt digital, of course it is, the same in that analogue is analogue, sure.
whats in play here is materials which boils down to very basic, and factual chemisty between metals and capacitance/conductiveness which at a low level affects all things audible.
also the noise pollution in standard cables is higher than one that rejects near field interference, thus allowing a less affected audio stream, i use and thinkof usb cables as an analogue interconnect! i always have, for realtime streaming audio anyway, so i try and buy the best materials and good cable topography in that design, you arent so much as trying to produce something better or add on top of the source, but allow as much as the signal to come through unnafected by deleterious implementations, one which constantly amazes me in the shape of ferrite beads on usb cables that are intended as audio USB cables, kimber never ceases to amaze me on that front, its even advised against in the usb official specification/ratification, they are just a commercial manufacturer with no technical knowledge obviously.
the standard cryoparts cable is what i would call a smallish tweaked upgrade cable, in that there is a perceivable difference to stock, but only a small ammount (
but worth it for that small percentage!?!)
the axis over and above the standard, is more noticeable, to me its like listening to an R'N'B black diamond interconnect over an ALO cro-x, both are good in their own ways, but the R'N'B managed to contain warmth and detail at the same time, the alo was only about detail, therefore the axis justifies its price over stock or standard in that it delivers detail, clarity and a smooth sound all at the same time
for those who flatly refuse to entertain a usb cable as an interconnect rather than a 1/0 transporter will always run into a problem with this argument, as its not solely about the ones and zeros, and therfore parts of the real argument and opinions will fall on deaf ears.
the key to this is
realtime streaming audio, this isnt the same discipline as sending chunks of file data acrosss a usb cable.
