USB Cables - Good Quality & Apparence?

I had exactly the same problem (looked today). I searched and found out that probably the "cheap" green audioquest cable would be a quite good buy. some said that the cinnamon version would be slightly better ..but I don't know. Nuforce cables are also a cheaper option. Some say there is no difference between any of those cables. So cause I have no choice I will try the audioquest and a "normal" cable and compare  them.

I highly recommend the Audioquest Forest USB cable.   Excellent cable for the money.   I used this cable until I was able to get my hands on a Wywires USB cable and can vouch it's a good buy.   

Quote:

Originally Posted by audio duck 

I highly recommend the Audioquest Forest USB cable.   Excellent cable for the money.   I used this cable until I was able to get my hands on a Wywires USB cable and can vouch it's a good buy.   

Where would you recommend to buy them from? Some reviews on amazon say they are fake. 

I like the cables at USBFirewire.com because you can get just about the perfect length for any application and they have angled connectors that aim to the side or down for tighter installations. I use them for my MBP on a stand with down angled cables so they blend in nicely.

They're standard style PVC jacketed but they are reasonably flexible. I wouldn't use long cables for portable use, but at a desk with some cable management they work great. I have yet to find a USB cable I really like that is soft and supple. Considering looking for good quality bare connectors and making my own.

Audio quest evergreen? $30-40

and digital cables don't make a difference

As far as I know, and logically can figure out, the cable merely needs to be able to accurately and consistently deliver data from one end to the other. But their are still some other things to think about. I understand that I don't need a great USB cable to do everything a great one can, but right now I'm planning and ordering parts for a desktop rig and I am in the market for a USB cable merely because all of mine have kinks and/or improperly maintained. I like thick USB cables so I know they can handle the throughput and in a situation like this I am going to end up with a USB cable thats brand new, just havent decided on one specific one yet.

If you dont understand what I'm trying to say, a USB cable is digital. Digital is digital is digital. But that doesnt mean you want to use a cable thats got kinks in it. It can potentially effect the consistency of the different signals in the USB cable from arriving at the proper time and be the same bits that were sent into it. If you're worried about cables, get something brand new so it's gonna perform at its best, gold plated tips isn't a bad call either. Anything more than that is unnecessary unless you truly can't stand using a "cheap" cable. Some people think they can hear something different with a different digital cable, let them spend money if they want, but it's gonna be a different situation/need for everyone. If you're willing to buy expensive cables, then you're probably willing to try cheap ones first as it's not exactly gonna break the bank to try them out.  

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Originally Posted by ScaryFatKidGT 

Audio quest evergreen? $30-40

 

and digital cables don't make a difference

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erieg 

Interesting thing. I just purchased two USB 3 cables for my portable hard drive since mine was all twisted up and a second because I needed a longer length at work. Same brand. With the short cable the drive showed up as a USB 2 device and with the long one as a USB 3. Now granted, these are cheapish cables but still.

 

I guess what I am getting at is that even though it's 1 & 0s sometimes the cable does matter at least as far as clocking goes. Now when I hear that a usb cable adds extra bass or something like that I really have to wonder what they are talking about.

Thats just how many 1's and 0's get transphered it is still the same 1's and 0's and listening to music would run fine on USB 2, if you want spend another $5 and get a USB 3 cable sweet but don't spend $100 on a digital cable.

If a device is showing up as USB2.0 when it's a USB3.0 devices with a USB3.0 cable you have a SERIOUS error in something. Either the cable is physically damaged and reading as USB2.0 the USB chip in your drive is malfunctioning or something on your computer is malfunctioning such as a bad driver. In no way does that reflect cables doing different things when working properly because that is NOT working properly. You should get that replaced asap.

The two USB devices I own are both USB1.0 which is much more bandwidth than required for 2 mono audio streams. Even 24/192 leaves plenty of headroom in USB1.0. If you move up to 32bit and 384kHz then you would need USB2.0 or USB3.0 for the necessary bandwidth.

The cable is probably bad. Either trash it or RMA it.