georgelai57
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2012
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Now that I've seen The Holy Grail a.k.a. white DSD light on my Mojo, I doubt I'll continue to use it that way. Except once in a while just for fun.
9/10 audiophiles recommend keeping the hose away from the mojo, even if it refuses to rub the lotion on its skin
At the risk of being flamed, I don't see how the composition of the USB cable wire can add warmth to digital data from whatever device is being used as a transport
So what are the best USB cables? Firstly, be careful. A lot of audiophile USB cables actually increase RF noise and make it sound brighter, and superficially impressive - but this is just distortion brightening things up. Go for USB cables that have ferrites in the cable is a good idea - it may also solve any RF issues from the mobile that you may have too.
Rob
Well spotted. The 3.5mm plug portion of the cable that Angular Mo bought certainly looks and I would say it 4-pole.
Is this what it meant by "TRRS" termination?
Dear Mr Watts,
if there is a "Rob Watts approved" list of USB cables, I am sure I am not the only Chord DAC owner who would love to know what this list comprises.
i can understand not wanting to play favorites,
however, i wouldn't mind this list either.
I understand those concerns to - after all the data is the same. But there are solid scientific reasons why they can make a difference.
In the 1980's, people started talking about mains cables making a difference to the sound quality - and I didn't believe it either - particularly as my pre-amp had 300 dB of PSU rejection in the power supply. But I did a listening test, and yes I could hear a difference. Frankly I still could not believe the evidence of my own ears, so did a blind listening test with my girl friend. She reported exactly the same observation - mains cables did make a difference to SQ.
To cut a long story short, I proved the problem was down to RF noise. RF noise inter-modulates with the wanted audio signal within the analogue electronics, and if the RF noise is random, then the distortion is random too and you get a increase in noise floor with signal. This increase in noise floor is noise floor modulation, and the brain is very sensitive to it; you can perceive tiny amounts of noise floor modulation as a brightening or hardening of the sound. By tiny I mean the noise floor modulation needs to be well below -200 dB, so the brain is very sensitive to it. With the right test equipment, you (APX5555 is only test equipment that has no innate noise floor modulation) can easily measure the effect.
The RF characteristics of the cable can change the RF noise that gets injected into Mojo's ground plane, and this is the mechanism for changes in smoothness. You may say why can't you make it insensitive to it; well I go to silly lengths to RF filter and decouple, and use dual solid ground planes on the PCB, but you can't remove the problem. For Dave, Hugo TT and 2 Qute I have galvanic isolation, and this eliminates the problem (along with other SQ problems such as sound-stage depth). But I can't do this with portable devices, as it draws power from the 'phone. That said it's less of an issue with portable electronics as they are less power hungry and create less noise.
So what are the best USB cables? Firstly, be careful. A lot of audiophile USB cables actually increase RF noise and make it sound brighter, and superficially impressive - but this is just distortion brightening things up. Go for USB cables that have ferrites in the cable is a good idea - it may also solve any RF issues from the mobile that you may have too.
Rob
How do you put DSD file into iPhone? I thought iTunes doesn't allow it?
any companies make ferrites micor usb- otg micro usb, that is ultra short, as the last thing is i will want to add brightness to the sound
so please help telling which company is making such cables with ferrites
I see you have the X3ii. The only digital output on the X3ii is the coaxial output that's shared with the line out. Considering this you need a custom cable that will be compatible with the TRRS connection in the X3ii. If you don't throw your FiiO in the dustbin like you did with the e11 (been reading your posts in the X3ii thread), then you will completely bypass the DAC and amp in the X3ii and the Mojo will do all the digital to analogue conversion and amplification. The X3ii will essentially just be a transport for music files.
Here's a link to a custom cable you need. You select your plug options for the X3ii and Mojo:
http://www.moon-audio.com/black-dragon-mini-coax-digital-cable-hifiman-player.html
Edit: To be clear for those that do not know, the USB OTG function on the FiiO DAPs is for expanded storage, not for audio output.