[BaTou069]

So, what has the sound science community to say about ferrite beads?

I was looking on Aliexpress for a double ended USB C cable and once I added audio or hifi to the search terms I found cables with ferrite beads. (example)
I wondered what added benefit that could bring, if any, and after a quick google I was brought to this article:
The truth about ferrite beads will shock you

In short, he claims and shows graphs to make his point that ferrite beads make no difference in the audible frequency range....(quote) "My frequency-impedance plots above start at 1MHz, which is 50 times the highest audible frequency. Audio frequencies are far off to the left of the diagram, where the impedance is essentially zero. The Fair-Rite Products Corporation doesn't bother to specify any of its EMI-suppression beads at frequencies below 1MHz, and most are designed to run at higher frequencies, into the tens or hundreds of MHz"

As far as I understand his claims, and his background being blog about synths, I guess he talked about analogue circuits. But what's with digital?

The last time I saw a ferrite bead around a usb cable was on a charging cable for my Grasshopper Vaporizer, using that proprietary magnetic cable actually killed the vaporizer. Maybe less related to the ferrite bead and more to the 2.5A charger I used, but still, the look of that bead brought up bad memories lol

 

[redrol]

USB doesn't transmit audio frequencies. It transmits digital encoded information. If it works it works, there really isn't a middle ground.

 

[BaTou069]

USB doesn't transmit audio frequencies. It transmits digital encoded information.

Exactly, it's bits. That's why the audible frequency range isn't relevant as it may be with (analog) synths as I wrote. My question hidden in that pile of text was more about what EMI could be in a usb cable tasmitting bits if any, and what kind of order of amplitude frequencies are we talking about?

If it works it works, there really isn't a middle ground.

Don't know if that cable works or not, I just look for some more cables to buy and that one looked relatively cheap for a sexy cable

 

[dunring]

The only time it helped with USB was when I put a double sized ferrite filter, like the big ones that cover 2 coax you get with a TV. Adding it right over the USB connector on the back of a noisy computer helped reduce interference the connector was getting, but didn't completely eliminate it. On the USB cable itself I've never heard a difference though. They even put them on a scanner cable, which is weird as it's a digital cable...

 

[megabigeye]

Completely anecdotal and maybe not the answer you're looking for... The only time a USB cable has made any sort of difference for me was when I had an "audiophile" cable that was picking up tons of noise from a Bluetooth keyboard. So much noise that the music could hardly be heard. I replaced that cable with one with ferrite beads, which completely blocked the interference/noise.

 

[BaTou069]

Completely anecdotal and maybe not the answer you're looking for... The only time a USB cable has made any sort of difference for me was when I had an "audiophile" cable that was picking up tons of noise from a Bluetooth keyboard. So much noise that the music could hardly be heard. I replaced that cable with one with ferrite beads, which completely blocked the interference/noise.

Was it the same cable but with an added ferrite bead?
To me the only time a usb cable made a difference was connecting a DAC with a cable that does just charging

 

[megabigeye]

Was it the same cable but with an added ferrite bead?
To me the only time a usb cable made a difference was connecting a DAC with a cable that does just charging

It was not the same cable. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't remember if I tested other cables that I had on hand before purchasing the one with the ferrite beads.

 

[bibbs]

it may be 1's and 0's but its still voltage. high frequency hash causes error in the bytes of data so has to be error checked more often. ferrite beads reduce the "hash" in the voltage giving a cleaner voltage resulting in less error. think of a bad telephone line and you get the idea.

 

[someguyontheinternet]

it may be 1's and 0's but its still voltage. high frequency hash causes error in the bytes of data so has to be error checked more often. ferrite beads reduce the "hash" in the voltage giving a cleaner voltage resulting in less error. think of a bad telephone line and you get the idea.

Sorry if this comes off rude, but what you wrote is absolute nonsense. A hash represents the result of an approximately unique mapping function for values in a given range. A "high frequency hash" does not exist nor does hashing cause errors in data.

 

[bibbs]

i was using hash as a term for noise/garbage or what ever you want to call unwanted stuff in an electrical wire. but hey each to their own. its a long time since i passed my BSc in Networking so i'm thinking off the top of my head not reiterating crap from the internet. ferrite beads work but not in human hearing range and since its data transfer on copper wire and not audio it reduces the garbage for a "cleaner" voltage. ferrite beads/clamps are not snake oil they were invented wayy back to reduce "noise/interference" (IIR it was RFI/EMI) in the electrical community by boffins not the audio community.

Off Topic, speaking of noise in electrical things. when was the last time any person in the audio community thought about checking the screw terminals on the bus bars in their consumer unit or the screw terminals in their wall sockets and plugs? probably never but they will go out and spend mega bucks on line conditioners without checking their electrical supply first... Disclaimer.. dont go sticking screwdrivers or fingers or wet sticks etc.etc in consumer units, plug sockets or indeed anything with mains electricity running through it unless you are qualified or know what you are doing. if in doubt seek the attention of a qualified tradesman.

peace man...

 

[someguyontheinternet]

The only source I could find with a quick Google search calling electrical noise "hash" is a book from 1996. I'm not sure if the term is widely used, but as I can't even find a scientifically relevant definition of the term in the context of electrical noise I find it weird to use the term in this manner.

Anyway USB spec compliance testing is not completely trivial and includes signal integrity tests. The likelihood of interference causing significant impact on data integrity is extremely small, if the cable doesn't happen to cross a bunch of poorly shielded cables.

 

[bibbs]

yes its a very old term no longer used due to the # key and programming. so excuse my terminology.

carry on

 

[bigshot]

Hash is sometimes used for mixed up noise or garbled words... Just like the food hash is mixed up food.

 

[BaTou069]

I remember ferrite only as cores in order to increase the magnetc field of a coil, just stick that ferrite core through a core, but thats not the topic.
Not sure if related, but in this youtube video ()
someone demonstrates interference picked up by the cable and how cleaners could help.
On the other side, I remember a video by Amir from ASR where he measures the analogue output with and without the Jitterbug usb decrapifier or how that is called and saw no improvement, although I think this device is not there to improve the sound but to reduce power generated noise from usb to a dac, especially if the dac has an external power source but correct me if im wrong.
Are those type of noises related and something a ferrite bead would reduce/eliminate in an usb cable?

 

[Davesrose]

As long as the USB cable is up to specification when it comes to shielding, I don't see how it matters. By its intrinsic qualities, a digital interconnect can have more noise since it only needs the tolerance in transmitting a serial stream of 1s and 0s. I live near a radio tower. I do pick up radio interference with various amplifier designs and analog interconnects. I found a ground loop isolator for my subwoofer that eliminates the plate amplifier getting a hum. For my main home theater receiver, I've found it has to be plugged into a surge protector or power conditioner that has a RFI filter (otherwise I'll hear the radio station in my loudspeakers). I have tried ferrite cores around analog cables, and found they do nothing (at least for RFI).