Can somebody explain why everybody wants to upgrade digital cables?

[bimmer100]

@bimmer: Cool. Just as an aside, for my system, the cables that made the biggest improvements are in the following order of significance:

1. Power (the metallurgy of the plug blades and IEC make the difference, not the purity of the copper wire).
2. Analog ICs between preamp/poweramp and DAC/line preamp.

Digital cables don't make a sharp impact in my system.

cheers,

I agree, digital cables are not a "huge" deal, but if you can improve your SI of your USB system then you will be good to go. The USB regen Amber seems to be the best option I know of. Fixes issues of most USB cables.


I use Pangea ac14se power cables and they do help. As well as ps audio ps300 ac regenerator. Clean power is key. Helps a bit and it's far from a subtle change. It's quite dramatic.

Recently I have upgrade my source from my PC with Paul pangs USB V3 card. Using the oven controlled crystal oscillator.
My audio-Gd master 11 amp/Dac is attached to a modded gustard u12 (teradak lps powered) and using i2s hdmi (.5meter dhlabs pure silver cable). The onboard amanero combo 384 USB is pretty damn good though. I have that being fed by an eifidilty USB pcie card and powered by teradak lps.

I like toys and spend more on power upgrades and never have spent too much on digital cables. They just don't matter short of being properly shielded, a close tolerance 90ohm impedance and that's it.

Power cables have a ton of hype too. But good pcocc connectors make a diff in some systems.
Our outlets suck, usually upgrading wire from the breaker and replacing the outlet with an audio grade red copper outlet will help.

 

[bimmer100]

Looks the same as the Furutech USB Form-2.  Betcha I can't hear any difference.  :blink:

It is the same. Same designer. But much cheaper.

I still like supra USB cables better.

Pangea sure brings a quality cable at a dirt cheap price. Don't bother with the silver version. That's where they suck you in and open your wallet

 

[Light - Man]

Here, check out these Pangea cables. The designer makes tons of cables for many manufacturers. It's a good cable overall.

http://www.amazon.com/Pangea-Audio-cable-PCOCC-silver/dp/B005AWQ47G/ref=pd_sim_147_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=121D9RZD3W8DCC45XGRV

 
Looks like a bargain to me, shows that you dont have to pay a packet to get something with all the bells and whistles and you know you dont have a weak point in your system!

 
Has anyone got a suggestion for an upgrade on the free USB to micro-USB cables suitable for laptop to DAP connection for use as a DAC?

 

[bimmer100]

Looks like a bargain to me, shows that you dont have to pay a packet to get something with all the bells and whistles and you know you dont have a weak point in your system!

Has anyone got a suggestion for an upgrade on the free USB to micro-USB cables suitable for laptop to DAP connection for use as a DAC?

Yes!
Supra micro USB cable!
http://www.jenving.com/products/view/usb-2.0-a-micro-b-1001908548

 

[Light - Man]

Yes!
Supra micro USB cable!
http://www.jenving.com/products/view/usb-2.0-a-micro-b-1001908548

 
Thanks Bimmer you are 100%
 
2 questions, do you know of any that are silver plated  (Placebo effect perhaps?)
 
and second, am I mistaken that some micro-USB-B plugs are wider than others?

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
  and second, am I mistaken that some micro-USB-B plugs are wider than others?

Correct. Be sure you see what termination you are getting.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

 

 

[bimmer100]

Thanks Bimmer you are 100%

2 questions, do you know of any that are silver plated  (Placebo effect perhaps?)

and second, am I mistaken that some micro-USB-B plugs are wider than others?

I know of micro-B USB and mini-B USB as most common. Usually USB 3.0 is not used and those connectors vary a bit.
Be sure you order correctly.
Don't bother with silver plated plugs for digital. Don't worry about connector too much for digital cables, focus on its impedance. As long as its proper impedance and supra are tightest tolerances for your buck.
Also, silver tarnishes and makes for a poor connector option. Generally Gold and rhodium are used as the IACS is good and they are durable, rhodium is most durable, gold is better if you don't plan on unplugging a lot. Gold wears down quickly. Copper and silver tarnish.
Ideal is TECU- tellurium copper. 93% IACS! - pure copper is Great yet has issues with tarnishing and manufacturing/machining it into certain shapes. Tecu is better and almost as good.
But tecu is incredibly difficult to manufacture into plugs. Generally only xlr male plugs and mini 2pin iem cables have connectors made of tecu. Norneaudio for instance. They make my fav headphone cables. Hands down!