[Disiskurt]

Hi, I'm a new owner of an Alien DAC, and was looking for a very short cable that would match the portability of the DAC it would be plugged into, when I came upon this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/30-Retractable-U...QQcmdZViewItem

There are a decent amount of these cables on eBay, and seemed to be a perfect match for size and length purposes. However, the cheap price and exceptionally flimsy wire has me wondering if this is a mistake for using with a DAC. Otherwise, I'd probably get the 0.5m cable from here:
http://www.lindy.com/us/productfolde...1643/index.php
Which seems decent enough. I know most people will say that USB cables don't differ, but the one from that auction seemed to be a little iffy. If it'd work the same, I'd love to get it.

Anyone's thoughts?

 

[Alleyman]

http://www.amazon.com/9-Piece-USB-Ad...9080846&sr=8-1

I have one of these.

edit: I thought there wasnt a differece but I now hear a very noticable drop in volume (I A/B'ed stock cable with the one above). Cant explain why.

 

[threEchelon]

I would not buy one of those retractable USB cords. The cable is ridiculously thin and of poor quality.

 

[mojo]

There is certainly a difference in quality between USB cables. The cheap ones often don't work with high speed devices suck as USB thumb/hard drives, and even printers often have problems.

If you need a very short cable, why not make one? It's easy to cut and re-solder a USB cable, as it's only four colour-coded wires. You could buy the connectors separately and use some CAT5 or something.

 

[Ahriman4891]

Yep, not every cable is high-speed (USB 2.0) certified. Make sure to get the certified ones.

Also, USB spec does not allow cables longer than 5 m (15 feet). I believe this has to do with signal timings. That is, "quality" of the cable makes no difference when max length is concerned. For connections over 15', a repeater hub is needed.

 

[xinoxide]

its a digital signal. there is no quality in charge and discharges when theres only 2 data levels in strings, on and off. be more worried about the quality of your DAC.

 

[Scrith]

I once participated in a long thread at the PS Audio forums where I was complaining about someone's recommendation that PS Audio make a high-quality USB cable for audiophiles. I thought the idea was preposterous (and gave lots of good reasons why) and suggested that PS Audio find somewhere else to spend their research dollars. But the discussion dragged on. I finally broke down and bought the most expensive USB cable I could find, which was a Monster Cable "Pro USB" (or something like that) with the intention of proving (via blind tests with my wife, who doesn't mind helping me test this type of stuff) that there was no difference between it and another generic USB cable that I had lying around (I think it came with a cheap USB hub I had recently purchased).

But something funny happened when I listened to the two cables. They sounded different. The Monster Cable definitely sounded better. But I doubted my personal test and proceeded with the blind test for my wife (she didn't know which was which, just cable A and cable B). She clearly preferred cable B, which was the Monster Cable.

I am still somewhat doubtful about the results, but I'm still using that Monster Cable to this day.

 

[ry_goody]

Although I am open to quite a high number of possibilities out there, the idea of one USB cable differing from another is just something I cannot believe. If proven to have a difference in an A/B blind test I think it would be more plausible to consider your ability to deduce the difference as some subconscious mental telepathy with the person switching the cables. Seriously how about we stack another test on top of this. Have your wife switch the cables, see if you can A/B it properly. Then rig up some mechanical device from lego technics or anything really to switch the cable for you so that there is no person involved, then see if you can still A/B it. Or perhaps find some random dude on the street to switch them for you, then thered be less mental connection than with your wife.

I mean, USB is digital theres only 0's and 1's. If a 0 somehow doesnt make it to the end of the cable as a 0, then you have digital glitches in the sound, not lowered sound quality. It's not like amps or headpones, this is a defined exact right and wrong, it's a 0 or it's a 1, there is nothing in between, there is no subjectivity.

 

[aphex944]

When I was using my Sonica regularly, I measured using RMAA between the included USB cable, and a store-bought generic USB 2.0 cable. The cable I purchased had a lower noise level, and IIRC the other tests faired better as well.

As far as it being audible? Who knows, if there was any difference it was too small to easily identify subjectively.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Great information. Sometimes, it's nice to see a dissent in commonly-accepted information like the adage, "It's digital, it doesn't matter." That statement didn't apply to TOSlink or S/PDIF, so differences (electrical and otherwise) might also exist between USB or Firewire cables.

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahriman4891 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep, not every cable is high-speed (USB 2.0) certified. Make sure to get the certified ones. Also, USB spec does not allow cables longer than 5 m (15 feet). I believe this has to do with signal timings. That is, "quality" of the cable makes no difference when max length is concerned. For connections over 15', a repeater hub is needed.

The so-called "usb 2 certified" is simply a bunch of BS. In terms of USB cables, there is no difference between the ones for usb2 or usb1. Saying that simply means the person does not understand how USB works (no offence). As long as they are properly built (most of them are), they should be fine.

 

[Earlephant]

It is digital and it doesn't matter. A corrupted data stream is possible - but should be corrected by FEC. The difference that cable makes to digital connections is 0. Optical connections are the same. Sorry. You can't hear a difference that isn't there. Volume changes over USB - thanks gave me a laugh. No offence. Get a generic 6 , 8 10" cable from your local supplier and be happy.

 

[Ahriman4891]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguindude /img/forum/go_quote.gif The so-called "usb 2 certified" is simply a bunch of BS. In terms of USB cables, there is no difference between the ones for usb2 or usb1. Saying that simply means the person does not understand how USB works (no offence). As long as they are properly built (most of them are), they should be fine.

Hmm. I did a couple of quick web searches, and actually I wasn't THAT wrong

It seems the certification process only started with USB 2.0--before that, it was theoretically possible to make and sell a cable (or even a device) which wasn't fully compliant with the USB spec. So while there may be nothing special about USB 2.0 re: cable impedance etc., it's best to get a "certified" cable--I personally have seen printers refuse to work on certain cables (the cables were not damaged, checked with other devices). On the other hand, I doubt one can even find a non-certified cable nowadays.

 

[fordgtlover]

I too don't really subscribe to cable fantasies, but I have also been in this situation. Stupid ears, mocking my prejudices.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrith /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...snip But something funny happened when I listened to the two cables. They sounded different. The Monster Cable definitely sounded better. But I doubted my personal test and proceeded with the blind test for my wife (she didn't know which was which, just cable A and cable B). She clearly preferred cable B, which was the Monster Cable. I am still somewhat doubtful about the results, but I'm still using that Monster Cable to this day.

 

[Alleyman]

I understand the digital nature of USB cables too and I am hardly a cable advocate but for some reason the retractable cable introduced a drop in volume.

I also have an external hard drive that complains of the cable being USB1.1 and not 2.0 when connected using the same retractable cable. I know this shouldn't make a difference volume-wise when connecting a USB2.0 sound card, but it did. I wish there was a way for me to prove it here.

It *is* a very cheap cable so there might be a chance that I have a faulty piece.