[linuxworks]

I just have to wonder, what people think they are gaining by making their own usb digital cables?

99.9% chance that the pre-made molded one is better made and will last longer. certainly will have better molded strain relief. they cost a few dollars and if they wear out, you buy a new one for a few dollars.

there is zero reason to make one at home. boggles me why anyone would think they can do better on a cable that simple 'does not matter' to audio. they work or they don't. there is NO 'fidelity' in usb cabling. none. sorry to break it to you.

 

[LingLing1337]

Aesthetics.

 

[FallenAngel]

I used 2x 26awg shielded SPC for data lines, grounded to pin 4 (ground) only on USB A side, 1x coax 22awg for power pin 1, power shielded grounded to pin 4. Skipped the overall shield altogether.

The next one I'm building will be just the data lines with ground connected to pin 4 and testing it with the MusicStream DAC - had a chat with Larry the designer and he recommended this configuration. Will see if it works.

linuxworks: Not running DC power lines right beside a digital signal sounds like a good idea to me, so does using a "better" shielding scheme. In the end, I'm a gear-head and tweaker, if this $20 of materials makes me think the music sounds better, whether it be my placebo or not, that's likely one of the cheapest improvements I have experienced.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LingLing1337 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Aesthetics.

as long as the molded connection was soldered and not shorting out, how can aesthetics win over reliability?

hand built just does not have the strength in day to day flexing that molded jumper wires have. yes, I consider a usb cable just a jumper wire, of sorts

I don't build THOSE myself, either (lol).

there are things humans do better. but strain relief hand wiring isn't usually one of them and there are no sonic benefits to building a usb cable.

sometimes the best choice in diy is knowing when you can't compete with the big factories.

you can make better speaker wire yourself. but just given the 'fiddliness' of the usb jacks and plugs, its questionable that any home made one will be in any way shape or form 'better'.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif linuxworks: Not running DC power lines right beside a digital signal sounds like a good idea to me

disagree; complete and total waste of time. any noise from the power supply will be 'laughed at' by the signal strenth of the *differential* twisted pair data lines.

this isn't analog and there is no 'clock and data jitter' at the frame level. unpack the frame, there can be data jitter but this is WAY beyond cable issues.

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just have to wonder, what people think they are gaining by making their own usb digital cables? 99.9% chance that the pre-made molded one is better made and will last longer. certainly will have better molded strain relief. they cost a few dollars and if they wear out, you buy a new one for a few dollars. there is zero reason to make one at home. boggles me why anyone would think they can do better on a cable that simple 'does not matter' to audio. they work or they don't. there is NO 'fidelity' in usb cabling. none. sorry to break it to you.

I want to make one to see if I can. I am still relatively new to DIY so anything I build that ends up working gives me great satisfaction, not to mention more experience putting things together. Plus, it will look the way I want, and as long as it doesn't sound worse, I will be happy. I am not worried about durability because this will be "permanently" connected to my computer running to a dac that will be mounted to the bottom of my desk. I have all the materials already except for the two $0.70 connectors. Haven't you ever built something just because you could?

 

[FallenAngel]

See rest of quote:
In the end, I'm a gear-head and tweaker, if this $20 of materials makes me think the music sounds better, whether it be my placebo or not, that's likely one of the cheapest improvements I have experienced.

 

[Juaquin]

I'm not going to argue with building one for the experience of DIY, but to expect actual differences in sound or performance is extremely far-fetched. Personally, I think I'd be better off putting that money into higher quality components for the amp, source, headphones, etc. But whatever floats your boat is fine by me.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haven't you ever built something just because you could?

yes. I get the pride of building, thing.

but even if you do a superb job, it won't make the bits any more (or less) happy. that's my issue with this; its a total loss of time given that no matter how good or bad a job you do, as long as you don't cross wires you'll get the same result. ie, the same as if you used the free cord that came with that last external cdrom you bought

if the cord is usb 2.0 ('thick' and not the skinny extension cords that sometimes are found with pc components) then that's all that is needed; it will have enough wire on the power side to carry the normal 500ma (max) and the 2 data lines will be twisted and shielded. as long as that is what you have in your 'free with cdrom drive' cable then you're all set.

if you have the whim to throw effort at the hobby, that's great! but at least be productive with your effort and make it pay off.

 

[FraGGleR]

Completely understand your points. Have been a happy user of Monoprice cables for a long time, especially for data. Their USB 2.0 cables are quite robust and use 24awg for power and 28awg for data. The fact that they are only a buck and a half for a 6 footer is cake.

Then again, there are people willing to pay over $1000 for a usb cable so maybe if I can make a good usb cable, I can get a piece of that pie...

 

[FallenAngel]

Actually, most "cheap" usb cords that I've butchered simply had all 4 wires in there, with a little shield around everything.

As for bits being happy, we can all choose to believe different things.

 

[linuxworks]

no one's going to mention ferrite clamp-on 'beads' ?

I don't see them that often on usb cables but I think I have seen at least 1 with ferrites on the 2 ends.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually, most "cheap" usb cords that I've butchered simply had all 4 wires in there, with a little shield around everything.

those would be usb1.1 OR non-spec 2.0 fakes.

if its a real 2.0 (which we both know is not hard or expensive at all) then it will have a real data pair and a real power pair.

we can find cheap fakes for a dollar but also real honest 2.0 spec ones for a dollar, too!

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif no one's going to mention ferrite clamp-on 'beads' ?

regular ones kill TMDS: http://www.scapro.se/text/murataemidvi.pdf
Quote:

A major issue is that the addition of an EMI filter, for example, can cause waveforms to lose their shape, making faithful data transmission impossible. DVI transmission rates are in excess of 1.6Gbps, and if ferrite beads are added to signal lines, not only is the extraneous noise component eliminated, but also the frequency components that make up the signals to be transmitted!

maybe also USB2?

but I like the idea of a home made cable w/o power lines, or only connecting the ground on the device end...my system likes to groundloop

 

[cobaltmute]

From Intel

Quote:

Full speed devices may use either a type B receptacle or may have a permanently attached cable. In the latter case the cable will most likely be attached to the PC board via a header. Such an arrangement does not yield as good shielding as a USB connector pair and may require additional filtering. This is most easily accomplished by passing all four conductors, plus the shield wire, through a ferrite bead as shown in the following figure. The length of unshielded cable should be limited to 3 cm or less.