[cmling]

The title says it all. I am considering buying a headphone amp that will (occasionally) be connected to my computer's USB 2.0 port, and the one offered by the manufacturer is too short for me (1 foot). I have seen lots of cheap stuff on the Net, but I assume they have a negative influence on the sound, right?

Thanks for your help!
Charley

 

[timo_nyc]

Hmm...USB is digital; I'm not sure there's really any "degradation" over smallish runs.

What amp are you thinking of? The quality of the DAC (digital analog converter), which I assume is built in to your amp, is more important than the USB cable.

Otherwise, I've seen reasonably-priced USB cables at Rat Shack; by contrast, there's a much bigger mark up on the same stuff at Circuit City and the like.

On line http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/usb_cables.html has some good prices.

 

[cmling]

Ah, of course! USB being digital does make a difference, I realize.
What I am thinking of buying is a Total Bithead by HeadRoom.

Thanks for the information!

Charley

 

[Blackshadow]

I recently picked up a Total Bithead and I haven't found any variation in sound quality between the various usb cables at my office ranging in length from 6 inches to 3 ft.

HTH

 

[cmling]

Very comforting to know that any old cable will do!

Charley

 

[Nospam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmling Very comforting to know that any old cable will do! Charley

I wouldn't say that any cable will do. You want to make sure it's a good-quality, well-made cable with good shielding.

I remember back in the SCSI days, I found a huge range of cable quality, with many of the cables being totally worthless, due to poor shielding. Data corruption, computer lock-ups, etc were common symptoms, all traced back to the SCSI cables. I ended up having to spend quite a bit of money for well-made, properly-shielded cables, but it was worth it in the end.

Today, it's Firewire and USB, but cable quality issues haven't changed. I bought one of those retractable FW cables a couple of years ago, and I can't use it for anything except charging my iPod. It's got a shielding problem that causes all sorts of computer problems when I try using it.

 

[Mr.Radar]

Look for a cable that has ferrite cores at each end and good sheilding. They should give you silghtly better data transfer reliability.

 

[cmling]

It is always a pleasure to see that there are so many helpful people on the Net! I think I have enough information now to make an informed decision.

Charley