[dclaz]

I have done tonnes of tests with friends involving different USB cables and the didn't know which one they were hearing.

Sometimes for both tests you can use the exact same cable and my friends have claimed one sounds very different from another. It is all in your head. You need to understand how a conductor works first of all, then you need to realize that anecdote is worthless in the face of objective fact. Open up a $5.00usb cable and a $50.00 USB cable and you'll see they are all just copper. If you think digital cables can make that much of a difference, buy audiophile sata cables, audiophile harddrive, etc.

USB cables effecting sound signature is theoretically and physically impossible as long as they are up to spec.

 
Indeed, it seems that if you can hear a difference between 2 (USB) cables, it's because one of them (even if it is the premium cable) is almost certainly doing something horribly wrong and altering the signal unacceptably. 

 

[Ari33]

I've been trying to understand the workings of USB better but some of the stuff in the link bellow is a bit over my head, but it did get me thinking about speed/timing within USB protocols.
 
ie; Is it theoretically possible that with silver being a better conductor it could transmit the digital USB signals very slightly faster than the copper USB cables therefore either reducing or increasing jitter when used with non asychronous DAC's ?
 
 
 
http://www.usbmadesimple.co.uk/ums_1.htm

 

[proton007]

ie; Is it theoretically possible that with silver being a better conductor it could transmit the digital USB signals very slightly faster than the copper USB cables therefore either reducing or increasing jitter when used with non asynchronous dacs.

The difference in conductivity between copper and silver doesn't become significant until a few hundred meters.
You can easily find this out by comparing the resistivity values of the two.
For a wire of cross section 1 mm^2 and length 1m, the difference in resistance is .07 × 10^-2 ohms, or .7 milli ohms.
Usb 2 allows for a voltage deviation of +-.25V. Even at 1A this would require a difference of 0.5 ohms which translates to a 700m long cable.

 

[Kamakahah]

Can you please provide an example of new "accidental discoveries" destroying fundamental theories heories that is recent?

Sure, but I'll clarify the "accidental discoveries" part. Many innovations and discoveries happen unintentionally or as the byproduct of an unforseen variable.

As far as discoveries that went against the status quo, the discovery of retroviruses like HIV. It didn't follow the central hypothesis of all known organisms at the time or the central dogma of molecular biology which is the flow from DNA to RNA to Protein. Instead those RNA viruses reverse transcribe to produce DNA from RNA.

That completely changed the way Biologists viewed the cell and led to numerous techniques used today.

There are many more, that is simply one of the more known and acknowledged ones.

A few others :
1. Discovery of Prions
2. The on-going research on non-coding DNA that was one called "junk DNA" actually plays important roles that we still are only beginning to understand.
3. Minor blows to our classification of how we thought organisms worked like protozoa being considered prokaryotic but are actually closer to eukaryoticorga nisms dispite not being multicellular. Trichomonas vaginalis is the one that comes to my mind.

Etc, etc, etc.

 

[xnor]

  Some of us have.  I administered, 2 coworkers did the listening.  They correctly identified the USB cable being used 10 out of 10 times.

You must understand that without further information this can be dismissed as "anecdote".
 
If the test really was done properly then 10/10 would be an earth shattering result. Why haven't I read about it all over the news? Scientific journals?
 
Please provide more information. Don't hide it from the rest of the world.
 
 

  I don't want to prove any statement to any of you non-believer of difference in sound between USB cables. I knew from the start that you will stick on your position and your theoric explanations.

Right, you don't want to provide any evidence for your claims nor are you willing to even consider information that does not go in line with your beliefs.
 
Cognitive dissonance at its best .. and you imply that others are closed-minded? Seriously?
 
 

I DON'T NEED ANYBODY TO CONFIRM WHAT I CLEARLY AND WITHOUT A DOUBT HEAR. I have enough self confidence to be positively convinced of what I see/smell/hear in my life.

 
What has a lighter shade of grey? A or B? What do you "WITHOUT A DOUBT" see?
 
 

You challenge me to do a blind test. I am challenging you to experiment with a generic cable, a Wireworld Starlight and a Transparent Performance.

You're shifting the burden of proof, because you cannot provide any evidence.
 

 2- And to answered the original poster question. YES THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN USB CABLES AND SOMETIME, NOT SUBTLE AT ALL!!!

Hah, that so reminds me of my "sticking fingers in their ears going *lalalalalalaaaaaa*" post.
Scream all you want, it's not gonna make it true.
 
 
Ignore this post too and it's pretty obvious that you're not interested in being open-minded.

 

[invrlose]

This reminds me of a religious debate by now. "The burden of proof lies on the one who claims the USB cable makes a difference!" "I know without a doubt my USB cables sound different from one another" etc etc. you can use those exact lines without the USB bit in a religious context, I think the word "unbeliever" has even been used in this thread, LOL.

 

[xnor]

That's a poor comparison. We're talking about the natural world here.
For something as simple as USB cables it would be trivial to come up with positive evidence ... if there were audible differences.

 
 
Claiming otherwise is a cheap cop out.

 

[Tablix]

Does this mean when recording my music I need to use one of these uber cables when backing up my masters on a external HD?  We are not living in the analogue world, so stop acting like we are.  If the data sent and received (a working standard usb cable) the ONLY place that change can be made is before its sent or after its received, or its all in your head.  

 

[dclaz]

  Does this mean when recording my music I need to use one of these uber cables when backing up my masters on a external HD?  We are not living in the analogue world, so stop acting like we are.  If the data sent and received (a working standard usb cable) the ONLY place that change can be made is before its sent or after its received, or its all in your head.  

Don't forget about the HD inside your PC which is a much noisier environment than outside the case, http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2012/03/26/wiredream-silver-sata/1 

 

[dclaz]

I should sell some 'audiophile' computer components such as HD's and motherboards

 

[Kamakahah]

Don't forget about the HD inside your PC, http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2012/03/26/wiredream-silver-sata/1

I bust a nut, thanks.

If people are actually buying this stuff, then I'm in the wrong business.

Looks like the old school profession of pedalling cure-all remedies has had a make over into modern electronics.

One word seems to sum it up -- Swindled.

 

[Lorspeaker]

ya, likewise the usb cable from the pc to an external portable diskdrive affects the sound too. 
( this post is for those who are in the "i believe usb cables make a diff camp )
 

​

 

[Namkung]

Oh boy. One of these threads again..
I use a Wireworld Starlight 7 USB cable not because I think / hear a difference but because I can and want to.
I also use other premium "boutique" cables because I want to.
I seem to hear slight differences with some cables but I fully acknowledge that it could all simply be in my bead and even if that was the case, I would buy the cables again, if for nothing, for purely aesthetics. 

 

[jarrett]

Of course you use it because you think it sounds better

 

[Lorspeaker]

  Oh boy. One of these threads again..
I use a Wireworld Starlight 7 USB cable not because I think / hear a difference but because I can and want to.
I also use other premium "boutique" cables because I want to.
I seem to hear slight differences with some cables but I fully acknowledge that it could all simply be in my bead and even if that was the case, I would buy the cables again, if for nothing, for purely aesthetics. 

 
i had the old starlight...just too lean n bright for my setup, the furutech GT2 was more full bodied, one had to go