[fapman]

So the title says much, i'm now at the stage of my upgrade that i need to consider power cables and usb cables to my HDVD/HD800S - setup.

My options are these:

For USB cable;
 
- QED Performance USB A to B (USB 2.0)
- Clicktronic USB 3.0 A/B
- Ebay China "audio" USB A/B 


Power cord:

Supra Lorad
or
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2054436.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xaudio+power+cor.TRS0&_nkw=audio+power+cord&_sacat=0'
 
or something like this would be an option:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=fukurawa+eu&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xfurukawa+eu.TRS0&_nkw=furukawa+eu&_sacat=0

We are talking EU-plug here. 


I know that some people swear by the USB cable quality and/or power cord-quality. What i think is that spending 60€ to power cord and 40€ to usb, is worth it "just in case" in my scenario. Reason is considering that i'm spending over 3000€ in total of this setup, there isn't really a point to buy 2€ power cord, nether i want to spend 200€ just for power cord. 

So imo there is sweetspot in spending money on cables, what is the best "budget" power cord and USB a/b cable?

 

[Ruben123]

No, get the cheapest you can get. Power cable SQ is 100% pure nonsense, USB cable SQ 99%: it is broken or it is not, and you will hear that immediately. There is no such thing as a USB cable that is broken or not quite good but sounding alright.
 
If a $1000 USB cable is not broken, it sounds alright.
If a $1 USB cable is not broken, it sounds alright too.
And if any of them is broken, you will hear it. Mono-ish sound, sound seeming to come from afar etc.

 

[fapman]

Thank you for your answer!
What i though was many people here swear by expensive power cords and/or usb - cables.

What about extension cords? Should i just buy an long enough (4m) cord to the outlet and avoid extension cords, or do they matter at all?

 

[Ruben123]

USB or audio extension cord?

 

[fapman]

Power extension cords 

 

[yage]

So imo there is sweetspot in spending money on cables, what is the best "budget" power cord and USB a/b cable?

 
I don't know about USB cables - I haven't really experimented with them. The Analysis Plus Pro Power Oval is what I mainly use in my system for my lower power consuming components. I've also built some power cords myself using the designs from this website to similar positive effect.
 
EDIT: Just wanted to add since you're in the EU if you go the do-it-yourself route, to contact Chris VenHaus for ideas on how to modify the designs for the specifics of your country's power grid.

 

[fapman]

They do look appealing, yet the only problem indeed that they are in states... DIY bit conserns me, much more appealing option would be AIO sollution To me. I know its not hard but anything is possible if I do it...

 

[yage]

You can the Analysis Plus dealer page here for a list of international dealers or you could try Amazon.

 

[Michael P]

Hi fapman -don't waste money on those "cheap" Chinese Power cables - they are poor quality rip-offs
The 1st replier missed out 3 important words  - " in my opinion"
There are plenty of people who do in fact hear improvements with  many different  Power cables( including DIY)
Michael

 

[willowbrook]

Any decent shielded USB cable that is robust should do. Normally it's the length that matters.

 

[Ruben123]

Hi fapman -don't waste money on those "cheap" Chinese Power cables - they are poor quality rip-offs
The 1st replier missed out 3 important words  - " in my opinion"
There are plenty of people who do in fact hear improvements with  many different  Power cables( including DIY)
Michael

All they hear is their $$ spent. There is no such a thing as a USB or power cable's sound.

 

[yage]

All they hear is their $$ spent.

Yeah that's true since the aftermarket cable is made with better materials and with better construction, all of which makes the system perform at a higher level.

 

[Ruben123]

Yeah that's true since the aftermarket cable is made with better materials and with better construction, all of which makes the system perform at a higher level.

Not sure if youre being sarcastic, but a cable works or not. It could not be better than any other cable that works.

 

[motberg]

  So the title says much, i'm now at the stage of my upgrade that i need to consider power cables and usb cables to my HDVD/HD800S - setup.

My options are these:

For USB cable;
 
- QED Performance USB A to B (USB 2.0)
- Clicktronic USB 3.0 A/B
- Ebay China "audio" USB A/B 


Power cord:

Supra Lorad
or
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2054436.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xaudio+power+cor.TRS0&_nkw=audio+power+cord&_sacat=0'
 
or something like this would be an option:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=fukurawa+eu&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xfurukawa+eu.TRS0&_nkw=furukawa+eu&_sacat=0

We are talking EU-plug here. 


I know that some people swear by the USB cable quality and/or power cord-quality. What i think is that spending 60€ to power cord and 40€ to usb, is worth it "just in case" in my scenario. Reason is considering that i'm spending over 3000€ in total of this setup, there isn't really a point to buy 2€ power cord, nether i want to spend 200€ just for power cord. 

So imo there is sweetspot in spending money on cables, what is the best "budget" power cord and USB a/b cable?

For mains power cables, I think that shielding of some sort is important due to the mains cables are always somewhat near the signal cables.. I am using at least 4 Xindak PC's and have no problems, everything sounds OK. My guess is a large company such as Xindak not only has the required engineering but also needs maintain its reputation for quality, so generally I would think similar suppliers (such as Supra) have similar concerns and capabilities and would be a safe bet. I remember seeing a video a while ago, where the guy was measuring the interference present near the PC connection (where it enters the equipment), then he showed how shielding that connector reduced the interference to basically zero... so maybe you can research if the power cables you are considering have good shielding.
 
For USB cables, I have had stuff from Furutech, iFi Gemini, Elijah Audio, PPA (dual and single versions), Curious Cable, and a few more.. they certainly do not all sound the same in my rig (especially high frequencies, I have worked in live bands so have an idea what cymbals should sound like).. I think the best overall value that I have tried may be the Pangea Audio USB-AG.. they are available on ebay.  (My current system is in my HF profile)
 
There are some online suppliers that offer a try before you buy idea... I would seriously consider that if available - especially for the USB cable.

 

[fapman]

 
For mains power cables, I think that shielding of some sort is important due to the mains cables are always somewhat near the signal cables.. I am using at least 4 Xindak PC's and have no problems, everything sounds OK. My guess is a large company such as Xindak not only has the required engineering but also needs maintain its reputation for quality, so generally I would think similar suppliers (such as Supra) have similar concerns and capabilities and would be a safe bet. I remember seeing a video a while ago, where the guy was measuring the interference present near the PC connection (where it enters the equipment), then he showed how shielding that connector reduced the interference to basically zero... so maybe you can research if the power cables you are considering have good shielding.
 
For USB cables, I have had stuff from Furutech, iFi Gemini, Elijah Audio, PPA (dual and single versions), Curious Cable, and a few more.. they certainly do not all sound the same in my rig (especially high frequencies, I have worked in live bands so have an idea what cymbals should sound like).. I think the best overall value that I have tried may be the Pangea Audio USB-AG.. they are available on ebay.  (My current system is in my HF profile)
 
There are some online suppliers that offer a try before you buy idea... I would seriously consider that if available - especially for the USB cable.

Thank you for your help!

The Supra it is for the power cord then.
 
 
About the USB input, Pangea Audio looks promising, however its pretty hard to find it in EU-site. I have to look into for that and to some research that where i can find them for good price including shipping.
Also, i found out that Supra also makes USB-cables, that are relatively cheap for the quality of the product. Have to do some research.
 
And if i order through online, there's always 14-days period when you can return the item.
 
Also what makes me wonder is that does Surge protection matter? What i mean is that i want to use Surge protection for the AMP/DAC combo, but only "audio-grade" surge-protections i have found are Supra's (EU-plug) and they cost around 200€.... Little too much when you consider that you can pickup APC/Belkin for around 30€? Does the surge protection affect sound quality?