USB cable MATTERS!

[deltaydeltax]

I can hear the difference between lead free and leaded solders.

Occassionally my USB cables let a 2 through too!

cables...

 

[EnOYiN]

Go and crap on threads somewhere else please.

 

[armoured]

lol

 

[Dynaudio lvr]

For those audio lovers who may come across this thread and be discouraged at it just being a negative rant fest..

It's been a quite a few years and many have come around since.

For years ive been using generic usb cables and have been happy. Since i upgraded finally to an ultra highend rig i begrudgingly decided to get a better cable. Didnt make sense for a very expensive setup to possibly be hindered by a cable.
I really didnt believe and ordered the cheapest one off amazon..Audioquest Forest.

Man, what a difference. I know it cant be and shouldnt be but it is. Better layering in the soundstage, other things hard to describe.
Im not sure why so many vehemently detest the idea of this phenomenon being true. Ive no doubt if they were given a AQ carbon cable they would keep it and use it. Paying alot for one is another story. I payed about $75 Canadian and i dont need to go beyond that.

My uneducated guess as to why a good cable may improve sound is that maybe the true qualities of the dac/amplifier come through better when the bitstream is truer. Less jitter and reclocking let's the sound signature of the rig shine better. McIntosh sparkle or Chord clarity. Different people would notice different changes in sound depending on their system.

Anyway, i find it a unexpected and surprising upgrade to have a cable make a difference.
If you feel that the IDSD BL is at the margin where depreciating gains aren't worth extra cost and you love your HD650's forever then i doubt the usb cable will make a difference.

 

[billbishere]

I just got this cable for my D10 to help with the power interface. This cable separate the power and has silver.

Paid $20 for it. It's super short.

 

[torii]

here an expensive cable that glows in the dark...from an exotic audiophile japan maker. works well and glows in the dark. https://www.amazon.com/Oyaide-Neo-Class-USB-Cable/dp/B003TND8JA/

 

[billbishere]

i actually saw those cables when i was searching for the mine. I considered them but, they were double the cost of what I got and didn't seem to warrant it. But who knows, I almost wish I would have went with the next step up with the ones I got. But this was my first foray into premium cables.

 

[MikeW]

Upgraded my Belkin Gold to a Wireworld Chroma, noticed a slight improvement in the bass region. Not much/any reviews available on this relatively inexpensive usb cable. I refused to believe for a long long time. Been in the hobby long enough, to realize that cables do matter, unfortunately. I really really wish they did not, but turns out every goddamn cable in the chain matters.. some more then others. Power, interconnect, digital, and headphone cables.. so annoying. To make it worse, they matter more or less depending on the gear they are hooked to. Some gear is better then others at eliminating differences, some gear does not resolve enough to hear it, though that barrier is quickly coming down in recent years, as much better audio gear trickles to the mainstream. In large part thanks to Objective, Schiit, Fiio..

Also aftermarket power cords are a pain in the ass, heavy, unwieldly, difficult to plug in, nothing like plugging a garden hose into your 1 lb amp. This alone has caused me to "put my head in the sand" for various parts of my time in the hobby. Eventually i'll try them again and have to admit they are different. One of my favorite power cords is so stiff the thing can walk around on it's own, standing upright like a cobra.

At least we have more options now that are affordable. Like Pangea.. I will never own 200$ interconnects or a 300$ usb cable. What I will do is DIY or high price/performance parts that a less then 100$, preferably less then 50$.

 

[MikeW]

here an expensive cable that glows in the dark...from an exotic audiophile japan maker. works well and glows in the dark. https://www.amazon.com/Oyaide-Neo-Class-USB-Cable/dp/B003TND8JA/

This cable is marketed towards those who DJ in a club scene, there it's color and glow in the dark features make perfect sense.

 

[billbishere]

I have come to like Pangea

 

[Implacable]

I don't get how the signal would be improved by more expensive cables.

 

[audiofil]

I don't get how the signal would be improved by more expensive cables.

It's not. At best, a cable would be transparent with no signal degradation.
Another way of looking at it: cheap/poorly constructed cables can degrade the signal, while a well constructed cable (not necessarily expensive) will not.