USB Cables Shootout

[Zapacat]

I have tested 3 (till now - more coming up) USB cables for audio. Here are my findings sharing with this great & always helpful community here.

NEO by Oyaide d+ Class S
Stiff, could be dangerous for some USB sockets.
Official price: €100,- for 1m

This cable punches way way over it's price tag and it is a real giant killer. I use this cable cos it has proved himself better than many much more expensive cables.
It has this undeniable punch, snappiness, impulse and drive. Rhythm, pace and attack are top notch. It is fast, open, airy and detailed combined with mighty bass punch.
If you look for romance look elsewhere - this cable is for drama and dynamics. Yes dynamics, macro and micro are really great. The involving and driving character slams all the tension and drama in the music tightly at your ears with great verve. Only the mids could have a bit more texture. Nevertheless, price to performance ratio is simply outstanding.
BTW, I'm planning to mod this cable with pure copper gold plated USB plugs cos the originals are made of bronze - known for harsh sound.

Xangsane XS-3300 (for DIY)
Mediocre flexible.
Price: €35,- (1m cable plus 2 pure copper gold plated USB plugs)

The conductors are solid core 6N OCC copper and the shielding with 2x 2 pairs is optimal for USB. I hate solid core copper sound and always warned about it. Solid silver sounds very different and does not have the sonic shortcomings of copper - at least not at that magnitude. But because the Chinese producing very nice cables in the last years I have decided to give it a try.
To put it short this cable sounds simply HORRIBLE! Slow, smeared, bold, soft, dark and uninvolving in the most utter sense. Soundstage? Where? With this cable a Steinway sounds like a Bösendorfer in syrup.


Sommer USB cable test coming up - still breaking in.

 

[dunring]

I've done a ton of USB cable testing and research. USB 2.0 is best for audio since 3.0/3.1 etc. are more prone to interference by design. I use a Fibbre optical USB cable going to a Yottamaster USB hub and the shortest USB 2.0 cable to the DAC. I've done measurements and the lowest is a direct optical USB to the DAC, with a .5db noise floor penalty for using the hub. Measurements were done from a Topping A70Pro preamp out to a sound interface. Not accurate enough to do a review, but really good for tweaking the same system for changes in crosstalk, noise floor, etc. Optical USB cables have really come down in price with VR headsets being so popular.

 

[Zapacat]

Measurements are really important. But how is the sound of the Fiber Optical USB cable?

 

[Ghoostknight]

Measurements are really important. But how is the sound of the Fiber Optical USB cable?

imo it purely comes down how noisy the receiving end is (as usually both sides get powered seperately)


since im a advocate of passive filtering (specially for digital stuff like usb where bits either arrive or they dont and specially as your last step going into the dac) i made this: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...-board-for-diy-usb-cables.423028/post-7917618

still havent test it, i have currently too many projects but i can keep you updated on this



imo double shielding and seperate shielding for power/data is a must for a good usb cable, so the oyaide looks really good, similar to the supra excalibur

 

[Zapacat]

Sommer Cable SC-Quantum Highflex Multicore 2 (for DIY)
Extreme flexible
Price: €15,- (1m cable plus 2 pure copper gold plated USB plugs)

Sommer Cable Germany is a highly regarded serious cable manufacturer known for their extreme wide variety of professional cables.
Come on, a cable for €2,50 per meter... this can't be high-end... or?
This cable sounds so damn good, I can't believe it! All the detail and soundstage of much higher priced cables is there but in a more softer style. Where the NEO Oyaide cutting superb sharp shapes and trying to bring every detail and attack up front, the Quantum is more relaxed. I say it is a matter of taste.
This is a nice surprise especially for me cos I have the HiFiMan Arya Stealth and with this cable it sounds sooo sweeet...
It is not the tightest or fastest out there but the lacking harshness and edginess coming along very tempting and invites to endless listening sessions.
Price to performance ratio is... (I'm lost for words here) astronomically... outragedly...

I always thought that a copper cable costing more than several hundred dollars is a rip-off and can't be justified. This cable proves my point, it drives the shame into the faces of very costly copper cables. This is not the first time Sommer Cable stirring up the high-end front.

Here my DIY Quantum with gold plated pure copper plugs soldered with 10% silver solder:

 

[kopczas]

Could you share how did you solder plugs? I mean D+,D-,+5v, GND is obvious. I'm curious about shielding. Did you soldered to GND pins?