What's the best USB audio cable for the money?

[Jake2]

That's good cause Gustard u18 sounds rather bright when it stands between HQP and Cyan2.

I found the LHY UIP more full bodied and natural than the U18 or SU6 DDCs s via I2S, though to be fair I guess my modest BJC FE I2S cable, though well regarded, may have been a limiting factor.

 

[kingoftown1]

I found the LHY UIP more full bodied and natural than the U18 or SU6 DDCs s via I2S, though to be fair I guess my modest BJC FE I2S cable, though well regarded, may have been a limiting factor.

I always thought the SU-6 was great, BUT it needed a high quality LPS, AC power cable, DC cable, I2S cable....the cost adds up quick. I follow the path of improving the source to negate need for a DDC now, but I still check every now and then out of curiousity to see if Singxer will make a next-gen DDC iteration.

 

[Jake2]

@kingoftown1 Cheers, yes aware of the many positive experiences of folk with both those DDCs which is why I got them, the cable and PS upgrade path isn't one I explored with the SU6.

 

[kopczas]

If your system sounds too sharp already, I would probably avoid the GT2 NCF.

So resolution is there but not avoiding sharpness? How about the bass.

I found the LHY UIP more full bodied and natural than the U18 or SU6 DDCs s via I2S

U18 was perfectly fine to my ears before I switched to HQP. While using Daphile it added some pleasant resolution and clarity. HQP+U18 is to much for me.

 

[TheManko]

So resolution is there but not avoiding sharpness? How about the bass.

As with the midrange and treble vs Supra Excalibur, the bass is also more natural with GT2 NCF. With Supra Excalibur their firm character has the effect of dramatically reducing the decay of bass notes, which is what gives it an almost numb deep bass sound. You hear the sound emitted, but it doesn't bloom out in a natural manner. GT2 NCF allows the deep bass to loosen up a bit, giving a much more satisfying sound. There isn't as much deep bass as with Oyaide Class S, as they have an even more "loosened up" sound than GT2 NCF. GT2 NCF has a more normal neutral balance in the deeper bass regions.

 

[Slackaveli]

As with the midrange and treble vs Supra Excalibur, the bass is also more natural with GT2 NCF. With Supra Excalibur their firm character has the effect of dramatically reducing the decay of bass notes, which is what gives it an almost numb deep bass sound. You hear the sound emitted, but it doesn't bloom out in a natural manner. GT2 NCF allows the deep bass to loosen up a bit, giving a much more satisfying sound. There isn't as much deep bass as with Oyaide Class S, as they have an even more "loosened up" sound than GT2 NCF. GT2 NCF has a more normal neutral balance in the deeper bass regions.

So the Class S is energetic and at least decent for bass. How does the class A compare to that? How about any added musicality? One of those 2 will probably be what i try from source to Altor Ti USB, then neub-1020 to my Yggy. Or, I'll go 1020 on both sides.

 

[TheManko]

So the Class S is energetic and at least decent for bass. How does the class A compare to that?

I've never heard the Class A, so I have no idea! I only bought the Class S somewhat recently because of this thread https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb-cables-shootout.976100/
To quote the review of Class S from that thread:

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.

I agree with those comments. Compared against Neub 1020, the Class S brings instruments much more forward and hypes up the sound quite a bit. My first impression of Class S was that it really filled out the low end vs 2x Neub 1020 and made both my speakers and headphones sound more full range. The Class S add no sharpness to the sound, probably because they only use OCC copper wires. Technically the difference between Class S and Class A is that Class S has slightly thicker wires and different material on the connectors, using Platinum + Rhodium instead of Gold. Maybe it's the connectors that give them their hyped up character.

 

[Slackaveli]

Someone tried Oyaide Continental 5S V2? AI recommends it to me as a replacement for InAkustik Excellenze, to reduce the brightness of the system as a whole. What do you think?

Hey, Buddy, did you try the Continental USB?
Looks promising.

http://www.oyaide.com/en/products/digital_interconnects/continental-5s

 

[TheManko]

Hey, Buddy, did you try the Continental USB?
Looks promising.

http://www.oyaide.com/en/products/digital_interconnects/continental-5s

The Oyaide Continental 5S V2 is probably excellent, not that I've heard it. But like the Neotech Neub 1020 it uses pure silver conductors for the data lines, and copper wires for power. Aside from differences in the shielding method, the most meaningful difference between then is probably the connectors. Neotech uses "optimized Gold connectors", whereas Oyaide uses silver and then rhodium plating. My honeymoon with the Furutech GT2 NCF is fading a bit, so if someone was interested in a cable at this price point I would absolutely steer them toward cables with pure silver conductors like the Oyaide Continental instead of something silver plated. The Oyaide cables without "Neo" in their name is their audiophile brand and are made entirely in Japan. Their Neo cables are made in China and have much wider retail distribution, as it's their more mainstream brand aimed at musicians, DJs etc. Their made in Japan cables can have tricky distribution depending on where you live, so it's often much cheaper to buy them imported via Ebay. If you really want to save money, Oyaide has their own retail store in Akihabara if you happen to be going to Tokyo for some reason. Last year I bought two pairs of their silver XLR cables there. It was half price vs buying them from Audiophonics in Europe.

As for the issues I've noticed with the GT2 NCF with more listening. The gist of the problem is that the sharpening effect can ruin some songs. 95% of music sounds just fine, and in many cases they're enhanced by the sharpening. But in some songs the dynamic range sounds compressed, because the deeper bass isn't as lively as Oyaide Class S or even Neub 1020. The level of deep bass quantity is more like Supra OG, hence why I described the bass amount as "normal" in a previous post. In most songs that's not a problem, but in some outlier tracks it is! In some songs the vocals sound awful because the cable tried to bring them more forward, but does it in a strange manner. It makes the song sound like it was mixed poorly, which I would think if I was hearing it for the first time with GT2 NCF. But I've heard it hundreds of times with other cables, so I know it's mixed just fine, the cable is just rendering it incorrectly. The positives of the GT2 NCF are always there, ie that the tone and timbre are always spot on, and a general feel of purity and clarity. But the silver plating, even when done properly, has negative side effects Furutech couldn't fix. For the most peace of mind, just use pure copper and pure silver for everything and steer clear of everything silver plated. The GT2 NCF can have its place depending on the system and what you listen to. But my recommendation isn't nearly as enthusiastic as it was before on Day 1 of ownership. I'll keep them installed to run them in properly and test a wider range of material. It's possible my impression will swing in a more positive direction again with time. We'll see!

 

[BlackOWL]

Hi, Slackaveli! I decided to try Furutech GT2 NCF. It's cheaper. I'll add my thoughts on the sound later.

 

[linknet]

The GT2 NCF can have its place depending on the system and what you listen to

Hi,
Which kind of music will you consider the most suitable for the GT2 NCF ?
Thanks !

 

[TheManko]

Hi,
Which kind of music will you consider the most suitable for the GT2 NCF ?
Thanks !

This evening I will test as much music as possible to answer this question.

 

[linknet]

As for the issues I've noticed with the GT2 NCF with more listening. The gist of the problem is that the sharpening effect can ruin some songs. 95% of music sounds just fine, and in many cases they're enhanced by the sharpening.

Thanks for what you wrote about the Supra Excalibur and the GT2 NCF
Now i have a Supra Excalibur and before an Inakustik Excellence. With the Inakustik i was missing some bite in my system... The Excalibur solved this problem but goes too far in the "enhanced" direction... Not just 50% but 100%... So if the GT2 goes in that same direction but not as far it might be perfect for me
I'll get a GT2 NCF Monday...

 

[Dankeschön]

Again a moral to keep your old cables.

Just bought a Ifi power supply conditioner for my Argon Solo streamer. That has usb mini, and Ifi ipower 2 has usb adapter A and my old shielded Supra A to micro can be used as a perfect power cable....

Originally used for my old mobile harddrive for music files, and pensioned after I got JRiver on Solo that sounds better.

 

[feverfive]

Can anyone recommend a USB-A to USB-C cable for less than ~$150 USD?

I'm doing some homework on this as I am at least mulling over a future DAC change wherein the assumed DAC-side input will be USB-C and the source side, for now at least, is USB-A (my current setup: Macbook Pro (external HD stored music library) USB-C > USB-B input of Altor Isolator > USB-A output of Altor to USB-B input of DAC)

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Also, for those curious, I have found the Altor to be a reliable device in the month or so of use. I use a cheap'ish (~$70 out of pocket from AE) LHY Audio 5v LPS (I honestly cannot discern audible differences between using the Altor USB bus powered from my Macbook Pro and using the LPS, but this way, I don't have to wonder; maybe I could if I bought a super nice LPS for $300, but I'm not doing that for this setup).

I can discern slight differences with the Altor in the chain, but I am extremely reluctant to say much on this front because I also have two new USB cables in the mix (I had to get new cables to use the Altor because the Macbook Pro has only USB-C ports & I didn't even own a -A to -B cable, nor did I own a "quality" -C to -B cable, before this experiment w/ the Altor) so I'm not postive to which I can assign any sonic changes.