[548184]

I'm just a messenger standing on the shoulder of Giants. I just add in my own flavor and power everything by battery and ultracapacitors. I'm not eccentric enough yet to revamp the power supply of my home with a few dedicated 30A power lines (1 for digitial, 1 for analog), so batteries are good alternative as I can scale to hundreds or thousands of batteries if needed. It's objectively a better solution too.

Romaz, whom discovered the Monoprice Slimrun USB optical solution, and Ray-Dude are the OG innovators (Giants) with a Million Dollar Audio Budget. If you search Chord DAVE threads, you will find their innovative solutions from long ago.

Many of these innovators have moved on to other Audiophile sites.

On Ray-Dudes system below, you can see how the Monoprice SlimRun USB plays a role in both their Chord DAVE and Chord Hugo TT2. These guys have been through hundreds of USB cables and can have pretty much any USB cable they want. You can see how they architect their USB solution below. It's a K.I.S.S. methodology by just powering their USB optical with a battery. If the Monoprice SlimRun USB optical is good enough for their Million Dollar Audio gear, it's good enough for my purposes.

It's pretty much a given people are aware that RFI/EMI is a fungus in Audio systems today. By avoiding Cooper wire, you avoid attracting noise and brightness in your system. Batteries + optical can pretty much eliminate 99%+ of these noises and provide a nice, soothing super low noise floor which levels up the other positive SQ attributes.

I'll get back when my battery project to power this cable is complete...

NOTE: Separating a clean side USB is a thing. They use dedicated PCI-E USB cards to separate from the internals of the PC. So none of them connect directly to the USB motherboard, they connect to a PCI-E USB card which essentially decouples from the PC internals.

^^^
Nice clean and neutral. No coloring or artificial preservatives. Batteries placed at specific weak points to offset potential RFI threats. Technically, the Monoprice SlimRun USB optical is a USB optical extender. "USB cable" is maybe not in play anymore. Technically, the Uptone USPCB is not a USB cable either. So technically, "Monoprice SlimRun USB optical + Uptone USPCB" is not a "USB Cable"?

I found some interesting snippets:



I'll be using about 500 Farads for the USB optical cable. TT2 has about 60 Farads.

Why buy an expensive DAC if a traditional USB cable dominates or plays a major role in the signature? It should have no role.

Traditional Cooper Wire USB cable pulled out the chain is a good thing.

 

[manueljenkin]

I'm just a messenger standing on the shoulder of Giants. I just add in my own flavor and power everything by battery and ultracapacitors. I'm not eccentric enough yet to revamp the power supply of my home with a few dedicated 30A power lines (1 for digitial, 1 for analog), so batteries are good alternative as I can scale to hundreds or thousands of batteries if needed. It's objectively a better solution too.

Romaz, whom discovered the Monoprice Slimrun USB optical solution, and Ray-Dude are the OG innovators (Giants) with a Million Dollar Audio Budget. If you search Chord DAVE threads, you will find their innovative solutions from long ago.

Many of these innovators have moved on to other Audiophile sites.

On Ray-Dudes system below, you can see how the Monoprice SlimRun USB plays a role in both their Chord DAVE and Chord Hugo TT2. These guys have been through hundreds of USB cables and can have pretty much any USB cable they want. You can see how they architect their USB solution below. It's a K.I.S.S. methodology by just powering their USB optical with a battery. If the Monoprice SlimRun USB optical is good enough for their Million Dollar Audio gear, it's good enough for my purposes.

It's pretty much a given people are aware that RFI/EMI is a fungus in Audio systems today. By avoiding Cooper wire, you avoid attracting noise and brightness in your system. Batteries + optical can pretty much eliminate 99%+ of these noises and provide a nice, soothing super low noise floor which levels up the other positive SQ attributes.

I'll get back when my battery project to power this cable is complete...

NOTE: Separating a clean side USB is a thing. They use dedicated PCI-E USB cards to separate from the internals of the PC. So none of them connect directly to the USB motherboard, they connect to a PCI-E USB card which essentially decouples from the PC internals.



^^^
Nice clean and neutral. No coloring or artificial preservatives. Batteries placed at specific weak points to offset potential RFI threats. Technically, the Monoprice SlimRun USB optical is a USB optical extender. "USB cable" is maybe not in play anymore. Technically, the Uptone USPCB is not a USB cable either. So technically, "Monoprice SlimRun USB optical + Uptone USPCB" is not a "USB Cable"?

I found some interesting snippets:



I'll be using about 500 Farads for the USB optical cable. TT2 has about 60 Farads.



Why buy an expensive DAC if a traditional USB cable dominates or plays a major role in the signature? It should have no role.



Traditional Cooper Wire USB cable pulled out the chain is a good thing.

Don't know about other cables, but I can confirm that the uptone uspcb sounds amazing (have one for my DAC) and for the price it is a steal. However, it blocks you from the features of having a wire connection, especially if you preferred a longer cable run or different positioning of the dac from your system.

 

[548184]

However, it blocks you from the features of having a wire connection, especially if you preferred a longer cable run or different positioning of the dac from your system.

I know it's a paradigm shift in thinking, so it's an adjustment to understand.

What is happening is you are combining two solutions together:

A USB optical extender with a female USB A port +++ the male A port of the USPCB.





^^^ USB-A Male goes to source. USB-A Female goes to USPCB. USPCB Male (microB or B) goes to DAC.

Combined together you get the benefits of Toslink optical (No RFI, Super Speed Throughput, netural sound sig, etc.) and flexible length. From 33 feet (10 meters) minimum to 164 feet max.



It's my fault as I wasn't prepared to post on a USB cable thread. I just wanted to make a timely post since the Monoprice USB optical was on sale. I'll try to take better photos in a month.



Sale over:





This solution should satisfy both the objectivist and the subjectivist.

I like that your passionate about the USPCB, this just adds to that solution with a pliable optical cable that can be installed on any system.

When combined together, it's a lethal combination.

This solution is for those whom think about how each part interacts with one another to provide no noise and no coloration, it's not for those whom are susceptible to Marketing and want a certain Brand. It's about finding the optimal solution with no bias. If you want a certain Brand of USB cable for bragging rights or to put in your signature, this isn't that sexy solution. I'm just proposing an out of box alternative.

The USPCB by itself is an inflexible device. This solution is not that. I agree, the USPCB in isolation is a PITA. Combined with an optical extender, it's easy as pie. Adjustments just need to be made to not stress the DAC's USB port.

Just think of it as if Uptone offered an optical extension cable to the USPCB how life would be much easier.

Another snippet:

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=161789.0

It's just another USB option if you want to listen to your expensive DAC it all it's glory with super low noise floor and no coloring. If you want your USB cable to play a role in your DAC's signature and bottle-necking your DAC, there are plenty of traditional USB cable solutions. If your DAC is not transparent and resolute enough in the first place, it may not even be worth the effort to switch out your traditional USB cable.

 

[genefruit]

I know it's a paradigm shift in thinking, so it's an adjustment to understand.

What is happening is you are combining two solutions together:

A USB optical extender with a female USB A port +++ the male A port of the USPCB.





^^^ USB-A Male goes to source. USB-A Female goes to USPCB. USPCB Male (microB or B) goes to DAC.

Combined together you get the benefits of Toslink optical (No RFI, Super Speed Throughput, netural sound sig, etc.) and flexible length. From 33 feet (10 meters) minimum to 164 feet max.



It's my fault as I wasn't prepared to post on a USB cable thread. I just wanted to make a timely post since the Monoprice USB optical was on sale. I'll try to take better photos in a month.



Sale over:





This solution should satisfy both the objectivist and the subjectivist.

I like that your passionate about the USPCB, this just adds to that solution with a pliable optical cable that can be installed on any system.

When combined together, it's a lethal combination.

This solution is for those whom think about how each part interacts with one another to provide no noise and no coloration, it's not for those whom are susceptible to Marketing and want a certain Brand. It's about finding the optimal solution with no bias. If you want a certain Brand of USB cable for bragging rights or to put in your signature, this isn't that sexy solution. I'm just proposing an out of box alternative.

The USPCB by itself is an inflexible device. This solution is not that. I agree, the USPCB in isolation is a PITA. Combined with an optical extender, it's easy as pie. Adjustments just need to be made to not stress the DAC's USB port.

Just think of it as if Uptone offered an optical extension cable to the USPCB how life would be much easier.

Another snippet:

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=161789.0




It's just another USB option if you want to listen to your expensive DAC it all it's glory with super low noise floor and no coloring. If you want your USB cable to play a role in your DAC's signature and bottle-necking your DAC, there are plenty of traditional USB cable solutions. If your DAC is not transparent and resolute enough in the first place, it may not even be worth the effort to switch out your traditional USB cable.

If you look at the Amazon listings for these and check out the used/returns, you can get a very good deal. I picked up the 32.8ft one which arrived today for $22.15 and there is a 49ft one for $21.40 right now. I figure for this amount and 30 days to return to Amazon, I can give it a trial.

 

[548184]

If you look at the Amazon listings for these and check out the used/returns, you can get a very good deal. I picked up the 32.8ft one which arrived today for $22.15 and there is a 49ft one for $21.40 right now. I figure for this amount and 30 days to return to to Amazon, I can give it a trial.

Nice. I'll check back in a month. Taking a break from the site.

USB over Fiber Extenders is also a thing, but they get complicated and expensive. Also I don't know how to mesh with USPCB. It's easier for devices like USB hard drives and USB WiFi to isolate from the PC internals (no noise, USB bus can get noisy), but since the USPCB is so inflexible it's almost impossible to integrate without additional cabling.

 

[Metron]

Do (decent) USB adapters used on DAC-computer connection cables affect sound fidelity in any way?

 

[Ufanco]

Tried a lot of different usb c to c otg cables. My favorite is the custom ones from XINHS.

 

[bagwell359]

Did a swap from the standar Supra to a Neo Oyaide d+ usb class s. 3 meter is arond a hundred bucks..
This cables are promotet againtst the pro marked. DJ's,studios and the like. Very sturdy. Power awg18/signal awg22, double shielding, solid connectors, platinum+rhodion plated bronce alloy terminals.
Calmer more analog sounding than the supra. less sibilance, not as 'glassy'. Fy first impresions where that music sounded dark and muffled. Held out and swept in the old Supra after 14 days. Soundet sharp,glassy and fatiguing. So very satisfied with the Neo( made in china designed by Oyaide) The real deal is out of my budget.

well some cables in various apps seem to be better (RCA intercconnects, spkr cable for difficult loads). Others are just the same (balanced interconnects). So with some trepidation I bought the same Neo (B to C). I blind A/B'd it for some hours. Neo .7M long & 1M for generic - both wrapped in brown paper, and both changed by my wife. I cut the tests short. The Neo was more relaxed and the treble was not as angular, softer and more analog, but with more real detail. Not a huge difference but a smaller and and still welcome one. I'm chasing bigger game cost wise, will live with these for some time forward.

 

[548184]

Here's some photos of the USPCB + SlimRun optical combo w/ a gaming DAC. The last photo is to show how one can power with a USB battery bank Type-A female so you can decouple from the Mains. I plan to power with battery-powered Super Capacitors for Music so will post if I get that going... I just use a Mains battery charger when gaming, so it's flexible how you want to power depending on your tolerance. Reports are that a LPS maxs out the SQ, but I avoid Mains at all costs when active Music listening is involved.

 

[DEANO2]

I wonder who in all those supposedly brilliant recording engineers squashed the living daylights via loudness in recordings ? Perhaps because they used souless generic data loving USB cables they couldn't tell the loss of dynamics , tempo and emotion in the music.

 

[Whitigir]

I wonder who in all those supposedly brilliant recording engineers squashed the living daylights via loudness in recordings ? Perhaps because they used souless generic data loving USB cables they couldn't tell the loss of dynamics , tempo and emotion in the music.

Lol! You are funny!

I think the loudness war ideas comes from the time where the major of the music were being pirated digitally, and with limited storage capacity, so they were shared via MP3 and so on. If you listen to any of those low-res format, with very low quality DAC from a cheap laptop, and a cheap earbuds, then you will hear the sounds being recessed in a weird way. So, those engineers thought that in order to hear more details, which results in better music, they would equalize all the dynamic and it loudness to be equal across the spectrum. It does result in a better way to listen to music back then.

However, if you compare the 2 different sources as mentioned above via high-end DAC/Amp, you will hear the loudness war to be flat and weird, where as the other MP3 still offer depth and cues of imaging.

Just different majority of the Consumer market for different products. I just hope that the recording industry deal away with this loudness war as soon as possible, since everyone can enjoy high-end DAC/amp system nowadays, even the usb cables is higher end, which doesn’t need the loudness to be tampered with

 

[Ronengeller]

why not just connect the dac with optical to the source? also if connected to a Mac mini usb straight to the dac wouldn’t the uspcb just pass along all the noise?

 

[The Jester]

I wonder who in all those supposedly brilliant recording engineers squashed the living daylights via loudness in recordings ? Perhaps because they used souless generic data loving USB cables they couldn't tell the loss of dynamics , tempo and emotion in the music.

Louder song attracts more interest than a softer one, using every last Db of dynamic range is one thing, using compression to jam everything up as loud as possible degrades the sound quality as well as reducing any perceived difference between songs, having vocalists corrected with auto tune doesn’t help either …

 

[Strat1117]

Louder song attracts more interest than a softer one, using every last Db of dynamic range is one thing, using compression to jam everything up as loud as possible degrades the sound quality as well as reducing any perceived difference between songs, having vocalists corrected with auto tune doesn’t help either …

Agreed. Just remember, these are the same ‘engineers’ who claim things like wires all sound the same and only measurements count. I always laugh when someone plays the engineer card, as if it makes their opinion law. Given the manifestly poor quality of so many commercial recordings - all professionally engineered - I think the opposite is more likely.

 

[PointyFox]

Agreed. Just remember, these are the same ‘engineers’ who claim things like wires all sound the same and only measurements count. I always laugh when someone plays the engineer card, as if it makes their opinion law. Given the manifestly poor quality of so many commercial recordings - all professionally engineered - I think the opposite is more likely.

What card do you have that trumps the engineer card?