usb cables expensive v cheap
hi i need to connect my new marantz 7004 media player(inc amp and bx2 spks) to my laptop via usb to access spotify,trouble is i have looked at various forums and info sites and opinion seems to be 50/50 as to wether expensive usb cables give better performance in this instance over less expensive cables.any opinions please.
i have not bought one yet,why do you say purchasing an expensive one means you're being ripped off ?
Something like this will be more than good enough:
Don't buy any digital cable with the word "audiophile" anywhere near it. It's all bulls#it
So long as it is a quality cable (Good connectors and flexible) than any cable will be fine, and shouldn’t cost more than a fiver for a 1-2m length.
Apart from the above, there will be no difference however much you spend.
You can safely ignore anybody that says there is a difference (Just like all professionals do)
Hope this helps
Bill
+1 "Audiophile" usb cables are a con. Nothing more. You can bet any equipment used in the studio to master the music that required a USB cable will have more than likely been using a free one. Who buys usb cables these days? I have about 30 in all. All work equally well.
This is not dissimilar to the HDMI cable debate.
To sum it up, the signal is digital. It is not affected by cable quality in the way that analogue signals used to be. Buying a 'better' cable means better build quality. If you're going to take the cable around with you, and plug and unplug a lot, spend just a few more pounds on something a bit more solid.
If it's to plug-and-forget, just buy whatever Amazon has cheapest. Will probably be a Belkin. Doesn't matter. Doesn't make a difference. The end! 
There is some justification in (slightly) more expensive USB cable - especially if you want it for streaming rather then straight forward non time dependent data transfer.
If you are transferring data via USB there will be error correction software running to identify errors and to re-send any faulty data. If it is not time critical then it does not really matter if it takes 5 seconds or 7 seconds to transfer your data.
If you are streaming stuff then it matters more. For any devices that are not bufferring the data before they use it then they will "make do" with what they have got and process it - errors and all as they can not wait until the data is error free before they process it.
A similar example is the HDMI to your television monitor. A very poor quality (or damaged) HDMI will still transfer some data and your screen will display it - but it amount of data it would have to display if it was a good quality cable would be greater - hence a better picture.
It is a law of deminishing returns - I would spend say £20 or £30 on a thicker USB with better quality connections - but I've seen some at £300!!!
Argos.
Belkin.
Take somewhere between £5 and £9 with you (depending on the length you need).
You will probably have a decent USB 2.0 A - B type cable kicking around somehere if you've ever owned more than one printer or scanner. If it's long enough, use that.
This might interest you.
This might interest you.
£96 for 1.2 metres of USB !
This might interest you.
Oh good, they 'clean and shape the audio data.' Following that convincing explanation, I've ordered several of them.
This might interest you.
£96 for 1.2 metres of USB !
You can fool some of the people some of the time ...
Chris
This might interest you.
What a load of clap trap, A digital interconnect only carries digital data, NOT audio or video.
As for the rest of the gobbledygook on the website, words fail me; I had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t April Fools Day.
Unbelievable (Literally)
Bill
Good well built USB cables are available for less than a tenner. Belkin make some good ones if you want a good brand name.
£96? LOL, fools and their money, step that way....
Question and answer 
If you buy an expensive one you were ripped off.
formerly known as slewis ---
simon's system