USB cables, please share your experience
Dear all,
today I decided to compare the Dacmagic (optical) vs the music streamer 2+ on my hi-fi. I've spent half the day trying to discern a difference, I could barely tell the difference if at all by the teeeniest of margins the dacmagic sounds better (TINY). Someone will come along and say that my system isn't revealing enough but if a 2.5K setup isn't revealing enough to tell the differences between two 200 pound dacs then I don't know what is good enough. The thing is, the differences I'm hearing might well be due to the better interconnects I'm using on the dacmagic (qed performance 2s) vs Hrt's Pure AV interconnects. I'm also using a basic usb cable on the HRT.
I want to keep an open mind and want to hear from premium USB cable users, if you are using one then how does it fair compare to a standard cable....whether you think its worth the outlay or should not be touched with a large pole. I do not want to start a cable debate, I'm well aware of the schools of thought here and hence I want to hear from actual users.
Curious as always,
Shafin
In the current (Jan 13) HFW, their "Wishful Thinking" for Christmas presents, lists Vertere D-Fi Cables...and I quote:
"No-one questions the sonic differences between speaker cables any more - but there are still those who nay-say the gains a good USB connection can make. Well there's no nay-saying the quality of Vertere's D-Fi range. Hook up a Laptop to your hifi and the extra detail and musical detail they convey is astonishing.
Decent recordings are shorn of their sometimes mechanical digital sheen and come across with real authority. The brainchild of Roksan founder Touraj Moghaddam, the cables provide a startling demonstration of what can be achieved by the most unpromising of sound sources, if you take a little care".
I don't play music through a USB cable, so these are the words and findings of HFW....but bear out what I believe I heard in the demo evening I attended.
And I believe you :-) But what you just wrote is a gaping barn door to those who would have you prove your belief with scientific evidence.
No doubt he's 'mistaken'... :^)
And I believe you :-) But what you just wrote is a gaping barn door to those who would have you prove your belief with scientific evidence.
HFW clearly do not frequent this forum very much.
HFW clearly do not frequent this forum very much.
No doubt he's 'mistaken'... :^)
If he came on here though, he'd soon be put right. 
And I believe you :-) But what you just wrote is a gaping barn door to those who would have you prove your belief with scientific evidence.
And to Shafesk:
IMO no difference between any USB cable whatsoever. I'm more concerned with hum / ground loops using this type of connection to a PC, and IME it's down to the DAC manufacturer. There wasn't really that much difference between DACs when I tested some of them, let alone cables. I use a £5 or so gold plated thing from Amazon, sounds the same as the £15 gold plated monster wrapped Lindy.
Hi shafesk
I use a basic USB cable (with a Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC) which I bought at the local market for £1.
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Musicraft (Derby), Specialist Hi-Fi/AV & Multimedia Dealer
good accurate audio monitoring and good sound reproduction to all
Hi shafesk
I use a basic USB cable (with a Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC) which I bought at the local market for £1.
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Ah dont worry. A better cable would probably have been wasted ... unless you meant you paid £1 for the chord. Decent price considering metal prices have risen sharply lately.
'But as our Lab Report clearly suggests, there was something seemingly not quite right with our review sample. Roll off the very highest frequencies by 1 or 2dB and a DAC might sound ‘smooth’. When its response is fully 10dB down at 20kHz it sounds as if your speakers’ tweeters have been covered with a cloth. Everything that I played sounded warm and cuddly and, er, noticeably dull. What a pity! Clearly this is something Chord will investigate, to ensure it hasn’t been shipping units like this to its dealers. If unfortunately it has, then fingers crossed it’s simply an issue with the driver software that can be rectified easily ‘in the field’.' Extract HI-FI News ... a £4000 DAC
regards
Hi shafesk
I use a basic USB cable (with a Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC) which I bought at the local market for £1.
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Ah dont worry. A better cable would probably have been wasted ... unless you meant you paid £1 for the chord.
Rick's use of brackets showed exactly what he meant.
I predominately use black ones as they match my kit, I suspect they sound better than grey ones, which can look a bit dull.
I changed the usb cable from the standard one that came with the rpac to one with these RF filter type things on and couldnt hear a difference. Maybe the standard cable was better but im just guessing.
Tempted to try a kimber to answer the question for myself once and for all, if nothing else, (and yes i understand the underlying tech). Especially on the rpac which uses usb for power and data.
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