USB cable comparisons

[highstream]

Or you could try the 10 meter Corning cable at a hair more than $10.00 per meter. People like the improvements as well.

I haven't listened with the Corning cable, but note from considerable experience that unfortunately for us consumers it's rare for a cheap cable (or component) to compete with the better ones up the line, assuming the system and listener's ears are up to the differences. In the case of a USB cable, the consensus of developers is that shorter is better, which would put a 10m cable at a considerable disadvantage, all things being equal.

[highstream]

Then I'd skip the U.S. Distributor, buy from the UK and ship it to the USA:

Vertere Pulse HB Double USB Cable

 

What's the difference between that and this: Vertere Acoustics Pulse R Double USB Interconnect Cable?

 

Follow up: Oh, I misread it: it's not hand built but "closest to the hand built." Not sure what "Utilising conductors and construction principles contiguous with the hand-built version" means exactly, but would be interesting to hear a comparison.

[Jud]

I haven't listened with the Corning cable, but note from considerable experience that unfortunately for us consumers it's rare for a cheap cable (or component) to compete with the better ones up the line, assuming the system and listener's ears are up to the differences. In the case of a USB cable, the consensus of developers is that shorter is better, which would put a 10m cable at a considerable disadvantage, all things being equal.

 

The Corning converts to and from optical impulses at the terminations, so the 10m length isn't comparable to purely electrical USB cables.

[Le Concombre Masqué]

different does not equal better ; I would not spend a kopek on a non certified computer cable, that is non able to respect protocols

I haven't listened with the Corning cable, but note from considerable experience that unfortunately for us consumers it's rare for a cheap cable (or component) to compete with the better ones up the line, assuming the system and listener's ears are up to the differences. In the case of a USB cable, the consensus of developers is that shorter is better, which would put a 10m cable at a considerable disadvantage, all things being equal.

[Le Concombre Masqué]

you live quite happily with cheap but certified Belkin's while waiting for the replacement

Sure, and what do you do with the Corning cable when it fails after a few days of play?

[Blake]

you live quite happily with cheap but certified Belkin's while waiting for the replacement

 

How many replacements will they send you until they decide to no longer warranty the cable?

 

This is a sincere question, not intending to be snarky.

 

I didn't read the whole Corning usb cable thread, but it seems the failure rate is almost 100% which means you will be on an endless treadmill of cable returns. Of course, please correct me if I am missing something, but at this point, I don't know why anyone would buy the Corning cable.

[lmitche]

Sure, and what do you do with the Corning cable when it fails after a few days of play?

 

I purchased my first Corning USB cable in September and it still works perfectly.

[jabbr]

 

I didn't read the whole Corning usb cable thread, but it seems the failure rate is almost 100% which means you will be on an endless treadmill of cable returns. Of course, please correct me if I am missing something, but at this point, I don't know why anyone would buy the Corning cable.

 

1) it sounds great

2) Corning will get it right ... I'll just assume it's a bad batch

[jabbr]

How many replacements will they send you until they decide to no longer warranty the cable?

 

This is a sincere question, not intending to be snarky.

 

I didn't read the whole Corning usb cable thread, but it seems the failure rate is almost 100% which means you will be on an endless treadmill of cable returns. Of course, please correct me if I am missing something, but at this point, I don't know why anyone would buy the Corning cable.

 

Also: when using the Corning USB cable you don't actually have any USB cable in your system!!

[rickca]

Found another interesting filtered USB cable from Straightwire and its price is more reasonable: Straightwire USBF Filtered USB Audio Cable

 

"Discrete filter circuits for both power and data signals are employed at the source (A) end. These greatly reduce noise and data errors that come from most notebook computers and most USB source devices."

 

Anybody has experience with this cable?

I've been listening to this cable over the past weekend. It costs $150 for 1m. I haven't heard the expensive, exotic USB cables reviewed by others in this thread, so I can't comment on how it compares with them.

 

I also have Straightwire's standard USB cable which is nicely made and sounds quite good for a budget cable ($42 for 1m). The new filtered cable certainly outperforms it by a wide margin.

 

With the filtered cable, the position of instruments in the orchestra is much better defined. You get a real sense of the depth (front to back) of the soundstage and the atmosphere of the venue is much more present. The tone of instruments is very realistic ... cello and flute in particular were outstanding.

 

I think this cable is very neutral while taking things up a notch. There's no coloration. It definitely sounds more open and you do hear more low level detail but it's natural sounding.

 

I'm not sure how long this cable has been available, and I'd love to see other reviews.

 

What prompted me to try this? I recently got an Uptone Audio REGEN and was totally blown away by how much it improved the sound of even a garden variety USB cable. That convinced me that USB signal integrity definitely contributes to sound quality.

The REGEN plugs in to your DAC with a small adapter.

 

This Straightwire cable has power and data filters at the source (computer) end. I haven't yet tried this new cable with the REGEN but I'm quite confident that the combination will be even better.

 

I'm quite surprised because my Ayre QB-9 DSD and Berkeley Alpha USB have very good isolation. Clearly even these devices benefit from feeding them better input.

[JHG]

I've been listening to this cable over the past weekend. It costs $150 for 1m. I haven't heard the expensive, exotic USB cables reviewed by others in this thread, so I can't comment on how it compares with them.

 

I also have Straightwire's standard USB cable which is nicely made and sounds quite good for a budget cable ($42 for 1m). The new filtered cable certainly outperforms it by a wide margin.

 

With the filtered cable, the position of instruments in the orchestra is much better defined. You get a real sense of the depth (front to back) of the soundstage and the atmosphere of the venue is much more present. The tone of instruments is very realistic ... cello and flute in particular were outstanding.

 

I think this cable is very neutral while taking things up a notch. There's no coloration. It definitely sounds more open and you do hear more low level detail but it's natural sounding.

 

I'm not sure how long this cable has been available, and I'd love to see other reviews.

 

What prompted me to try this? I recently got an Uptone Audio REGEN and was totally blown away by how much it improved the sound of even a garden variety USB cable. That convinced me that USB signal integrity definitely contributes to sound quality.

The REGEN plugs in to your DAC with a small adapter.

 

This Straightwire cable has power and data filters at the source (computer) end. I haven't yet tried this new cable with the REGEN but I'm quite confident that the combination will be even better.

 

I'm quite surprised because my Ayre QB-9 DSD and Berkeley Alpha USB have very good isolation. Clearly even these devices benefit from feeding them better input.

 

I have the standard Straight Wire USB cable and have the Regen on order. I would be really interested to hear how the filtered cable works with the Regen.

 

Jim

[Jon47]

Hi isquirrel,

 

New to this thread. Could you tell me where you bought your Vertere USB cable from, as I am interested in buying one.

 

What length are you using and the approx. price.

 

Many thanks, Jon

[seeteeyou]

Distributors of Vertere products are listed here:

 

http://www.vertereacoustics.com/distributors

 

CAD $2,495.00

http://www.rutherfordaudio.com/cad/double-pulse-hb-usb.html

 

 

£1,125.00 / £1,350.00 (Incl. VAT)

http://www.custom-cable.co.uk/vertere-pulse-hb-double-usb-cable.html

[Jon47]

Thank you!

[rickca]

I have the standard Straight Wire USB cable and have the Regen on order. I would be really interested to hear how the filtered cable works with the Regen.Jim

They sound great together. I'd follow your plan and do the REGEN first. I think you will be impressed. It's really hard to determine the relative contribution of each component. The REGEN alone may be sufficient to max out the potential of your DAC.

[reverendo]

I'll post this here, too, since I believe that it has a lot to do with USB cables and their comparison. I also did a short cable comparison in order to assess if the REGEN made differences between cables a non-issue.

 

I have finally have the time to write my impressions. I tested the REGEN in two different systems.

The first system was at the Lone Star Audio Fest here in Dallas. I received the REGEN on Saturday and went to the LSAF on Sunday late afternoon. Luckily Dave from Raven Audio still had his system set up and he was so kind to let me use it. Sunday afternoon the kids were at home and a decent comparison session would have been impossible BTW, his system has me, a solid-state-guy, rethinking tubes and definitely showed me that I had listened to the Legacy Audio Aeris speakers in a terrible system.

Here's his system: PC > Mytek Manhatten > Goldfinch pre/Silhoutte Mk 2 pre > Spirit Mk2 Monos > Legacy Audio Focus HD. All cables were Douglas Connection top cables (I bought the Alpha-1 speaker cables after our listening session).

There's not much to say, actually, since the difference was so immediate and obvious that we only swapped it out once just in order to get a better grip on the differences. Dave also has very trained ears and our observations were pretty much the same. We quickly re-inserted the REGEN, since listening just wasn't as enjoyable without it anymore. I'll describe the main improvements at the end of this post.

Today I also had finally some time to listen to it in my system, since I had been travelling since Monday.

Here's my system: SBT w/ Welborne PSU > Resolution Audio Cantata > Gryphon Diablo > Evolution Acoustics MicroOne. I was using the Light Harmonic Lightspeed red USB cable. I also used a "normal" USB cable with a ferrite in order to see if cables matter with a REGEN in the digital chain.

So, enough talk... here's a summary of the results:

w/ REGEN

• cleaned the whole sound, but not in a abrasive/chemical way. It's as if dust and dirt has been removed from crevices and corners revealing textures that were hidden and, simultaneously, someone showed up with a wet cloth, which made colours and timbres come to life, but in a completely natural way. Taking the REGEN out took timbres, colors and textures away, as if a fine gray dust had settled on the sound. The following points are probably the result of this main trait.
  
• sound stage depth increased quite a bit
  
• small inflections and inner detail increased quite a lot. I started to hear new details in the lower and mid frequencies, so in the regions that aren't necessarily affected if there were a fake tilt in the higher frequencies that sometimes create a sense of detail.
  
• complex harmonics like Timpani and Glockenspiel decay were far more resolved and natural
  
• wood sounds like wood (e.g knocking on double bass), and the prior sounds that mimicked wood now sound more like thick cardboard.
  

Belive me, it's hard to live without it after having it in your system.

Comparing the Lightspeed with my normal USB cable with ferrite made both cables sound spookily close. I guess that differences between good cables and the top cables will still be there, but by a far smaller fraction. The main differences were a slight lack of finesse and a less resolved sound, but it was subtle. I'm not even sure that many will be able to spot the differences without going back and forth quite a few times.

I know see that this post could sound like an ad, so let me make it clear: I am NOT affiliated with the creators of the REGEN, although I'd love to be able brag about having contributed to any of it. Unfortunately, like most of us here, we didn't. So, honor to whom honor is due, John and Alex. #respect

[Blake]

R. I. P.

 

 

CORNING USB 3 OPTICAL CABLE

 

 

born April 15, 2014 - deceased May 8, 2015

 

 

 

Post #762

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/uptone-audio-regen-22803/index31.html

[Jud]

R. I. P.

 

 

CORNING USB 3 OPTICAL CABLE

 

 

born April 15, 2014 - deceased May 8, 2015

 

 

 

Post #762

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/uptone-audio-regen-22803/index31.html

 

Shhh - you don't wanna squash next month's thriving used sales market!

 

[Audioseduction]

shhh - you don't wanna squash next month's thriving used sales market!

 

 

lol!

[EuroDriver]

R. I. P.

 

 

CORNING USB 3 OPTICAL CABLE

 

 

born April 15, 2014 - deceased May 8, 2015

 

 

 

Post #762

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/uptone-audio-regen-22803/index31.html

 

LOL, but I think it's a little premature to right off the Corning + Green Regen. Recall the sterling job that this combination did on John's workstation. Will Regen Amber + Supra or other decent cable work as well on an electrically noisy PC as Corning + Green ?

 

Plus we have Archimango's report about cleaning up the analog Home Theatre bypass on his home theatre

 

I suspect there is still a place for the Corning on some high RF noise systems, and there may be ways to mitigate the sonic signature of the Corning's ASIC, such as Tellurium Q Black Diamond ;-)

 

I cannot do any Regen testing this weekend as Geoff Armstrong would not le me leave his shop with it in my pocket. So just Corning + solid adapter for me for the next couple of days.

 

You can be sure that my $45 will be hitting Superdad's PayPal on June 10 !

[lmitche]

LOL, but I think it's a little premature to right off the Corning + Green Regen. Recall the sterling job that this combination did on John's workstation. Will Regen Amber + Supra or other decent cable work as well on an electrically noisy PC as Corning + Green ?

 

Plus we have Archimango's report about cleaning up the analog Home Theatre bypass on his home theatre

 

I suspect there is still a place for the Corning on some high RF noise systems, and there may be ways to mitigate the sonic signature of the Corning's ASIC, such as Tellurium Q Black Diamond ;-)

 

I cannot do any Regen testing this weekend as Geoff Armstrong would not le me leave his shop with it in my pocket. So just Corning + solid adapter for me for the next couple of days.

 

You can be sure that my $45 will be hitting Superdad's PayPal on June 10 !

 

Eurodriver,

 

Agreed, the Corning cable is not quite dead yet. It has many properties that are attractive and make it worthwhile.

 

I'm not going to rush to judgement until listening to the Amber REGEN tested with various cable options priced at or below the Corning price point.

 

Also, there are other things going on here that are still not understood. For example, the J5create hub at the host end of my Corning cable still adds clarity. Likewise that much maligned modified hard adapter used between the REGEN and Auralic Vega DAC almost entirely eliminates dropouts when the DAC is in it's fastest clock mode. There is not too much that is subjective about this, I can count the dropout frequency before and after adding the modified adapter.

 

We had a kind of Kickstarter campaign going on here. The success we all had with the Corning cable compelled John to give it a try. It was the consensus opinion of this group that pushed him to do this, not the opinion of one or two people. Happily, his curiosity seems to have lead to a fundamental discovery about USB audio, and that is great news for everyone. I am grateful for his effort, and applaud his curiousity. Likewise it is great that Alex can deliver the results to all of us in such a short time. This is how innovation happens!

 

More innovation has happened in the last year on CA than I have seen in the prior 30 years as an audiophile. It is exciting to be a part of it.

 

Lastly, I am very curious to hear a galvanically isolated Corning cable, and will continue to pursue this goal.

[Superdad]

 

Agreed, the Corning cable is not quite dead yet. It has many properties that are attractive and make it worthwhile.

......

Lastly, I am very curious to hear a galvanically isolated Corning cable, and will continue to pursue this goal.

 

Hi Larry:

I agree with both you and EuroDriver. And John is not done with his testing/disceting of the Corning. However, it looks like the only way to power the Corning separately--at the receiving end, thereby achieving galvanic isolation from the computer--is going to be by cutting open the end module and finding the right solder points. I just did not see how the fine wires on the fiber cable could be accessed without damaging the optical cable itself. Maybe John will find a way to do it under his microscope.

 

All that said, it is important to understand what a complicated, dual-protocol, very active device the Corning really is. I think John wrote some about how it works, but he also bent my ear extensively about it (most of which I have forgotten). This was during the week when I pushing him to think about and sketch out how we might be able to offer an UpTone optical device pair. He explained the challenges and shortcomings to doing so, and since it would have all been in the name of achieving galvanic isolation, we went back to our discussion and reasearch on accomplishing that with an "über-Regen," one that uses an FPGA with a licensed hub core, two PHYs, two clocks (I think), 4 of the expensive ultra-low noise regulators we like, a power isolator chip, and one DC-DC regulator, plus support caps and resistors. Without even knowing the licensing fees for one of the very few available USB 2.0 hub cores, it was clear that such a product would be much more expensive than the present REGEN. Then we did the resistor thing to make the "amber" REGEN, and "über-Regen" suddenly seemed rather unimportant to pursue. John and I are much more interested in proceeding with a couple of larger, vastly more innovative and ambitious projects that have been gestating on his bench for a while. I appears that the success of the USB REGEN is going to make that possible. But it will take lots of time.

[Angular Mo]

is that a USD 2000 USB cable? wow.

[Jud]

is that a USD 2000 USB cable? wow.

 

Which? If you're talking about the Corning, it's slightly more than $100 new for 10 meters.

[isquirrel]

Hi isquirrel,

 

New to this thread. Could you tell me where you bought your Vertere USB cable from, as I am interested in buying one.

 

What length are you using and the approx. price.

 

Many thanks, Jon

 

I don't have the Vertere HB anymore, I compared it in a shootout to my Ligh Harmonic LS split cable, and the CAD USB cable (cheapest) and much preferred the CAD in my system. The CAD has incredible clarity and lets the musicality through. Is now my go to cable. Just added a couple of DAC's have a Gryphon Kalliope and a Computer Audio Design DAC MK2.