USB cable comparisons

[Albrecht]

4 hours ago, Apmusson said:

 

I received the Sablon cable at 09.00 (BST) this morning and have been listening for about 3 hours straight.   I will reserve final verdict until buyers euphoria has worn off (about 3 weeks in my case).  

 

Initial listening has revealed that the Sablon Reserva does a lot of things very well.  All harshness from the Curious cable has gone, but the excitement remains - I know this to be true as I have played a couple of tracks that caused me to wince when using the Curious cable (HD800 and Chord Hugo 2 are described by some as bright - I think that revealing is more accurate) are now playing without any pain and with much additional foot-tapping - I couldnt listen to Billy Braggs 'A New England' using Curious Cable - the jangly guitar was too much - it is still acerbic (rightly so) but no more ear pain.

 

Anyway as I said I'll wait for a few weeks before resuming (I need to swap back a couple of times too).  

 

Ade

Thank you for your post. I have been looking at the Sablon cable and have an ultraRendu with an F-1. Planning on getting Sonore's version of the F-1, - so I have to lose the Sonore/Cardas USB adapter. But the cost of the Sablon is a bit out of my range. On the other hand, - performance....    Thanks again.

[Albrecht]

12 hours ago, Blake said:

 

I believe your comment that "he is correct - no reason to pay big bucks for a simple LRC network" is outside of this thread. 

 

Isn't that similar to saying there is a point at which a solidly built sensibly-priced usb cable cannot be improved upon in terms of sound quality?  Or am I reading too much in to your comment? 

 

 

Hi Blake,

How are you liking your Sablon USB cable? I am running a Sonore ultra-Rendu and also for amplification, a BC204. Considering the Sablon, - or maybe replacing my Audio Sensibilities SPDIF with a Cardas SPDIF. (Don't mean to hijack the OP here, as the subject is USB cables).

[Albrecht]

12 minutes ago, Blake said:

 

Hi Albrecht.  Hey, I don't encounter too many other Blue Circle amp users, that is cool!  I have personally found greater sonic impact/differences in usb cables than in my SPDIF or AES cable experiments so I would go usb, but that's just me.

 

I am hesitant to gush too much about the Sablon and sound like a nut job, but it is everything I could want in terms of sonics.   I don't think there is one cable that will satisfy all users, but I would theoretically wager that the very strong majority of customers who try this cable will end up keeping it. 

 

I am not great with descriptions, but in my system, the Sablon combines all of the best attributes in Barrows' descriptions of the Lush and the Inakustik cables (see 5 posts above), without any of the negatives.  I am obsessively picky about sound, I have owned some great usb cables but the Sablon beats them all.  Of course, everyone is different the only way to know is to try for yourself, but they do have a money back guaranty.  

 

 

Hi Blake,

I love the BC204 and also have a couple of CS integrateds that are a great value too.

Thanks for the details, and thoughts on the Sablon. Appreciate it.

Cheers,

[Albrecht]

On 12/31/2012 at 11:02 AM, reverendo said:

I am currently looking for a USB cable that will fit my system, so I'm not looking for "THE BEST" cable, but the one that will work the best according to my ears.

I'd like to discourage those who do not hear differences in USB cables (or all cables) to post on this thread. I understand and respect your opinions and findings, but we'll have to agree to disagree. As human beings we all have different physical abilities. Some can run long stretches, some are fast swimmers, some are lift heavy weights... you get my point. This also applies to the physical part of listening, too. It's also true that we don't have the same experience (and/or training) in processing the information that our brain receives and, of course, this also applies to listening. So please, PLEASE, let's not let this thread become a discussion about placebo effects vs. hearing and listening disabilities, ok?

A few words about myself (for what it's worth): I have studied classical composition at a University level, have worked as a production consultant on a few albums and work with arrangements for voices, brass and orchestra now and then.

The cables I had the chance to compare were: Resolution Audio Cantata stock USB Cable, AudioQuest Coffee, Wireworld Silver Starlight, Locus Desing Axis and Synergistic Research Basik Active. This is also the sequence in which I listened to them. I will sum up my findings. For those who want are more in-depth description please refer here to my original post in a Brazilian hifi-forum (for those who understand Portuguese or are willing to use Google Translate).

 

The AQ Coffee definitely didn't do it for me, though it was a very noticeable improvement compared to the stock cable. The name is very fitting: in my system it was very energetic, detailed and fast cable. The major problem was with the HF which was slightly veiled and had severe decay issues (almost no decay whatsoever). Timbres also suffered compared to the other cables. The result was a cable that was very detailed, but that didn't create a cohesive sound stage, resulting in a dissected sound. Therefore I had hyper-layering and very good placement on sound stage, but the music didn't mesh.

 

The WW Silver Starlight had all the detail of the Coffee, but with far better decay in the HFs. Timbres were better and LFs were stellar. Sound stage was larger, but had less depth than the Coffee. It bettered the Coffee in all regards except for depth and sounded far more natural.

 

The LD Axis had great LF, but not as good as the Silver Starlight. It had spectacular decay in the HFs, which gave the whole cable a very refined sound. Sound stage was large and spacious. In my system the Axis had good micro-dynamics. The mids, OTOH, were slightly veiled. Higher mids and treble had very good plasticity (for the lack of a better word). Treble is simply SOTA. It's a shame that the mids weren't on par with the HF.

 

The SR Basik Active's first impression was simply holographic. Sound was very, very 3D. Had similar depth of Coffee, but now I had a continuous and coherent sound stage. LFs were better than Axis, but not as detailed as the Silver Starlight. Excellent timbre all around. Treble decay was very good, but not in the same league as the Axis. Fantastic mids. Clear and clean, very musical and with loads of detail. Probably as fast as the Coffee, but without the negatives. The best tonal balance and, by far, the best mids of the group.

 

The best cost/benefit cable of the group was, without doubt, the WW Silver Starlight. The SR Basik Active was my favorite, but I'm very interested in getting to know the Platinum, based on what it's smaller sibling did for my system. The fact that I needed an extra outlet for the Basik doesn't make it very appealing to me.

I hope these comments might help point others into the right direction.

Best regards

André

Hi,

 

I just was lucky enough to pick up a used Cardas Clear highSpeed USB with the split power & data. This goes between my Sonore Ultra-Rendu and the F-1 USB to SPDIF converter. The previous best in my system was the Sonore/Cardas 4" USB adapter. I tried the Kimber, the Uptone Audio USB plug, Belkin-AtoB printer cable, The ifI Mercury 3.0 with adjustable Ferrites, a generic 3" USB a to b adapter etc.

 

My speaker manufacturer always told me to wire the whole system with Cardas. Dumbo me for not listening. Every time I put in a Cardas cable, - it makes a significant improvement over others that I've tried. If/when I decide to get the Sonore ultra-digital USB to SPDIF converter, - i can/could no longer use the Sonore/Cardas USB plug.

 

IMO so many of these cables are not only digital file player dependent, - but also whatever, and/or if, one is using reclocking, or USB signal/enhancement/noise elimination, "improvement" devices. After several USB to SPDIF converters, the F-1 worked for my system the best, - but I also am finding that I want to revisit my choice of non-Cardas SPDIF cable to my Universal Player/DAC.

 

At the end of the day, (for me/my system), I am finding that it's a combination of cables surrounding the USB cable that also play a significant role too.