USB cable comparisons

[richard_crl032]

Hi,

 

Was reading up on fta callisto and this lush2 ....

 

I have the oyaide Continental 5S v2, zonotone shupreme, furutech pro2 gt and gave away the oyaide neo that I felt was not in the same league as the 3 mentioned.

 

Anyone here has these 3 to share how the callisto and lush2 compares ?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, matthias said:

 

Richard,

which of the three Oyaide Neos did you try?

Thanks

 

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

 

It was the OYAIDE Elec d+ USB class S rev.2 0.7m that I found with low resolution and dull.

 

I find the oyaide continental 5s v2 the best and using now from the Antipodes ex to the Terminator+.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

For myself, 20% guidelines on cables ... power, speaker, interconnects, including usb etc.

 

Usd750 for a usd2k media player as source in addition to a usb500 power cable is ahem but hey, your wallet 👌👍

 

Do I heard difference when usb cables are swapped ? For sure.

 

Better ? Depends.

 

Matching ? Absolutely 

 

Personal preference ? Absolutely

 

Pay more for better sound quality ?  Typically

 

Highend ? Nay, no end

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_crl032]

2 hours ago, MarkusBarkus said:

@manueljenkin et al: To up the ante on this discussion a bit, I just finished a USB test using Shunyata's Omega USB.
 

I had a very limited opportunity to borrow one for a demo. This is a $3,500.00 USB cable (plus 5K retainer for the divorce attorney), so stop reading now or grab your air-distress bag if you get queasy during take-off and landing. 

I listened in two systems (actually, I'm still listening at home), one a friend's Benchmark Audio system on Monitor Audio speakers, and my own.

 

In both systems, adding the cable yielded an audible change. IMO it was also a net-positive change. My friend agrees about his system (he did not hear mine).
 

More separation among instruments. More momentum and drive to the music. Increased liveliness. Very nice.

Time to rewatch Ocean's 11 for tips on planning a casino heist. <Joke>

Lol x2   🤭

[richard_crl032]

6 minutes ago, fas42 said:

 

 

Personally, I just want to hear what's on the record - get that spot on, and the result is immensely satisfying, IME. Then 'enhancing' the sound for extra oomph is a step that can be taken next, if it really seems worthwhile for a particular recording, is how I see it.

 

 

There is always status in expensive stuff, which usually has the looks to make the impact ... but in audio, that has little chance of guaranteeing an excellent standard of performance

 

Believe wishful thinking on listening to what is recorded ..  every designer of components, including usb cable, in the audio chain have their take on what is should sound when recorded.

 

Indeed but those will not survive for long and there are plenty of brand of expensive stuff that had been around for a long time ... let's not kid ourselves on gettinng cheap and great but only VFM. Having engineering solutions is not cheap and someone has to pay.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

Nothing is accurate ... only your preference and can accept at your planned budget imho.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

Oh no ..  trying to playback not all 1 and 0 are the same .. better engineered solution are often complex and expensive to get rhe 1 and 0 as rectangle shaped as possible in simple terms. How about noise etc. from ssd and hdd ?

 

Capacitance, inductance, loss etc. are also real in cables.

 

Even ripping quality in digital format varies.

 

Anyway, glad you believe you can or have accurate recording playback but from my experience, even the 1kk full FM accoustic system heard many times while unbelievably dynamic, details, surreal, who knows or care if accurate.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

And then there is this conrad johnson setup with midrange that much more "palpable" than the FM Acoustics setup .. what is accurate ?

 

None ...

 

But I digressed ... usb cables do sound different and at certain level of resolution, it is preference and matching .. tuning your system.

 

Cheers 

[richard_crl032]

43 minutes ago, fas42 said:

 

How one tests this is to try 'difficult' recordings - if the midrange of the conrad johnson combo is not a true representation of what's on the recording, then it will highly likely be caught out; and make the replay somewhat unpleasant, or even unlistenable ... if one can detect a characteristic that comes through on every recording, to some degree, then the 'signature' of the rig is intruding - and the playback is not accurate.

 

 

And there is Mark Levison and Krell sounding totally different and none of their fans will say theirs is not accurate.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, jon2020 said:

I have compared the Oyaide 5S and Shunyata alpha usb cables in my system. What makes the Shunyata sound better? For me, it is the dramatic reduction in noise and distortion which  I did not know were there with the Oyaide until the switch.

 

 

I had enjoyed the Oyaide 5S very much until the Shunyata revealed its limitations. In addition, for a digital cable, music sounds much less "stepped", much more analog-like, with the Shunyata. 

 

So by simply comparing, if another cable does not improve SQ, then just keep what 

 

Usd1.1k ... I am quite sure it is better than Oyaide 5S or at least matches your system better.

 

But maybe my system is not stepped enough and need Oyaide 5S ... like tube based system fans liking solid core silver and not 8N copper.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

4 hours ago, xyzzy1 said:

 

Much agreed (and in my case its Pass Labs.. :-) ). This is the fun of this hobby. There is no gear that gets 100% right and we have choices based on our preferences. Thats where our discussions should be!  In the end perhaps until we get to some level of holographic sound (like a Star Trek holodeck!) we will always have to choose between flavors and what we like.

 

Aaah .. pass labs are nice !

 

What I would have like to have in my house will be big Spectral from various systems that I have auditioned.

 

I do covet resolution, low noise to allow such resolution and clarity to come through as well as speed for it to sound dynamic .. and a bit of warmth for less listener fatigue. Takes too much $ unfortunately that I cannot afford and the room of course.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

55 minutes ago, sgr said:

Spectral and Pass are definitely great Amps. But if you’re looking for amps and preamps you should find away to audition the CODA Technologies #8 and #16 amplifiers and the 0.7x and CS preamplifiers. 
 

CODA doesn’t get lots of press but they deserve to be ranked among the best at prices for below the competition. 
 

I’ve owned or auditioned many of the great names including ARC, Levinson, and Krell and the CODA electronics are worthy to be ranked among them. And yes CODA does all the things many audiophiles value, but it’s the musicality and ability to transport one to a studio or event realistically that makes me enjoy listening to them so much. 

 

Just read about coda as it indeed heard of this brand in my last 20 yrs into hifi but not well known in Singapore too ...

 

Interesting to know that coda had built or maybe still builds amps from previous Innersound and now Sanders Magtech that I have in my system ..  even using similar mosfet component but to Sander's design of course that make sense to me.

 

Sanders looks better in my setup unlike coda but thanks for the recommendation for me to know more about coda and also Sanders.

 

Cheers 

 

Richard

 

PS: only silver for lower 2 racks with all modded blue led, including my bel canton fm1 tuner

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, MarkusBarkus said:

@richard_crl032 very nice looking set-up. What footers are you using under the Salon2s? Cheers...

Mark

Hi Mark,

 

Tks ... just the stock spikes with some unknown hard rubber footers from local hifi shop that allow me to push them around ... they look no different from those in hardware shops. 😄

 

Sorry that I cannot help to share more 🙏.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

57 minutes ago, sgr said:

Looks very nice indeed. Very clean and sparkling setup. I owned Salons for a couple of years. I have a friend with the new ones. They are fantastic speakers. 
I can’t tell if the black space is a rug or just a blackout. You might benefit with some wool carpet on the floor in front of your speakers. You might be getting some reflection bounce. I understand you might like the clean look better. Couldn’t blame you. But I think you’d hear a difference with the sophisticated rig you’ve built. 

Hi sgr,

 

Unfortunately the black space is a hard and reflective 75" samsung Series 9 tv ... this is the living room for the family.

 

Indeed some carpets will be nice but I stretched this far with the "investment" as it is still a living room and I am already very happy with wife for letting me put up the diffusers.

 

I am in Singapore and carpets are not really not perferred with aircon switched on only on rare occasions.

 

Why I chose the Salon 2 is that the bass port fires down to allow me to push them back against the wall .. not some 6-7ft into the 20ft wall-wall space. And I am done with dual REL subs setup.

 

My system is always switched on except putting tube pre on standby cos watching TV or the family sleeps and hence really like the cool Sander Magtech amp .. for the Audible Ilusion L3B tube pre, I bought up loads of tubes directly from Russian webshop, www.gstube.com, to last for the next 10 yrs.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

18 minutes ago, Allan F said:

 

FWIW, in my system I found the Curious Evolved to be a definite upgrade from the original Curious USB cable which it replaced. The original Curious USB cable was a noticeable improvement over the Light Harmonic Lightspeed USB cable in my system, notwithstanding that the latter was very considerably more expensive.

Not surprised ... depends on what your system was lacking or needing to hide.

 

Price does matter but not beyond what a good cable that does not mess up more.

 

Cables are imho only for final eq after you finalised the components and 20% of the total cost of your system would be max that I will invest in cables, including powercords, dc cords, digital cables, interconnects and speaker cables .. simply no sense to put more into cables than components.

 

You will not see heapsnof 10k powercord or 5k interconnects in recording studio that create the very music that your system is trying to playback as near as possible to what the studio mixed.

 

Cheers.

 

"Relax, it's only hi-fi. There's never been a hi-fi emergency." - Roy Hall 👍👍👏👏

[richard_crl032]

9 minutes ago, iLguapo said:

So do you only listen to bands the record in that one studio or do you change all your cables depending on where the music  was recorded at ? Or how does that works?

Believe cab means using neutral sounding pro audio cabling like mogami, canare etc. used in recording. They do not used 5k powercords or 10k interconnects.

 

Cheers.

 

[richard_crl032]

Indeed an elusive goal for when we believe are nearer to live performance and even "live" concert are often mike and amplified ... cheers.

[richard_crl032]

To me, cabling beyond each price point is a matter of system matching aka tuning aka mentioned synergy to achieve the elusive "real" sound or recording.

 

Even each recording studio engineer has their own interpretation on what is "real" within the equipment that are available to him.

 

I have always read reviews with a pinch of salt when owners proclaim their x% improvement made with each greatest cables that they acquired and reviewed .. you will never know how these cables perform until you have it in your systems if they solve your system specific weakness to your specific ears and liking. Spending 3k cable on 5k equipment is quite a laughable effort to me as well as the manufacturers ... to their banks 😅

 

My fav interconnects are 20 yrs old Nordost Fil and 30 yrs old Hitachi 6NAX-210 (rare !)  in MY system matched to the source being used.

 

I spent more of my efforts and limited $ on hardware and technologies especially digital ones since many advances made and not so much on cablings being kept at 20% of system spent.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

[richard_crl032]

On 10/10/2021 at 2:14 AM, Mechnutt said:

I replaced my Cardas Parsec and AQ Columbia 72v XLRs ( both cost over $300) with $65 pr Belden 8402 XLR's and have not looked back.  They have a blacker background for some unknown reason and are more musical and smoother without losing detail or transparency. More expense with cables is not always better.  But again, it all boils down to system synergy and personal preference.

 

I do believe notable improved difference in different price point but I am not surprised on your findings on boutique cardas or audioquest's lowering offering at 300 vs the honest-to-goodness pro stuff from Belden, Canare etc.

 

In another words, I am quite sure >1k+ offering  cardas or audioquest will have SQ improvement compared to Belden 8402 .. if your system has the needed resolution to discern such improvement in the 1st place. 

 

Hence my guideline of 20% total cost my system being the complete cabling setup .. powercord, digital and analog interconnects as well as speaker cables.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

3 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

So you think that if someone has a system that costs 100K they should have 20k in cables????????

Sure .. why not if they had plonked 80k into their non-cabling components  of their hifi system? And there is also the critical aspect of listening environment aka room acoustics.

 

There are also those "happy" with 20k system and 4k cabling as well as other priorities ... mortgage, children's education, travelling as well as other hobbies e.g. photography, performance car etc.

 

Cheers.

[richard_crl032]

26 minutes ago, MarkusBarkus said:

...that's about right, I'd say. 20-25%.

I am cheap 🙏🙏😁

[richard_crl032]

8 hours ago, hopkins said:

 

I was 14 in 1980 and I bet my first system was not very different from yours (I had a record player). Neither one of us had to deal with USB cables at the time. Life was so much simpler 🤣

 

I was 18 in 1980 but I will no longer can watch SD TV and prefers 24 bits 192khz music with a touch of my android handphone via Squeezer app to my Antipodes.

 

Life got much better but human (most) fortunately remember the good things of the past to progress forward and forget the not so great things 😊

 

Also my hearing had also deteriorated and need more resolution of hires dsd via usb to compensate 🤣

[richard_crl032]

19 minutes ago, hopkins said:

 

True, to some extent. But I wonder how much of a progress it really is to grow up spending your time on TikTok...

 

Oops .. dunno .. not subscribed to tik tok, facebook etc.

 

Decided to retire at 59 yrs old when my US company employer introduced MS PowerBI and Teams 🤣

 

Been a great 7 mths so far biking , chilling, family/friend time, hifi (car and home) as well as recommended 8-9 hrs sleep with occasional afternoon naps and quitely confidently that it will still be the right decision when looking back 7 yrs later if I make it there but plan for big magico speakers have to wait for next life 😊

[richard_crl032]

On 10/9/2021 at 6:07 AM, Mechnutt said:

My Luxman DAC is clearly very sensitive to cable changes and even a non audio person could easily hear the difference.  

Hi Mechnutt,

 

The Luxman DA-06 is a little aged and while great for its time as being dsd capable, dac technologies had progressed quite a bit ... its original RRP of almost usd6k dropped very quickly and was on discounted sales by various shops in the following years from 2013 of its release.

 

I sold mine about 2-3 yrs ago ... it is a little mellow and of low resolution that is lacking on clarity to prevent music from coming thru ... some may believe it is more analog but higher resolution does not mean less analog.

 

Hope my comments ain't seen as negative but simply since I had the experience in moving from the Luxman DA-06 to Denafrips DACs with better clocks, newer FPGA processing, i2s connectivity as well as provision to syn to a single clock which is frankly miles ahead ... yymv and bigger $ as usual but may be more cost effective than more auxilliary components, cablings etc.

 

Cheers.

 

[richard_crl032]

Or this one especially if your dac is usb powered that works for me even with oladra upgraded Antipodes cx+ex stack while different usb cables from current oyaide continental 5s still makes a difference. Cheers.

 

https://ifi-audio.com/products/idefender3-0/