USB cable comparisons

[reverendo]

Yes I've heard good things about the LH Lightspeed. It was on my list to evaluate until I saw the price.

 

Definition of mid-price jumps higher each month. Two years ago I would have said mid-priced was $50-$70. Now it appears that mid priced is $100 - $300. This is my own subjective categorisation. Other people will have much higher watermarks for mid-priced.

 

My personal goal is getting a cable for less than $300 that offers audibly better performance than what I have now (Wireworld Violet V5). If something sounds better for cheaper, I am happy to go that way (I downgraded to Blue Jeans coax from Furutech and Black Cat because it sounded better in my system).

in my personal experience the Mapleshade Plus should do the job. best cost/benefit in USB cables that I know. you should know, though, that it doesn't play well with some Macs. another option is the WW Silver Starlight, but it's more than twice the price.

just my 2 cents

[HumanMedia]

in my personal experience the Mapleshade Plus should do the job. best cost/benefit in USB cables that I know. you should know, though, that it doesn't play well with some Macs. another option is the WW Silver Starlight, but it's more than twice the price.

just my 2 cents

 

A Mac Mini may be an option in the future. Ah, so the Silver Starlight is a Wywires model not Wireworld. I will reread some parts of the thread to get some more perspective.

Thanks everyone.

[reverendo]

A Mac Mini may be an option in the future. Ah, so the Silver Starlight is a Wywires model not Wireworld. I will reread some parts of the thread to get some more perspective.

Thanks everyone.

I'm talking about wireworld.

[HumanMedia]

I'm talking about wireworld.

 

Thank You.

WireWorld Silver Starlight

Wywires Silver Lightspeed

 

Ok I have got it now.

[reverendo]

Thank You.

WireWorld Silver Starlight

Wywires Silver Lightspeedt

 

Ok I have got it now.

Sorry, but will have to correct again: Light Harmonic Lightspeed.

[kennyb123]

Yes I've heard good things about the LH Lightspeed. It was on my list to evaluate until I saw the price.

 

It's my opinion that the 0.8m Light Harmonic LightSpeed (LS) is a bargain at its price. In my system, the LS clobbered the Wireworld Platinum Starlight (WWPS), which retails for only $400 less (in 1m). The magnitude of the improvement from the LS was on par with what I have gotten in the past from upgrades where I've spent many times that amount.

 

The LS revealed that the WWPS had been doing significant harm to the music. The WWPS had been robbing the music of naturalness, leaving things sounding, for lack of a better description, more "digital". I thought these problems were being caused by my Mytek DAC and that I really needed to move to a better DAC. I consider myself very fortunate that I had the opportunity to audition the LS in my system. It would have been a mistake for me to upgrade to another DAC while still retaining the WWPS.

 

I would have never expected this outcome. I had no idea prior to hearing the LS that USB cables could make this much of a difference. Or more accurately, I had no idea that USB cables could do so much harm to the music.

[Blake]

Just a quick note/reminder about the Light Harmonic Light Speed USB cable......

 

LH is coming out with two new usb cable models this summer, the "Jr." (a traditional 'single' strand design) and the "2G". If the asking price for the current version is a bit steep for you, I would suggest you investigate the 2G when it comes out. I suspect the performance of the 2G model will be quite close to the current model and shares the separate power and data line design of the current model.

 

Msrp on the 2G: $449 (1 meter), $599 (2 meter), $799 (3 meter), and $1,199 (5 meter)

 

Additional detail found here, but I don't believe you can get the 2G or Jr. for the special Indiegogo early bird pricing listed in the Indiegogo link below any longer, but even at the msrp listed above, I think the 2G is worth checking out:

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/geek-pulse-a-digital-audio-awesomifier-for-your-desktop-2#home

[reverendo]

It's my opinion that the 0.8m Light Harmonic LightSpeed (LS) is a bargain at its price. In my system, the LS clobbered the Wireworld Platinum Starlight (WWPS), which retails for only $400 less (in 1m). The magnitude of the improvement from the LS was on par with what I have gotten in the past from upgrades where I've spent many times that amount.

 

The LS revealed that the WWPS had been doing significant harm to the music. The WWPS had been robbing the music of naturalness, leaving things sounding, for lack of a better description, more "digital". I thought these problems were being caused by my Mytek DAC and that I really needed to move to a better DAC. I consider myself very fortunate that I had the opportunity to audition the LS in my system. It would have been a mistake for me to upgrade to another DAC while still retaining the WWPS.

 

I would have never expected this outcome. I had no idea prior to hearing the LS that USB cables could make this much of a difference. Or more accurately, I had no idea that USB cables could do so much harm to the music.

Kenny I agree and disagree with your assessment. I tested the Platinum in my system and preferred the AQ Diamond and the top SR USB cable because they sounded more natural. The Purist Ultimate, though, easily trumped the Diamond (which had sounded best until then in my setup), but it came at a cost. The Lightspeed is better than the Ultimate in my system, so that's where I'm heading, but calling it a bargain is the part where I disagree. It will only make a sense when the real bottleneck is the USB cable. If not, people probably won't be able to discern greater differences because something else is messing things up in the system.

jm2c

[kennyb123]

but calling it a bargain is the part where I disagree. It will only make a sense when the real bottleneck is the USB cable. If not, people probably won't be able to discern greater differences because something else is messing things up in the system.

 

Thanks for disagreeing, because I agree with you. :-)

 

In my case, my former USB cable was most certainly the bottleneck, so the LS was worth every penny (plus some). But that won't be the case for everyone, so you were correct to call this out.

 

The surprising part for me was just coming to the realization that the USB cable could be such a bottleneck.

[kbkaran]

I think the USB cable plays a big part in the sound with a USB/SPDIF converter. When I owned the Berkley USB Alpha converter the USB made a big difference in sound. I ran an Audioquest Diamond and Purist Dominus digital cable. I thought it was a good combo. I worked my way up the food chain to the Diamond and with each change I heard an improvement.

hmm.. I thought asynch USB converters would be immune to cable influences. Actually, I did not move to USB audio till asynch came about. If even the Berkeley USB converter is not immune to cables, then I should not be complaining about my bel canto uLink (in my case, the power supply to my squeezebox feeding the uLink was having a influence).

BTW, it would be great if members here mention the length of the cable and the USB prototcol - adaptive or asynch. My guess is asynch should have less influence, but my guess is the DC supply and EM noise might be affecting the clocks in the converters. I am going to experiment with cheap shielded USB cables vs entry level audioquest or wireworld.

[soss]

hmm.. I thought asynch USB converters would be immune to cable influences.

 

 

It's a very common misconception around these parts. USB cables still very much matter with asynch interfaces, although for many it's probably not worth the extra cash.

 

I speak from my own experience with a RAL Dual-Conduit cable which is a definite keeper for me. It is quite a bit smoother and has near perfect tonal balance compared to say a Belkin Gold cable. The difference is not exactly subtle.

[Harpy]

hmm.. I thought asynch USB converters would be immune to cable influences.

 

I don't understand either. Mine has 2 oscillators (like others) and I thought the 24.576 MHz was the USB clock and the data would sit in the oscillator's buffer before it turns it into light or what ever format. If it is battery powered it's not taking any USB power and signal is coming from the first oscillator's buffer and sent to the second clock, the cable is just the delivery truck. Is that wrong?

[kbkaran]

I don't understand either. Mine has 2 oscillators (like others) and I thought the 24.576 MHz was the USB clock and the data would sit in the oscillator's buffer before it turns it into light or what ever format. If it is battery powered it's not taking any USB power and signal is coming from the first oscillator's buffer and sent to the second clock, the cable is just the delivery truck. Is that wrong?

 

Right, with asynch, the converter would request for data and then the computer responds with a packet. Then the converter would clock the data out at the right rate. Somewhere, which I fail to understand (I am a programmer, BTW) the delay in data (jitter) from the computer/cable is affecting the clocking out of the data from this buffer. Any multi-threaded real-time OS should be able to do this, But probably the converters hatve this implemented in h/w. Somebody more into this level of technology and (if around here) should be able to throw light. I am way up the software stack these days (even though early in my career I did OS/device drivers etc)

[Harpy]

Thanks that make sense. I was also thinking that even with battery power you are still using USB power in some respect. A lot to get your head around.

[skatbelt]

I read this thread with great interest and just wanted to share my findings. When I started this hobby a few years ago I was (maybe due to my scientific background) very sceptical about the differences cables could make. Especially digital ones. Thorough listening proved I was wrong. In fact now I think that - cable wise and in a digital setup - the biggest (and definitely not small) improvement can be made with the USB cable. This cable seems to have greater impact than power cords, speaker cables and other interconnects.

 

Coming from an entry level Wireworld USB cable (Ultraviolet) I tried the Audioquest Diamond USB, the Wireworld Platinum USB, The Kimber Premium Select CU and the Transparent Premium USB all in approx. 1.5m. In my system and to my ears the Transparent Premium bettered all others in every aspect. Very, very musical and involving!

[Lappy27]

I read this thread with great interest and just wanted to share my findings. When I started this hobby a few years ago I was (maybe due to my scientific background) very sceptical about the differences cables could make. Especially digital ones. Thorough listening proved I was wrong. In fact now I think that - cable wise and in a digital setup - the biggest (and definitely not small) improvement can be made with the USB cable. This cable seems to have greater impact than power cords, speaker cables and other interconnects.

 

Coming from an entry level Wireworld USB cable (Ultraviolet) I tried the Audioquest Diamond USB, the Wireworld Platinum USB, The Kimber Premium Select CU and the Transparent Premium USB all in approx. 1.5m. In my system and to my ears the Transparent Premium bettered all others in every aspect. Very, very musical and involving!

 

I also own the Transparent Premium. Easily the best of all USB cables I tried (including Oyaide Continental 5S, Silnote Poseidon, Audioquest Diamond and mid-price cables). Same conclusions as you. Natural, rich and musical. Apparently the Lightspeed bested it easily. Even if I find this hard to believe, I trust people around here who are currently experiencing with both cable and I am really tempted to go for the LS.

[skatbelt]

I also own the Transparent Premium. Easily the best of all USB cables I tried (including Oyaide Continental 5S, Silnote Poseidon, Audioquest Diamond and mid-price cables). Same conclusions as you. Natural, rich and musical. Apparently the Lightspeed bested it easily. Even if I find this hard to believe, I trust people around here who are currently experiencing with both cable and I am really tempted to go for the LS.

 

I read all the good stories about the Lightspeed. I live in the Netherlands, the nearest dealer is in France, so getting it for a demo was not possible. And I don't know anyone here that owns one. That said, the price for a 1.6m version of the LS would double the price I paid for the Transparent. I don't think the rest of my system does justify such an investment. On the other hand, a few weeks ago I would declared myself nuts spending 600 euros on a USB cable....

[kbkaran]

I read this thread with great interest and just wanted to share my findings. When I started this hobby a few years ago I was (maybe due to my scientific background) very sceptical about the differences cables could make. Especially digital ones. Thorough listening proved I was wrong. In fact now I think that - cable wise and in a digital setup - the biggest (and definitely not small) improvement can be made with the USB cable. This cable seems to have greater impact than power cords, speaker cables and other interconnects.

 

Coming from an entry level Wireworld USB cable (Ultraviolet) I tried the Audioquest Diamond USB, the Wireworld Platinum USB, The Kimber Premium Select CU and the Transparent Premium USB all in approx. 1.5m. In my system and to my ears the Transparent Premium bettered all others in every aspect. Very, very musical and involving!

 

Similar experience here too.. early in my audiophile career I discounted digital cables, until I understood the SPDIF protocol. I am pretty disillusioned with the Async USB protocol. Very sensitive to cables or the host. I could easily hear the difference between FLAC decoding on my squeezebox vs on the server. Not sure, whether it is more noise caused my CPU activity or just CPU lag responding to data request from the converter.

I am going to try to move a laptop (intel i7) playback and see how this affects. No wonder there is so much activity on USB cables here. I hate to spend money on digital cables. Digital architectures should not be this fragile.

[kbkaran]

I found some more things about the 'Async uSB' ..this is in the context of Auralic ARK MX+ DAC - which has a feature called Active USB - "ActiveUSB™ claims to go beyond asynchronous transfer protocols "which can only adjust ± one clock cycle error of any data package". Meanwhile the Sanctuary chip acts as USB transceiver whose buffer size is user-adjustable in Windows via AURALiC's control panel. This differs from FIFO for I²S protocols. "Where TI and XMOS transceivers work with 4KB of buffer depth, the Sanctuary processors works with several megabytes for higher tolerance to system driver latency."

I guess only with USB devices like this we can expect the USB cable and/or computer power supply/performance to have minimal impact (because the USB cable can still bring in noise etc).

[HIFI]

If your DAC doesn't need to see +5V from the USB port, try fitting a small piece of insulation in the USB socket to prevent pin 1 from sending out +5V to the DAC.

Alex

Alex, this is interesting.

 

Can you describe how you isolated the 5 volt lead?.

 

Are there USB cables available that already do this in their construction?

 

How do I find out if my Mytec DSD DAC needs this first?

[4est]

No, there is most likely a third clock for USB. The 24.567MHz is for 48/96/192k files.

I don't understand either. Mine has 2 oscillators (like others) and I thought the 24.576 MHz was the USB clock and the data would sit in the oscillator's buffer before it turns it into light or what ever format. If it is battery powered it's not taking any USB power and signal is coming from the first oscillator's buffer and sent to the second clock, the cable is just the delivery truck. Is that wrong?

[kennyb123]

Are there USB cables available that already do this in their construction?

 

The split leg LightSpeed has two connectors at the computer's end: one for power and one for signal. This allows the power leg to be disconnected if not needed, effectively accomplishing the same thing.

 

The rub is that some DACs need the power leg to be connected during power up to allow a handshake to occur.

 

How do I find out if my Mytec DSD DAC needs this first?

 

The Mytek doesn't need the power leg connected during play, as I now have it disconnected. I will check later to see if power needs to be connected during power up.

[sandyk]

Alex, this is interesting.

 

Can you describe how you isolated the 5 volt lead?.

 

Are there USB cables available that already do this in their construction?

 

How do I find out if my Mytec DSD DAC needs this first?

 

I actually chop off the USB-A plug at the PC end and fit a solder type plug without terminating the red +5V wire.

The black (0 volts) wire still needs to be connected though.

I also use a 1.8M cable cut in half, as I am able to use my +5V Linear PSU close to the PC or a USB port of my Oppo 103 which also benefits from the external +5V linear PSU as it uses a SMPS .

There are commercial dual conduit cables available.

If your Mytec DSD DAC has it's own power supply you could try the isolation trick in the plug itself. Other members have done this without the need to modify the cable. Unfortunately, some DACs need to see +5V from the PC initially.

Regards

Alex

[Superdad]

Can you describe how you isolated the 5 volt lead?.

 

Just cut a 2mm wide x 4cm long strip of business card stock paper, insert over the contact of pin 1 of the "A" (computer end), fold back over the connector, put your thumb on it and make sure it stays straight as you insert into the jack.

 

I actually do that for both pins 1 and 4, but only because I can never remember which side is pin 1 and which is pin 4. The shell and pin 4 are common with each other anyway IIRC; very few DACs will work with just the 2 data pins and no shell connection.

 

Best,

Alex C.

[jtwrace]

 

Are there USB cables available that already do this in their construction?

 

Yes, see the DH Mirage. DH Labs Silversonic - Products - Digital - Mirage USB Cable