USB cable comparisons

[Ralf11]

You are mis-apprehending the whole basis of testing vs. belief.

 

Now, what he could have done is say either yes or no... or "No, I thought the differences were so large that they could not be the result of conf. bias" or many other responses.

[Ralf11]

another thread about what?

 

and BTW, I asked a simple question - extenuated verbiage about someone daring to ask a question is the real derailing issue

[Ralf11]

2 hours ago, xyzzy1 said:

 

Good luck Matt, your responding to someone who can’t tell red from blue without some kind of blind testing. 

 

He is completely correct.

 

BTW, I prefer slightly warm and pleasing, and use an Audio Research euphonicisor to get it - it also does other things, such as input switching, volume control, sound staging improvements, and (I swear) lends the music a sense of rhythm & pace.

[Ralf11]

12 hours ago, Teresa said:

 

What's wrong with warm, pleasing and accurate sound? Just because something is accurate does not mean it has to sound cold. Ever been to a great sounding concert hall? To me music sounds warmer and more pleasing in a great concert hall than any audio system I've ever heard. So in short if it doesn't sound warm and pleasing it is inaccurate as it does not reflect reality, no matter the specs. Of course demand excellent specifications, but listen for how close it sounds to a real concert hall experience. It is possible to have both accuracy and warm pleasing sound.

 

Nothing is wrong with it.  See my post above.

 

Just recognize it is not High Fidelity (or the highest fidelity) and inaccurate.  So Sal is right about that, and wrong about wrong.

[Ralf11]

43 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Sal & Teresa agreeing?  Not since the friendship between Justices Ginsberg and Scalia has there been a more unlikely pairing.

A Christmas miracle if I ever saw one! 

 

She clarified her original post.  Originally, it looked like she wanted to alter the original sound to be more euphonic (warm, pleasing) - something I am not really opposed to....

 

Sal's position is that the reproduction chain must be accurate, no matter what.

 

Later, she said that she wanted the reproduction chain to preserve the euphonic characteristics of the original recording.

 

This is an old debate; has been an active topic both recently and even this am.

 

The real issue I think is what do you do when the evil recording engineer made things sound 'bad' - overly clinical??

[Ralf11]

In short, no.

 

Is it returnable?  If so, the question becomes "Is it worth the effort and/or return fee to try it out?"

 

I would contact the DAC manf. and ask them for advice.  Some DACs are nearly impervious to EMF transmitted along a USB cable; others are not.  For the latter, an isolator device is sometimes helpful and usually a lot cheaper than swapping cables.

 

If you do want to get into cable swapping I would say try the Lush.

[Ralf11]

9 hours ago, Teresa said:

 

Sorry I wasn't more clear in my original post. I don't know what makes an audio component warm or cold, as both types have identical or nearly identical specifications. So what I was saying is both types are accurate, I just prefer warm accuracy over cold accuracy. 

 

I have my favorite recording engineers and want to enjoy their work without any added colorations. With the right equipment there are some very warm, pleasingly realistic audiophile recordings from them.

 

I get rid of bad sounding and overly clinical recordings. Of course, my music collection isn't very large because of how picky I am, however the music I keep and play is thoroughly enjoyable.

 

Not a problem

 

I have the same preference.

 

I think very "etched" sound can be preferred for a short listen (like in a dealer's showroom) then be harsh for prolonged listening.  Similar to video displays in stores.

 

The mechanisms for warmth are (likely) freq. response & even order harmonic distortion products.  I'd like to see some testing, say by injecting a few harmonics to a listening panel.

[Ralf11]

21 hours ago, HumanMedia said:

...

What is a clear upgrade from this to something better?

 

 

A high quality DAC with galvanic isolation

[Ralf11]

if you think different USB cables are giving you different SQ with a Qutest, then I'd suggest 2 things:

 

1. do blind testing to be sure the putative difference is real

 

2. examine the device chain to ensure you have eliminated EMF

[Ralf11]

paypal via cc is weird - try another cc

 

worked for me (on a Hasselblad focusing screen; not a Ghent cable (tho I did experience greater clarity...))

[Ralf11]

IF different USB cables are really changing the sound then you need a better DAC

 

Optical is the way to go.

[Ralf11]

6 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Thank you for saving me all the keystrokes. Perfectly said. 

 

 

But YOU don't adhere to what he said.

 

the subjectivists come and start making OT subjectivist posts at my thread and you did NOT them what Firedog said, nor did you tell them to lighten up.

 

Instead you delete the entire thread.

 

That is indeed an act of censorship.

 

I saved the thread - should I repost it????

[Ralf11]

No.

 

Besides that I am not capable of banning you from any thread.

[Ralf11]

no diff. when tried - maybe I need a super expensive one?

 

I am currently doing a long term comparison (not yet a test) of an ESS vs. an R2R DAC - both < $1,000

 

also on the traveling Okto DAC list...

[Ralf11]

CC you are pissing in the party tray

[Ralf11]

11 hours ago, Teresa said:

 

Was that your "New Audiophile Cable Design" thread? When I signed on tonight the first thing I wanted to do was go there and see more comments and to see if anyone besides me thought it was funny. But instead I got: 

 

Sorry, there is a problem
You do not have permission to view this content.
Error code: 2F173/K

 

I thought your post was very funny and don't understand why other subjectivists didn't like it. I wish you could repost it, perhaps Chris might allow a comedy forum?

 

Yes, it had a joking component and a science component.

 

2 humorless australians crapped on it and a humorless mihnasotan censored the entire thread

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Ralf11]

115Kin USD?  or in Pacific Pesos?

[Ralf11]

their frowns are really the smiles of people standing upside down

 

not sure if that is the cause of their noise fetishes or not

[Ralf11]

actually, Alex can - but the duty cycle is only about 20%