USB cable comparisons

[reverendo]

OT: does anyone here know of some nice coax digital cables or a thread which discusses them?

Best regards

[reverendo]

thanks for the update, Blake

please let us know how it goes.

best regards

[reverendo]

I know it will come as a shock to hear that I like Omega Mikro.

 

Their Zephyr can usually be picked up at a discount if you look at warehouse specials or used pieces on consignment at their web site.

Jud,

those are some very esoteric looking digital cables. they have a circuit in them?

[reverendo]

Scotty my local dealer sells the lightspeed. I have the totaldac USB cable. I am trying to get Scotty to bring it over. :-)

Scott was the dealer from whom I borrowed the Lightspeed to do my comparison. Would be interested to hear about your findings.

Best regards

[reverendo]

Yea I have not heard anything Pangea that I like and that include interconnects, speaker wires, power cables, and USB cables. A friend of mine has it all and if defiantly has a sound which I don’t care for but to be fair I listen to cables which cost a lot more.

 

I have the Audioquest Diamond and like the sound especially the treble, very smooth top. I could use a little more bass details although. I have not tried the Wireworld Platinum but after reading on this site, I don’t think it is my cup of tea so to speak. I think the Diamond and the Wireworld are on opposite ends of the spectrum and I prefer the other end. It is all preference at this level. They are all excellent cables.

I don't see the Platinum and the Diamond as opposite sides of the spectrum, but I kind of understand what you mean. it seems that the Purist Ultimate would be a worthy upgrade for you if you're willing to shell out the extra bucks. the Lightspeed, which I prefer, has a faster and more accurate LFs than the Diamond, but without losing the HF extension. come to think of it, you should try both the Ultimate and the Lightspeed. each system needs something different and here the Lightspeed was the better fit.

[reverendo]

I have the Purist Ultimate in house breaking in. It has run for 4 or 5 days and I have to agree with reverendo here on CA the Ultimate is a better USB cable than the Diamond cable. It has much more body and is overall more refined, maybe not quite as much HF extension. I like the Ultimate better and have sold my Diamond USB cable. From the first moment I could tell my system had moved up at least one level in quality. The resolution is so much better especially in the bass end. It is such an improvement in my system it has me excited again about my system.

good to see two people with so different systems agreeing on the main traits of the cables... it's subjective, but not THAT subjective after all.

[reverendo]

Where can I buy a Paul Pang USB card? Do they have PCI as I don't have a PCIe slot. Does the Paul Pang USB card work with Server 2012?

SHOPPING AREA: AUDIO GRADE USB 3.0 PCIE CARD

[reverendo]

I received A PranaWire Photon USB cable on Saturday and have been more than a little impressed. Enough so that I finally feel as if my quest to fill that spot permanently has ended for a while, saying a lot for me. I've felt for some time that the USB cable was a weak spot in my system, for frame of reference the cable runs between a Zuma and Berkeley Alpha USB (rest of the system is Spectral DMA 360S2, Alpha S2 DAC, Wilson Sasha's and upper tier MIT cables throughout). I've pretty much rotated between Nordost BH, Oyaide Con S5, Acoustic Revive PLS & SPS. I've always felt the Acoustic Revive SPS was the best performer for me but since I reconfigured my source I could not use it given the need for 2 open USB ports. Still, even with that cable I felt it was flawed. I think all those cables are good but they each do some things well and other things not so well...none of them being complete.

 

Enter the Photon. I was immediately struck by the difference, not at all subtle. Scale, dynamics/extension, presence, body etc were vastly improved all while maintaining accuracy from top to bottom (critical for my taste). What was most attractive to me was the clarity, focus and detail. My experience had been that cables with exceptional scale and fuller body sound were musical but lacked midrange/upper bass clarity. The opposite of what I hear with the PranaWire which brought tremendous clarity along with it's scale and musicality. Lastly, a big reason I've historically been drawn to the Acoustic Revive cables has been presence. AR has sort of a house sound which is characterized by a unique "you are there" presence. So unique that I have not heard any other cable/product bring this, even my MIT cables, which do other things exceptionally well, are not able to do this. Well, thankfully I do not have to sacrifice this with the Photon, the presence is special and certainly equal to the AR.

 

Overall, if you read M.Garner's review on Tweekgeek I'd have to say he did an exceptional job of putting the Photon's skills into words. I found it to be very accurate and in line with how the cable performed in my system. There are other cables being discussed here that I have not heard but of the ones that I have this is by far the best and to be quite honest it's not close.

 

One thing worth note, if you plan to try one be prepared for it's size. Not a thin cable at all! It also does not have a great bend radius so you will need to consider that when selecting a length and planning logistics. Good looking and appears well made...but thick!

What's the price on this cable? Just to get an idea with which cables it's competing price-wise.

Best regards

[reverendo]

Google it. At The Cable Co., in New Hope, PA:

 

• 0.6 meter {$995.00}
  
• 1.2 meter {$1295.00}
  
• 1.8 meter {$1495.00}
  
• 3.0 meter {$1695.00}
  

actually just saw it a the tweekgeek blog... thanks for posting

that means it would have to hold it's own against the Lightspeed and Ultimate.

[reverendo]

I am using Purist XLR's from my Benchmark to my Focals's Do you recommend highly the Purist usb?

I'm using the Ultimate, but preferred the Lightspeed in my system.

[reverendo]

the Lightspeed had less body than the Ultimate in my system, so if your system already sounds slightly thin it might not be the best fit. In my case it was simply the better fit.

[reverendo]

am starting to compare ethernet cables. my Cantata's UPnP seems to be far more stable now.

[reverendo]

I actually took some time to listen to the Coffee and the Diamond from AQ in the past. Two very different beasts. Really didn't like the Coffee at all compared to other cables in the same or lower price class, but the Diamond was my favorite in it's price class. Do have to say, though, that the Lightspeed is the one to go for, IMO and if your system justifies it. It's just that good. Intend to get it soon, since I gave up on the whole UPnP front.

[reverendo]

Out of your list is one of the best (to my ears/brain system):

 

Acoustic Revive [uSB-1.0SPS] Dual conduit 1 meter. Price vary depending on the source ($480 - 590)

 

It was the very first dual conduit. I find this cable the more musical and neutral (no excessive "detail" added) between a lot, but had not tried all.

 

[uSB-1.0SPS] [uSB-1.0PLS] | ACOUSTIC REVIVE

 

Roch

I was under the impression the Revelation Audio had the first dual-conduit, but I might be mistaken.

[reverendo]

You do make a very good point. A few people do disproportionately fixate on cables, instead of what they are connecting. I think that is because they are just trying to optimize their existing equipment before the step of upgrading their components.

 

And you make another good point about the Belkin cable. Many no-name cables that come in the printer box or in the $2 bins are not even a USB cable, yes they have the right plugs, but are unshielded and nowhere near the 90ohms impedance of the specification. At least the Belkin Gold aims at delivering that, and should be the starting rung for USB cables.

 

But as others have said, you are presuming too much. Since you were answering my post, although indirectly you were making a statement to many people here, I will give you a little more of my equipment context. My front end has a separate linear power supply, my dac has a separate linear power supply, the DAC goes into $10K of amplification into $12k speakers. I really don't think that is where I currently need to focus. Now from the Belkin Gold and up, I would personally love to hear more of peoples experiences of differences in low to mid priced USB cables, and which ones were the best sounding standouts.

 

Keep the experience and feedback coming. Some good feedback on the North American brands. Would love to hear some comparisons with the European stand-outs, particularly:

 

Chord USB SilverPlus

Vertere Pulse d-fi usb Version 2

iFi Gemini

iFi Mercury

I've gone through quite a few USB cables and the best in my system is, unfortunately, the most expensive: the LH Lightspeed. I haven't upgraded due to not around spending that much on a USB cable, but I'll probably bite the bullet sooner or later. Unfortunately I haven't had any chance to compare it to any Chords.

what do you define as being mid-priced?

best regards

[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

[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.

[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.

[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

[reverendo]

Hello Reverendo and thanks for all your input!! I have a quick question for you the about some mid priced cables under $300. I have been using a AQ Coffee for the better part of the last year and like it, but feel as though it can be easily topped so I ordered a Mapleshade Plus and which arrived today. I really like the bigger sound stage and more transparency of the cable, but I do not love the bass as I feel it is doing some weird things that the coffee doesn't do. Also the build is a little scary as I feel like you may break it by sneezing in the wrong direction.

 

I know you have tried a ton of cables and the other cable I am looking at giving a solid look at in this price class would the WW Silver Starlight and was wondering how you think the two compare as I don't believe you compared these two directly (could be wrong).

 

I have also read that a few people really prefer the Transparent Premium to the AQ Diamond (which it seems you liked at one point), have you demoed that cable? I am willing to hold off for a while if I can get the smooth highs/transparency of the Mapleshade and more meat on the bone bass I am used to and spend under $600 for a 1 meter cable. I know USB cables are very system depended, but your description of the MS + is pretty consistent in my system as well. I do feel cable break in exists, but for the most part all I have ever heard is subtle changes with time not a transformation of the cable.

 

Cheers!

I would suggest you take the time to properly burn the cable in. I waited almost 200 hours until I felt that it was properly burnt in. I never had any issues related to build, although it does look fragile. If you're like me you'll probably find that even though LF are the weak spot it will take you 5 to 6 times its price to better mids and HF, which made letting go of it very difficult.

I've also heard great things about the Transparent USB cable, but I never had it in my system, so I can't comment. The Diamond was the next step, the Purist Ultimate the next and then the Lightspeed (which I intend to buy in the near future).

Getting a different power cord will benefit all cables, so I wouldn't resort to that in a comparison. Btw, I did buy Mapleshade's Power cord and kept it for a while. One more time, it's an excellent cable for its price. I don't use it anymore, but now my brother has it and I only pass on the things that I really like.

I hope that I could be of some help, but don't forget that most things are system dependent, although I believe that certain traits remain... they just express themselves differently.

Best regards

[reverendo]

In the spirit of drez's comment, in looking at reviews of the Lightspeed cable I've been disappointed with the lack of specific comparisons, the kind that a reader - or least this one - would want to hear about to get a feel for a cable's presentation style and specific characteristics, and thus how it might fit with one's tastes and in one's system. I don't think it's all that helpful to summarize that a cable is especially fast, detailed, quiet, etc., any more than it is to say that it leaves others on hand in the dust. Perhaps I've missed a review or two, but the only one of the Lightstream I've come across that does make an explicit comparison with a higher end offering, and tells me something about their relative overall presentations in the process, is Doug Blackburn's at UltraAudio. Here's what he has to say:

 

"It was immediately apparent that the AudioQuest Diamond DBS and Light Harmonic LightSpeed sounded different from each other. The AQ had richer harmonics, with rounder, fuller tone from instruments and voices in every octave. But the LightSpeed delivered quieter backgrounds, more air, and an enhanced sense of a live performance in the room. Older, less well-recorded Phil Spector tracks were more enjoyable with the AQ Diamond -- the LightSpeed was a bit tough on them. “Chan Chan,” from Buena Vista Social Club, had more space, air, and presence in the room through the LightSpeed, but the Diamond delivered a wider soundstage and richer harmonics.

 

And for every track, bit depth, and sample rate, the story was the same. Don’t ask me to say that one cable was better than the other. What I really wanted was a cable that combined the LightSpeed’s and the Diamond DBS’s sound characteristics. But both were preferable to the generic cable."

 

SoundStage! Ultra | SoundStageUltra.com (UltraAudio.com) | Light Harmonic LightSpeed USB Cable

I thought I had done exactly the kind of comparison that you are looking for with the purist ultimate. Did you have a look at it?

[reverendo]

[not sure why I haven't seen posts for the past week on "instantly"]

I don't know where your Pursit ultimate review is and am not clear what it has to do with Lightspeed cable reviews. Please clarify.

here is my direct comparison

and here is the comparison between the Ultimate and the Diamond for some perspective.

[reverendo]

Well yes, with no disrespect I did miss your posts #316 and #303. While I was speaking about professional reviews, your #316 post does compare the Lightspeed with another, although unfortunately there's no way to combine your two reviews. My point was that the professional reviewers had more than one cable around and for some reason didn't compare them with the Lightspeed, which left their reviews "one dimensional."

I understand.

OTOH, I'm probably one of the few that have had the most USB cables here at home, although I never had more than four to compare side-by-side. I think you'll find them at least enlightening in one way or the other and will give you and overall view of subjective analysis in the same system. Personally, I have my own difficulties with professional reviews, although I must admit that Michael's impressions are almost exactly the same that I had had in my system with the same cables. The system, though, was pretty different.

Of course, YMMV.

[reverendo]

Did you compare the Lightspeed with any others? Are you speaking of a Michael here or the reviewer Lavorgna? The latter's review speaks to everything but timbre/tonality, which is a big omission. For me, well-presented comparisons help illuminate the big picture about how a component/cable sound, while also shedding light on the reviewer's tastes and thoughtfulness.

Lavorgna, that's it. Had forgotten his last name.

I believe that timbre/tonality has a lot to do of how a system (and in this case, USB cable) reproduces frequencies. Timbre/tonality is nothing more than the correct representation of the harmonic spectrum, which itself relies on the accurate reproduction of harmonics. For that to happen you need frequency bandwidth, tonal balance, and correct LFs, which are the foundation of the harmonics. You can still mess up things with time alignment, but these three basic things are going to give you the main results in regards to timbres.

In that sense the Lightspeed is excellent, since it has larger bandwidth, a better tonal balance and cleaner LFs than the Ultimate. IMO, the Ultimate has a slightly fuller sound due to the fact that it's HF extension is inferior to the Lightspeed. In some systems the LS will show that the system is tilted toward the HFs, in others it will show other shortcomings or preferences.

In one to two weeks I should be getting my LS and I consider it an upgrade to my Ultimate, although price is practically the same. Just my 2 cents.

[reverendo]

Other than LightSpeed who else offers a split USB interconnect.

Vertere, ifi, Revelation Audio Labs, Kingrex