USB cable comparisons

[Dev]

I did though indirectly -- I thought the Lightspeed was much much better than the WWPS7, which sounded tonally threadbare in comparison. However the Curious and Audience turned the tables on the LS which, though detailed and giving an impression of great transparency, sounded lightweight and somewhat thin compared to either of the latter.

 

I initially thought the Curious was the better of the two over the AU24 SE but when I ditched the REGEN I'd been using I found the Curious was a bit too incisive and ultimately fatiguing while the Audience Hit the sweet spot by being both harmonically richer and ultimately more detailed and transparent without being fatiguing.

 

I can only surmise that the REGEN, while doing an admirable job taming digital edginess or hardness that might be present with some streamers or commuter sources, ultimately was a bit too much of a good thing after my digital front end improved from Auralic Aries to Aurender N100H to Sonore microRendu.

 

Since this is somewhat system dependent, your mileage may vary.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Steve Z

 

Excellent. Thanks Steve. That was my understanding as well from various other places I read about AU24. I am now using the Curious, that beats the WW, JCAT and Audioquest in my system and wondering what could have been even better.

[amir57bs]

Anybody compare Audience AU24 SE to WW Platinum or the Curious ?

 

Audience Au is in my short list but there is no good review about it.

robert harley reviewed it in TAS but i do not trust harley.

 

i trust Jim Smith and Gordon Rankin. Gordon Rankin is god father of computer audio , Gordon Recommended me Curious , AudioQuest and CAD (computer audio design usb cable).

Jim smith prefer Curious to Lightspeed and other cables.

[amir57bs]

I did though indirectly -- I thought the Lightspeed was much much better than the WWPS7, which sounded tonally threadbare in comparison. However the Curious and Audience turned the tables on the LS which, though detailed and giving an impression of great transparency, sounded lightweight and somewhat thin compared to either of the latter.

 

I initially thought the Curious was the better of the two over the AU24 SE but when I ditched the REGEN I'd been using I found the Curious was a bit too incisive and ultimately fatiguing while the Audience Hit the sweet spot by being both harmonically richer and ultimately more detailed and transparent without being fatiguing.

 

I can only surmise that the REGEN, while doing an admirable job taming digital edginess or hardness that might be present with some streamers or commuter sources, ultimately was a bit too much of a good thing after my digital front end improved from Auralic Aries to Aurender N100H to Sonore microRendu.

 

Since this is somewhat system dependent, your mileage may vary.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Steve Z

 

I think Audience should be good but i am not sure about it's dynamics.

my 1.5m curious in break-in mode and curious sounds more open and dynamic than Purist but is alittle bright .

i think curious is not thin, it shound be used in a good system and maybe you prefer fuller sound than it. i guess they could improve harmonics by using a better copper.

 

i will report after break-in

[KnockKnock]

I have testet the Curious Cable USB against the Crystal Cable Dreamline USB.

The Curious wins in every aspect. Yes it simply is THAT good (I also tried AQ Coffe, Entreq Konstantin, AQVox, Acoustic Revice SPS, Cardas, Furutech GT2, Nordost, Viable, TelluriumQ). Curious beats them all.

 

KnockKnock

[amir57bs]

I have testet the Curious Cable USB against the Crystal Cable Dreamline USB.

The Curious wins in every aspect. Yes it simply is THAT good (I also tried AQ Coffe, Entreq Konstantin, AQVox, Acoustic Revice SPS, Cardas, Furutech GT2, Nordost, Viable, TelluriumQ). Curious beats them all.

 

KnockKnock

 

I also tested Acoustic revive and it sounded compress.

I guess high end cables are not true 90 ohm and their shielding improves transparency but kills dynamics.

My idea about Curious usb before 110 hours break-in :

The sound is dynamic and naturally transparent with good depth but it needs alittle richer harmonics and more coherency and more controlled highs.

I guess after break-in the sound comes alive with fuller harmonic and more controlled high.

[zettelsm]

The microRendu has Regen circuitry, so by using both you were actually "doubling up" on Regens.

 

My apologies for not being clear in my comparison post, Jud. By the time I had gotten to the microRendu in my streamer journey I had already retired the REGEN, actually a few months in to using the mR's predecessor, the Aurender. I found the REGEN mandatory for listening when I was connecting my Mac Mini directly to my DAC, likewise the Auralic Aries.

 

Sorry for the lack of clarity in my original post.

 

Steve Z

[zettelsm]

Excellent. Thanks Steve. That was my understanding as well from various other places I read about AU24. I am now using the Curious, that beats the WW, JCAT and Audioquest in my system and wondering what could have been even better.

 

You're very welcome. Glad to be able to help. PM me for a source for discounted Audience if you're interested.

 

Steve Z

[kennyb123]

Audience Au is in my short list but there is no good review about it.

robert harley reviewed it in TAS but i do not trust harley.

 

The Audience Au24 SE beat the Curious and Lightspeed in my system.

[zettelsm]

Audience Au is in my short list but there is no good review about it.

robert harley reviewed it in TAS but i do not trust harley.

 

i trust Jim Smith and Gordon Rankin. Gordon Rankin is god father of computer audio , Gordon Recommended me Curious , AudioQuest and CAD (computer audio design usb cable).

Jim smith prefer Curious to Lightspeed and other cables.

 

I think at best we can only take what others say as very subjective guidance. Myself included. In aggregate and over time maybe we'll start to see a consensus emerge about some particular component or tweak. But ultimately I have to hear for myself since I am the one I have to please.

 

I would agree with Jim Smith that the Curious sounded better than the Lightspeed, but now that I've heard the Audience I would say, at least for the Audience review Harley nailed it. But do listen for yourself if you can.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve Z

[zettelsm]

I think Audience should be good but i am not sure about it's dynamics.

my 1.5m curious in break-in mode and curious sounds more open and dynamic than Purist but is alittle bright .

i think curious is not thin, it shound be used in a good system and maybe you prefer fuller sound than it. i guess they could improve harmonics by using a better copper.

 

i will report after break-in

 

To be clear I did not characterize the Curious as thin in my comparison post. Could use that descriptor in regard to the WWPS7 and even the Lightspeed when compared to cables I thought more balanced.

 

I thought the Curious was very, very good and dynamic as all heck, but ultimately came to feel that what was giving it the impression of stellar dynamics was a bit of an aggressive top end that became fatiguing over time. I find no loss of dynamics with the Audience.

 

And I agree that the Curious and all of these cables should be used in the context of a good system. Know where I can find one? <smile>

 

Best regards,

 

Steve Z

[kennyb123]

I thought the Curious was very, very good and dynamic as all heck, but ultimately came to feel that what was giving it the impression of stellar dynamics was a bit of an aggressive top end that became fatiguing over time. I find no loss of dynamics with the Audience.

 

The top end is what disqualified the Curious relative to the Audience in my system. The Curious was not in the same league in the highs.

 

Dynamics with the Audience have always been outstanding.

[amir57bs]

I think at best we can only take what others say as very subjective guidance. Myself included. In aggregate and over time maybe we'll start to see a consensus emerge about some particular component or tweak. But ultimately I have to hear for myself since I am the one I have to please.

 

I would agree with Jim Smith that the Curious sounded better than the Lightspeed, but now that I've heard the Audience I would say, at least for the Audience review Harley nailed it. But do listen for yourself if you can.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve Z

 

I agree we should judge by our ears not by other recommend but i make my short list upon who i trust them.

[amir57bs]

The top end is what disqualified the Curious relative to the Audience in my system. The Curious was not in the same league in the highs.

 

Dynamics with the Audience have always been outstanding.

 

There is a trade off between high end extension and mid/high dynamic.

Purist try to control noise and make it natural but it kill the dynamic.

It is not easy to make a dynamic cable without high extension

[sandyk]

There is a trade off between high end extension and mid/high dynamic.

Purist try to control noise and make it natural but it kill the dynamic.

It is not easy to make a dynamic cable without high extension

 

The vast majority of noise with USB Audio comes from the source device.(PC or Server) It should be controlled BEFORE it gets into the cable. One way to achieve this is by either removing the noisy +5V USB power before it gets into the USB cable, or by replacing it with a cleaner +5V supply from an aftermarket USB card.

Unintentional earth loops are also a problem with USB Audio.

Proper extended HF detail is revealed when low level wideband noise is removed at the source. i.e. by improving the Signal Integrity before it is exported. If the cables aren't properly screened you may see the ingress of RF/EMI which is often evidenced as artificial HF detail and added harshness.

[Allan F]

Compared to the WW Platinum Starlight 7 or the Lightspeed, which I also had for a while, the Curious USB cable is anything but fatiguing or aggressive in my system. Both of the former had an overall sound that was somewhat thin compared to the Curious, but the high end of both was not as natural or smooth.

[2string1]

The vast majority of noise with USB Audio comes from the source device.(PC or Server) It should be controlled BEFORE it gets into the cable. One way to achieve this is by either removing the noisy +5V USB power before it gets into the USB cable, or by replacing it with a cleaner +5V supply from an aftermarket USB card.

Unintentional earth loops are also a problem with USB Audio.

Proper extended HF detail is revealed when low level wideband noise is removed at the source. i.e. by improving the Signal Integrity before it is exported. If the cables aren't properly screened you may see the ingress of RF/EMI which is often evidenced as artificial HF detail and added harshness.

My Curious cable does not even have a 5v leg.

[sandyk]

My Curious cable does not even have a 5v leg.

 

Neither do my short DIY USB cables, or USB adaptors.

However, many DACs will not work without first seeing a "handshake" with +5V from the computer.

 

[amir57bs]

my setup is not good because i listen to my crappy Sennheiser HD800. i will report this comparison by a better system at near future.

 

first i should say my sound changed after turning off the itunes EQ and running CAD (computer audio design) mac osx optimization script. i guess before turning off the EQ the data was not bit perfect.

i do not judge the sound with quick A/B testing and just focusing on sound and i try to listen to a track from start to end and i just look at my musical satisfaction factor. if you look just to sound you should buy Acoustic Revive USB cable, it is very very transparent but it is not dynamic and emotional. i hate the artificial and hyper detailed sound. i like easy flow , natural and human like sound.

i just play 44.1khz/16-bit from my ripped CD by dbpoweramp. every cable need 1 hour warmup before critical listening. i do not start listening before warming up each cable. i test the system in a good time for better AC power.

i do not use iUSB 3.0 because it kill the sound.

after 175 hours break-in:

i guess Curious needs more time to be fully break-in.

 

Audio Quest Diamond USB Cable is not bad but it is not stellar. it is not sweet , it is not so transparent and no thing is special in it's sound. listener could not love it.

if the top score is 100 then Audio Quest score is 50.

Audioquest is an average hifi product.

 

Purist Audio 30 Anniversary USB Cable speaks you more on midrange and is a-little less transparent in extremes (low bass and high) in comparison by Acoustic Revive but Purist give a nice pleasure to listener and it's midrange is very human like and warm .

purist is not as open and dynamic as curious but the listener could be happy with Purist. purist do not make listener so happy but do not bother listener. it is above average. I love Purist analog cables but purist digital cables are not very dynamic. be careful purist needs more time to fully warm-up before critical listening. if you focus on the sound you believe purist is not pure and real and it fools you by it's presentation.

Purist score is 85.

 

Curious 1.5m USB Cable is more transparent , a-little more extended plus more intimacy in comparison by Purist but purist sounds fuller in midrange .

curious sounds more real with more depth and a-little brighter . Curious is a-little leaner in comparison by Purist.

Qurious is good with no edge in sound and breath very easy but purist fool the listener to enjoy the music.

sometimes i think curious could not keep high and mid fully connected. purist is like adding a good transformer to output stage. it make the sound fuller but go away from neutrality.

Curious Score is 75.

 

I like neutral sound more than warm sound because i prefer dynamic sound not warm sound . i think curious could make a better cable than purist but this version of Curious could not outperform Purist cable. curious need to be richer and coherent to reach 100 point and purist needs more real presentation to reach 100 point.

 

both cables are not perfect.

I will report curious/purist after 300 hours break-in in a better reference system in near future.

[YashN]

first i should say my sound changed after turning off the itunes EQ and running CAD (computer audio design) mac osx optimization script. i guess before turning off the EQ the data was not bit perfect.

 

If you're on Mac, it still won't be good as there are other SQ-damaging in lower libraries => get Audirvana+ or HQ Player, which are real audiophile players.

[YashN]

both cables are not perfect.

 

You will never find one with digital being encoded as analogue IMO.

 

And for slower rates, even the USB standard tell you that signal degradation can occur as from 3cm of cables...

[amir57bs]

If you're on Mac, it still won't be good as there are other SQ-damaging in lower libraries => get Audirvana+ or HQ Player, which are real audiophile players.

 

 

I have Audirvana and Roon and Ammara.

 

Roon is the best

[YashN]

I have Audirvana and Roon and Ammara.

 

Roon is the best

 

Make Roon delegate the playback to HQ Player.

 

With A+, try without 'iTunes integrated mode' to see if the SQ is better as well.

[amir57bs]

Make Roon delegate the playback to HQ Player.

 

With A+, try without 'iTunes integrated mode' to see if the SQ is better as well.

 

i do not use upsample

[YashN]

i do not use upsample

 

Who says you have to?

[amir57bs]

Who says you have to?

 

 

hq player do upsample/downsamp