USB cable comparisons

[YashN]

hq player do upsample/downsamp

 

It isn't fixed by default on upsampling/downsampling or up-conversion... That's a choice.

[Nikhil]

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. ....

 

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.

 

...

 

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.

 

 

Interesting observations on the Purist cable - very interested to follow your observations.

What kind of music do you listen to?

[amir57bs]

It isn't fixed by default on upsampling/downsampling or up-conversion... That's a choice.

 

Do you prefer HQ+Roon to Roon?

Can you explain the difference?

[amir57bs]

Interesting observations on the Purist cable - very interested to follow your observations.

What kind of music do you listen to?

 

I listen to pop/rock/persian classic music .

Sometimes jazz sometimes electronica.

I think good audio system sounds good on all kind of music

[YashN]

I listen to pop/rock/persian classic music .

Sometimes jazz sometimes electronica.

I think good audio system sounds good on all kind of music

 

And most people who have tried report that the Roon player isn't as good as HQ Player.

[YashN]

Do you prefer HQ+Roon to Roon?

Can you explain the difference?

 

Sorry, hadn't seen your question before I replied, but the answer is there. Some are using Roon for its browsing abilities as well as additional information, together with the ability to make you discover new music, but are delegating the playing to HQ Player.

[Solstice380]

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.

QUOTE]

 

Some DACs. Oppo 105D needs it, McIntosh D150 doesn't. Others? It's a good thing to know before buying a cable!

 

(apologies for the quoting SNAFU)

[YashN]

Some DACs. Oppo 105D needs it, McIntosh D150 doesn't. Others? It's a good thing to know before buying a cable!

 

iFi iDSD Nano needs +5V for sure.

 

Not sure I have tried to disconnect 'after handshake' because I don't know what that means (the 'after' part, I know what a handshake in protocols is).

 

After the DAC is recognised, if I disconnect the +5V, the DAC stops being referenced by the OS and player.

 

OTOH, if I disconnect the GND, it works fine (unless the battery is depleted, in which case, it goes into an odd state but nothing which can't be fixed by re-connecting GND and power cycling to put it in USB-powered + Battery-charging mode.

[sandyk]

After the DAC is recognised, if I disconnect the +5V, the DAC stops being referenced by the OS and player

 

Did you try the LED and series resistor trick in combination with removing the +5V after the DAC is identified ?

[YashN]

Did you try the LED and series resistor trick in combination with removing the +5V after the DAC is identified ?

 

I will have to try again for sure because I think I just plugged it in with the res + LED this time.

[amir57bs]

Curious passed over 350 hours and it is ready to compare by Purist Audio.

I also upgraded berkeley Alpha USB power cord and Purist neptune replaced by purist Aquila AC cable.

Next month i will compare CEC TL0-X by Berkeley Alpha USB.

Good power cable is important to digital products.

[KnockKnock]

Let us hear how the Curious performs ;=)

 

I think its a GREAT cable, the best I have tried ;=)

 

best KnockKnock

 

 

 

Curious passed over 350 hours and it is ready to compare by Purist Audio.

I also upgraded berkeley Alpha USB power cord and Purist neptune replaced by purist Aquila AC cable.

Next month i will compare CEC TL0-X by Berkeley Alpha USB.

Good power cable is important to digital products.

[amir57bs]

Let us hear how the Curious performs ;=)

 

I think its a GREAT cable, the best I have tried ;=)

 

best KnockKnock

 

After 350 hours the Curious is a-little richer and better defined . the audioquest diamond passed 300 hours and in comparision by Curious i think Curious is better .

I will compare Curious and Purist Audio in a reference system in next month to give you good review.

[photonman]

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

How would we know if our DAC requires a mere handshake or if the USB port itself requires the USB bus power to work or is that the same thing? If I turn off the power to my DAC USB port via a split cable, the DAC does not work. The DAC stays powered on via the main LPS but no music.

 

Also, is the quality of the power important if just a handshake is required? When I hear "handshake" I think of a one time deal, like "hello nice to meet you" and then you walk away as opposed to a hug which requires constant contact. Hope that makes sense. My DAC requires a USB hug.

 

I am inspired by this thread and have swapped out my Wireworld Ultraviolet with a Kimber 6.1% silver plated one.

[sandyk]

How would we know if our DAC requires a mere handshake or if the USB port itself requires the USB bus power to work or is that the same thing? If I turn off the power to my DAC USB port via a split cable, the DAC does not work. The DAC stays powered on via the main LPS but no music.

 

Also, is the quality of the power important if just a handshake is required? When I hear "handshake" I think of a one time deal, like "hello nice to meet you" and then you walk away as opposed to a hug which requires constant contact. Hope that makes sense. My DAC requires a USB hug.

 

I am inspired by this thread and have swapped out my Wireworld Ultraviolet with a Kimber 6.1% silver plated one.

 

 

In your case, the DAC appears to need to see +5V USB power to function. It is possible that something like a USB Regen MAY be able to supply that power after the initial "handshake" and USB +5V from the PC is removed, although a good USB card can also supply very low noise power via your USB cable. However, a USB Regen or Intona Isolator has other benefits.

A soon to be released new generation Regen from Uptone will provide both Isolation and Regeneration.

A USB card will also work in conjunction with the Regen for a further improvement, and the Regen will then ignore the incoming +5V from the P.C.

You will need to ask other members if they have experience with your particular DAC in this area.

[Dev]

I have compared Curious, JCAT dual-head reference, AQ Diamond and WW Platinum in the past and find that its very much dependent on the transport and DAC combination. What USB cable performs the best in one combination doesn't necessarily works if the combination is changed. When I had a dual-pc Jplay setup, the JCAT usb cable (I have it for sale, pm if interested) performed best when used with PPA or JCAT usb card. With microRendu/DS combo, the Curious performs the best. I am very much eager to try the Audience.

[amir57bs]

How would we know if our DAC requires a mere handshake or if the USB port itself requires the USB bus power to work or is that the same thing? If I turn off the power to my DAC USB port via a split cable, the DAC does not work. The DAC stays powered on via the main LPS but no music.

 

Also, is the quality of the power important if just a handshake is required? When I hear "handshake" I think of a one time deal, like "hello nice to meet you" and then you walk away as opposed to a hug which requires constant contact. Hope that makes sense. My DAC requires a USB hug.

 

I am inspired by this thread and have swapped out my Wireworld Ultraviolet with a Kimber 6.1% silver plated one.

 

Berkeley use 5volt to detect signal but it does not use 5 volt. it is not simple to know about that

[amir57bs]

I have compared Curious, JCAT dual-head reference, AQ Diamond and WW Platinum in the past and find that its very much dependent on the transport and DAC combination. What USB cable performs the best in one combination doesn't necessarily works if the combination is changed. When I had a dual-pc Jplay setup, the JCAT usb cable (I have it for sale, pm if interested) performed best when used with PPA or JCAT usb card. With microRendu/DS combo, the Curious performs the best. I am very much eager to try the Audience.

I try them in two different system and the result is the same

[Kevin M.]

Hi Guys,

I am using the new Dh Labs "Mirage" Signal Isolating USB Cable - Its really, very very good! The difference between their other Max Bandwith USB Cable is like sky and earth! although the Max Bandwith is excellent for its price.

 

I consider the Vertere USB Cable (which i also have and use) the best ever - now with the Mirage i think the gap is clearly bridged!

I totally agree. I have had several and my favorite before this one was the Wireworld Platinum. I like the DH labs Mirage much more. All the note decay and resolution is there as with the Platinum but it seems a more neutral cable. It's really superb. My past experience with Dh labs cables were that they were OK. The USB is stellar.

[reverendo]

has anyone here ever tried the Lightspeed 20G cable? Is this available as an upgrade for those who have the 10G? Any experience and info would be welcome.

Thanks

[Lee Scoggins]

My favorites are the AQ Diamond, Synergistic Research Galileo (my current best) and the Shunyata Venom (Mk2).  I have several LH cables including the Lightspeed but I am not impressed with any of them.  Ditto for the iFi cables but I have not heard the most current one.

 

The Galileo seems very special to my ears but it is pretty expensive.

[Lee Scoggins]

On 11/6/2016 at 4:48 PM, Dev said:

I have compared Curious, JCAT dual-head reference, AQ Diamond and WW Platinum in the past and find that its very much dependent on the transport and DAC combination. What USB cable performs the best in one combination doesn't necessarily works if the combination is changed. When I had a dual-pc Jplay setup, the JCAT usb cable (I have it for sale, pm if interested) performed best when used with PPA or JCAT usb card. With microRendu/DS combo, the Curious performs the best. I am very much eager to try the Audience.

 

This makes sense to me.  Associated gear is always a factor in my experience as well.

[johndoe21ro]

If anyone has the possibility to do so... try your AQ Diamond USB cable with a 216V DBS (use adapters/extra batteries or whatever is necessary)...

[Lee Scoggins]

On 11/28/2017 at 5:45 PM, johndoe21ro said:

If anyone has the possibility to do so... try your AQ Diamond USB cable with a 216V DBS (use adapters/extra batteries or whatever is necessary)...

 

How does that work?  What gains do you get?

[johndoe21ro]

On 11/30/2017 at 4:15 AM, Lee Scoggins said:

 

How does that work?  What gains do you get?

A little bit more of everything... Of everything we audiophiles are interested, that is...

A blacker background, better resolution, better separation, a more organic and relaxed sound...

Just try it! I can't imagine this being too complicated.