It *cannot* just be about 1's and 0's - surely?

[davide256]

Clocking accuracy  matters. Clocking degradation damages harmonic structure integrity and dynamics.  You could also try the Lush 2 cable if you want a real treat,  its Faraday cage like shielding mechanism works for improving USB audio. But you may be happy with the AQ Diamond you have ?

[davide256]

1 hour ago, Mazza said:

Yes, USB cables are a contentious subject but bear with me please! ?

.....

 - first: it was a immediately obvious that the output volume on my speakers increased. So I checked this by swapping cables and measuring dbA levels on a sine-sweep test track that I use to calibrate levels. I was right and there was just under a 2dB vol increase when using the shorter, 'higher grade' cable over the longer 'lower grade' cable. I checked this 4x by swapping between the cables and had to adjust the pre-set on my speakers for the loaner cable.?

.....

What I don't get is *how* the playback volume can increase when all I am doing is shifting 1's and 0's over a 5v/3.6v cable and secondly, if the improvement in sound quality is say attributable to better rejection of EMI/RFI from my source to the DAC, or control of jitter, can it *really* be so significant over a length of 1.5m?

 

Think of the 2db as an average... of greater transient peaks.  Like increasing the contrast on your video monitor.

[davide256]

On 12/14/2018 at 6:28 PM, gmgraves said:

There is no harmonic structure or any dynamics. The USB cable is passing DATA. The USB cable has no way of knowing what the data represents; it could be e-mail messages, video, 3-D rendering, anything! The fact that it is audio should be totally irrelevant. That's what makes this so damn puzzling. If the USB cable is changing the audio, it means it's changing the data and it can't, It's just a pair of wires in a sheath with two other wires carrying a nominal five volts. 

I agree it can't change the data... but the clocking of that data seems to be the fail part of USB . I do find it interesting that Audiolinux  makes an ISO Regen reclocker not necessary on the same devices where other OS's did need its help.

[davide256]

21 hours ago, EdmontonCanuck said:

 

 

What happens to the SQ if you remove the battery?

I can't speak to the USB cable. But I can tell you with the Eagle Eye coax, removing the DBS batteries leaves it sounding no better than the exotic material coax cables I've built myself. The DBS when energized puts the cable at a much higher plateau for resolution and neutrality.

Given that and how well the Lush 2 works, there's clearly more to how to connect two devices together than just good soldering, insulation, and materials.

[davide256]

32 minutes ago, daverich4 said:

 

I have all AQ Colorado balanced interconnects and Mont Blanc speaker cables and in my system with my ears there isn’t a lick of difference in SQ whether there are batteries in the DBS system or not. Clearly you hear a difference but I do not, either good or bad. 

?? this discussion is digital signal interconnects vs analog amplification interconnects. Analog is a completely different beast for interconnects... down that path lies madness ?

[davide256]

1 hour ago, daverich4 said:

 

I can’t find that Audioquest claims that the DBS system works differently on their digital cables versus the way it works on their analog cables. In fact, they explicitly say it’s the same.

 

”Depending on the model of interconnect (analog or digital) or speaker cable, an existing foil “shield” is used as the DBS anode by connecting it to positive (+) of the DBS battery pack.”

 

My comment was not about whether different cables make a difference or not, it was about whether DBS on or off makes a difference or not. To you it apparently does. To me it does not. 

 

Experience using the DBS solution as an analog  amplifier interconnect  ( sine wave signal transmission)  has no usefulness in a discussion of digital interconnects 

(  square wave signal transmission).  Haven't tried the DBS solution for analog, not surprised that in an LRC circuit it doesn't help.

 

 

[davide256]

2 hours ago, daverich4 said:

 

I’m in over my head technically here but are you saying that ”maintaining a bias on the dielectric at a substantially higher voltage than is ever achieved through normal use” would have an effect on digital cables but not analog cables even though Audioquest makes no such distinction?

the two are different in whats happening. Amplifiers by and large are mostly 1800's  E& M science with a dash of bias amplification from either tube or solid state science

of the  1900's. You can get fancy with electronic volume controls or class D circuits but the overriding component interaction when you use an interconnect is LRC  and good design tries to protect the gain stage from undesirable LRC interactions. Raising the  static voltage bias point of two interconnected analog devices shouldn't do much, as voltage change and current is what drives signal in analog.

 

Digital components on the other hand are interconnected logic circuits. If you raise the bias point you change the square wave  voltage  at transition points. Depending on the connected endpoint logic circuits design and signal attenuation, that could help. The transition point is where a 1 or 0 is detected.  Conversely though with a different design, that may be bad, I could never get a Gustard U12 to sync with my DAC at 176/192khz with DBS enabled

[davide256]

16 hours ago, daverich4 said:

 

Nothing you’ve said in this post has anything to do with what Audioquest claims is happening with their DBS system. 

 

https://www.audioquest.com/content/aq/pdf/Dielectric-Bias-System-DBS.pdf

It's all BS, you can safely ignore it. If it actually worked they way they said it did, the effect wouldn't be on/off from using/not using the batteries. And it would not have interferred

with synching 176/192 audio to  a Gustard U12.