usb cables?

[fas42]

3 hours ago, RickyV said:

Sorry I have just tried two, the lush and the lush^2, oh and a 1$ cable.

The lush^2 is the best of cause  but what amazes me is that the different shield configurations changes the sound.  Some give a more articulated bass, some are better  in highs or just overall more spacial. It is clearly audible.

Did you read the lush thread?

 

100% logical why this should be so ... almost all audio gear is far too sensitive to variations in noise and interference present in the electrical environment; and reacts just enough to make it clearly audible in the heard sound - change the spectrum and makeup of the unwanted electrical activity ==> the subjective SQ changes.

 

One way of looking at this is considering the very acceptable, , concept of dither; it's very easy to 'prove' to people that selecting different patterns of the dither applied to a digital waveform makes the sound more or less pleasant ... think of what you're adjusting with altering the shield as fiddling with the precise nature of the dither applied at that moment, .

[Kimo]

How about these German cables?  They were mentioned before on this site.  Has anyone tried Habst?  

 

https://www.habst.de/usb-ultra-5n-reinsilber.html

 

They are certainly expensive, but do use all silver.

[Ralf11]

did you see the post today by John Swenson?  add his name plus 'silver' to pop it up

[GUTB]

Right now I'm struggling with cables.

 

I need a good 15-20 feet of USB cable to run across my listening room from my audio PC to the DAC. I have Supra cable which does this and it works fine, however I want to maximize quality. I could probably custom-order a cable but doing so means I can't return it if it doesn't perform and it's also very expensive. Do I just give in and get a Roon streamer? If I do that should I just go all in on a high end streamer and forget the audio PC I spent so much time and money building with linear PSU, PP USB card, isolated SSD power, etc?

 

Other options include moving the DAC and trading USB length for interconnect length. I could build a new downsized audio PC but it won't be THAT much smaller since it has to have the CPU power to do high-end DSD512 filters and still needs the big linear PSU.

[asdf1000]

24 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

did you see the post today by John Swenson?  add his name plus 'silver' to pop it up

 

Nothing comes up with silver by him - not a 2019 post anyway.

[sandyk]

22 minutes ago, GUTB said:

I need a good 15-20 feet of USB cable to run across my listening room from my audio PC to the DAC. I have Supra cable which does this and it works fine,

I.M.E.  Any USB cable >3M long used without Regeneration will reduce SQ to some degree , in part due to RF/EMI issues, and in some  cases the connected USB device will not function correctly, or perhaps even be identified due to excessive voltage drop with the incoming +5V rail.  This is governed by the size of the conductors stipulated in the USB standards with many cables using thinner conductors than permitted.

 

(The 2.0 specification limits the length of a cable between USB 2.0 devices (Full Speed or Hi-Speed) to 5 meters (or about 16 feet and 5 inches).

[marce]

7 hours ago, fas42 said:

 

100% logical why this should be so ... almost all audio gear is far too sensitive to variations in noise and interference present in the electrical environment; and reacts just enough to make it clearly audible in the heard sound - change the spectrum and makeup of the unwanted electrical activity ==> the subjective SQ changes.

 

One way of looking at this is considering the very acceptable, , concept of dither; it's very easy to 'prove' to people that selecting different patterns of the dither applied to a digital waveform makes the sound more or less pleasant ... think of what you're adjusting with altering the shield as fiddling with the precise nature of the dither applied at that moment, .

So everything is badly designed yet gets CE and other compatibility markings!

[fas42]

15 minutes ago, marce said:

So everything is badly designed yet gets CE and other compatibility markings!

 

So the CE and other compatibility markings directives have clauses very clearly specifying tests relevant to very high quality audio?

[adamdea]

6 hours ago, sandyk said:

[I.M.E.  Any USB cable >3M long used without Regeneration will reduce SQ to some degree , in part due to RF/EMI issues,] and in some  cases the connected USB device will not function correctly, or perhaps even be identified due to excessive voltage drop with the incoming +5V rail.  This is governed by the size of the conductors stipulated in the USB standards with many cables using thinner conductors than permitted.

 

(The 2.0 specification limits the length of a cable between USB 2.0 devices (Full Speed or Hi-Speed) to 5 meters (or about 16 feet and 5 inches).

Well chase my Aunt Fanny up a gum tree, Sandy, if we ignore the bit in square brackets you've just posted something that is not only not batshit crazy but actually correct. Truly these are the End Days

[marce]

4 hours ago, fas42 said:

 

So the CE and other compatibility markings directives have clauses very clearly specifying tests relevant to very high quality audio?

Audio is electronics... and not very taxing electronics, there are far more complex and sensitive designs that some how can be made to work without all the tom foolery we have in audiophile myth land.... they can even use SMPS's without issues!

[89reksal]

Buy a Lush^2 and quit wasting time. It's like 100+ usb cables in one. It'll allow you to experiment to your hearts content (or just stick with the default).

[marce]

1 minute ago, lasker98 said:

Buy a Lush^2 and quit wasting time. It's like 100+ usb cables in one.

How?

[89reksal]

Just now, marce said:

How?

You're the expert.

[marce]

6 minutes ago, lasker98 said:

You're the expert.

Well I'm asking here because I can't think of any mechanism (other than noise) that could be at play... And as you are promoting a product I thought you might have more information.

[89reksal]

7 minutes ago, marce said:

Well I'm asking here because I can't think of any mechanism (other than noise) that could be at play... And as you are promoting a product I thought you might have more information.

Sorry, I didn't take it as a serious question. I'm not "promoting" a product. The OP asked about usb cables and I gave a recommendation based on personal experience. If you're seriously interested in reading more, there's a dedicated thread for Lush^2 without me trying to repeat it here.

[marce]

22 minutes ago, lasker98 said:

Sorry, I didn't take it as a serious question. I'm not "promoting" a product. The OP asked about usb cables and I gave a recommendation based on personal experience. If you're seriously interested in reading more, there's a dedicated thread for Lush^2 without me trying to repeat it here.

I have read it all.

Its not just the Lush cables, its all USB cables... 

[89reksal]

3 minutes ago, marce said:

I have read it all.

Its not just the Lush cables, its all USB cables... 

hmmm.... That explains a lot.

[marce]

Why does it explain a lot,  because I am trying to find an underlying mechanism that could cause a repeatable change in the analogue output caused by different USB cables used to transport a digital signal...

[89reksal]

5 minutes ago, marce said:

Why does it explain a lot,  because I am trying to find an underlying mechanism that could cause a repeatable change in the analogue output caused by different USB cables used to transport a digital signal...

 Maybe I misunderstood.

1) I thought you were asking for more information on the Lush^2 usb cable. I said there was a dedicated thread and based on your reply you were unable to find it. Yet "I have read it all".  I responded with "that explains a lot" because your response gave me some insight into a lot of your posts/comments/responses. Hopefully you'll be able to take it from there.

 

2) What does "because I am trying to find an underlying mechanism that could cause a repeatable change in the analogue output caused by different USB cables used to transport a digital signal..." have to do with the topic of this thread? Are you intentionally try to derail this thread with off topic posts? The OP asked in his first post: "its 2019. current top performing usb cables?" How are any of your responses in this thread in any way related to that? So again, my "that explains a lot" because I have to question your ability to understand what you read. Sorry to be so blunt but you asked.

[Speedskater]

6 hours ago, marce said:

So everything is badly designed yet gets CE and other compatibility markings!

A big problem now is that many of these markings and safety markings are counterfeit!  The manufacture never did the tests, knowing that they won't be caught.

[Speedskater]

6 hours ago, fas42 said:

So the CE and other compatibility markings directives have clauses very clearly specifying tests relevant to very high quality audio?

Yes, they do!  Why would noise and interference not be relevant to very high quality audio?

[audiobomber]

18 hours ago, musicguy said:

current top performing usb cables?

My advice is to get this one; impeccable specs, pro build quality, audiophile approved sound quality, reasonable price:

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/oyaide-neo-d-class-a-usb-20-cable/

[mansr]

8 hours ago, sandyk said:

I.M.E.  Any USB cable >3M long used without Regeneration will reduce SQ to some degree , in part due to RF/EMI issues, and in some  cases the connected USB device will not function correctly, or perhaps even be identified due to excessive voltage drop with the incoming +5V rail.  This is governed by the size of the conductors stipulated in the USB standards with many cables using thinner conductors than permitted.

 

(The 2.0 specification limits the length of a cable between USB 2.0 devices (Full Speed or Hi-Speed) to 5 meters (or about 16 feet and 5 inches).

The USB 2.0 standard does not specify wire gauge for any of the conductors. The only requirements are regarding voltage drop, signal attenuation, and propagation delay. The voltage drop requirement – max 125 mV – can be met, assuming a maximum load of 500 mA, by choosing a wire with a resistance of at most 0.25 Ω. That's easy for any reasonable cable length. The attenuation requirements – 5.8 dB at 400 MHz – are also not particularly onerous. The maximum permitted propagation delay of a cable is 26 ns. With a typical propagation speed of 0.2 m/ns, the maximum length is thus 5.2 m. An ideal cable with propagation speed equal to the speed of light would have a maximum length of 7.8 m, and nothing in the known universe can get past that. In practice, hosts and devices often tolerate longer delays, so cable lengths exceeding these limits may still work.

[mansr]

2 hours ago, marce said:

2 hours ago, lasker98 said:

Buy a Lush^2 and quit wasting time. It's like 100+ usb cables in one.

How?

I found this 51-pair cable: http://www.alphawire.com/en/Home/Products/Cable/Xtra-Guard-Performance-Cable/Xtra-Guard-1/5279_51C

Maybe it's two of those lashed (lushed?) together. Would explain the 2 in the name.

[adamdea]

4 hours ago, adamdea said:

Well chase my Aunt Fanny up a gum tree, Sandy, if we ignore the bit in square brackets you've just posted something that is not only not batshit crazy but actually correct. Truly these are the End Days

 

9 minutes ago, mansr said:

The USB 2.0 standard does not specify wire gauge for any of the conductors.

Dammit Mans, even this you take away from me.