T.O.Y.A.I.P.O.A.M.A.I.T.T.B.Y.

[rando]

"Then there is this endorsement from the founder of audiophilestyle online blog/forum, Chris Connaker"

 

@The Computer Audiophile I do believe someone is attempting to paint with numbers.  More than that, they intend to attempt ripping your portrayal of Kimber Cables off the walls it hangs on.  

 

 

 

Take out your's and I'll pull out as much as it takes to beat you. 🤭

[ShawnC]

How old is that quote?  It says Computer Audiophile, this site changed names awhile back and Chris uses Transparent Cables.  But it's good to know that amirm saved us from our hard earned $60.  That's more pulls for me at the casino.

[The Computer Audiophile]

That quote was from around 2008, a few months after I started CA I believe. It was the first time I tried an audiophile branded USB cable. 

 

My quote about the other Kimber USB cable to arrive at my place never made it to wherever the first one is published. The other cable I was sent wouldn’t even pass high resolution audio. That said, I own my quote from back in the day. 

[mansr]

46 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

The other cable I was sent wouldn’t even pass high resolution audio.

Please tell us more.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, mansr said:

Please tell us more.

I’ll see if I can dig up the email with Kimber’s reasoning for such poor performance and not meeting the USB spec. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Here was some reasoning I received after reporting the cable issues.
 

“We designed our cable with a specific differential impedance that we felt was the sweet spot between falling in spec and also providing a good sounding cable.  The amount of twists per inch in the braid, the length of the cable, the dielectric thickness, gauge size, etc., all fell into getting this target measurement.”

 

”We are working to come up with a resolution to this frustrating problem.  On one hand, we have people using the USB's and saying that they are the best they have ever heard… and the same cable in a different system, different software doesn't even work.”

[mansr]

8 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Here was some reasoning I received after reporting the cable issues.
 

“We designed our cable with a specific differential impedance that we felt was the sweet spot between falling in spec and also providing a good sounding cable.  The amount of twists per inch in the braid, the length of the cable, the dielectric thickness, gauge size, etc., all fell into getting this target measurement.”

 

”We are working to come up with a resolution to this frustrating problem.  On one hand, we have people using the USB's and saying that they are the best they have ever heard… and the same cable in a different system, different software doesn't even work.”

Yes, when the cable doesn't meet the spec, some devices might still work while others do not. The solution is to make the cable according to the spec. It's not difficult (if you have cable-making machines).

 

It would be amusing see them attempt to explain how the cable impedance supposedly affects the sound.

[mourip]

I give. What does "T.O.Y.A.I.P.O.A.M.A.I.T.T.B.Y." stand for?

 

I tried Googling it thinking that it was a widely used acronym but came up with zip.

[mansr]

26 minutes ago, mourip said:

I give. What does "T.O.Y.A.I.P.O.A.M.A.I.T.T.B.Y." stand for?

 

I tried Googling it thinking that it was a widely used acronym but came up with zip.

I guess it refers to the last line in the OP.

[tapatrick]

41 minutes ago, mourip said:

I give. What does "T.O.Y.A.I.P.O.A.M.A.I.T.T.B.Y." stand for?

Take out your's and I'll pull out ....

[rando]

Mostly curious what set this "cable measuring" contest off? 

 

Odd, would be a good word to describe my impression of the linked article.  The counterbalance is such it's hard to determine which direction is being skewed towards there.  What the deeper point is.  After a few minutes thought it felt reasonable to inform the other party of this challenge.  Using a broad brush of humor unlikely to set off any more (less one could hope) incendiary remarks being lobbed publicly.  Everyone at this point is tired of cable debates.  🤞

 

@mourip Yes the thread title was buried in the last line of the first post.  Even abbreviated, it represented a stretch for lengths one could expect to encounter in a thread title.   

[fas42]

Playing with cables is Just Another Way of  'adjusting' your sound so that you're pleased with it - some people spend endless amount of effort, and money, playing with the room's acoustics; others cycle through cables; still others do both ... 😜.

 

Every system produces a signature distortion - and part of that distortion is due to the engineering of the parts not being good enough to be robust against the altering of parasitic and other behaviours of the bits used. Including the cables. No matter what the theory says, 😉.

 

Altering, say, a cables impedance will be enough to alter the distortion spectrum of the circuit that receives the desired signal over that cable, in many instances. Because, the circuit was built using standard parts, which only had to meet certain technical specs, and nothing more ... in the real world of audio systems this is "not good enough!" - end result: SQ changes, when you change the cable.

 

This is great for people who love system component rolling, but bad news for those who just want the system to be accurate, full stop. The big trick is understanding how to get off the treadmill - if your goal is to just, "Enjoy the music!" ... 😆.

[Ralf11]

10 hours ago, mansr said:

It would be amusing see them attempt to explain how the cable impedance supposedly affects the sound.

 

 

Is that not obvious to you?

 

It twists up the bits.

 

While such cables can produce euphonic alterations on some source material ("Twist and Shout") they are not recommended for choral music.

 

This is why you need a suite of cables for different types of music.

[sandyk]

The main thing that the higher quality specification complying USB cables do, is to continue to work correctly at longer lengths without errors , than the cheaper generic or some boutique cables do. 
This is even more important when +5V from the PC/Servers USB port supplies power to a device such as a USB powered CD/DVD/BR writer where voltage drops can be a problem with cheaper cables.

It is also worthwhile if they have improved isolation between D+ and D- and the +5V and 0 volts wires.