I’m afraid of USB!

[kennyb123]

On 11/25/2020 at 2:07 PM, Martin Herløv Andersen said:

Before this turns into a real phobia I need some reassurance that USB is totally safe and not harmful in any way (-:

 

Let me explain. I am thinking about buying the Innous Zenith Mk3. It only has USB out. So what's the problem?

It started with me looking into USB cables and many of them are crazy expensive, then I read about how much better it will sound with the innuos phoenixusb reclocker.

So I started to think that USB is an inferior connection, that needs a lot of equipment to sound right.

And because the USB connection is asynchronous then the fancy phoenixusb reclocker will “only” deliver a clean USB signal to the DAC, but the DAC has to use its own internal clock.

 

Today I use S/PDIF and I never read about a S/PDIF enhancement devices.

 

So is USB safe and maybe a better connection type than S/PDIF?

I have been delighted with my Zenith Mk3.  I will say though that it can greatly benefit from a really good USB cable.  The Shunyata Sigma is something you could not pry out of my dead hands but I hear the Sablon USB comes awfully close for a lot less money.

 

I also use a S/PDIF enhancement device (OPTO DX) and have owned several over the years.  @Judis exactly correct in his post above.

 

We like to think of these as digital interfaces, but it is still an analog signal that travels through these cables.  Signal fidelity matters just as much regardless of whether it is an analog or digital cable.