Opinions on USB hubs

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I've been experiencing problems with my USB connection to my DAC that seem to be related to a lack of adequate power from my USB ports. I was getting drop-outs, and in some cases kernel panic crashes, no matter which port I tried.

 

The only solution that has worked so far is to use a powered USB hub. I had a $20 Macally hub on hand that I've tried and have not have any drop-outs or crashes using it.

 

However, it has a relatively low-powered (2 amp) wall-wart power supply and a long captive cable to the computer, so I've been looking at other hubs.

 

There's the Vaunix Lab Brick hub, but at $199 it's more than I want to spend.

 

The Moxa UPort 204 can be found for as low as $155, and the Digi Hubport/4 goes for a little over $100.

 

At the lower end of what I'm considering is the Coolgear USBG-4U2ML, which can be found for $45, plus a separately sold power supply for around $16-$18. Specs on power supplies are sometimes hard to find, but this last one seems pretty robust at 5 amps.

 

So my question is: has anyone had positive or negative experience with any of these listed hubs? Note that this is an iMac system, so I need to be sure of compatibility.