Allan F

Are you seriously asking us to believe that you asked chip manufacturers whey they included DSD and they couldn't give you a reason? And if you insist that was the case, then surely you spoke to the wrong people at those companies.

Would you care to share what evidence you have to support your contention that "chip manufacturers never could give a good reason why they included DSD"? I strongly suspect that you are presenting your opinion as fact.

At £69 in the UK and $116.95 at the MoMa Design Store, I think I can easily give this gadget a pass.

Front Porch by Joy Williams (formerly of The Civil Wars)

As I indicated, the effect of cables tends to be largely system dependent. When I got my T+A DAC 8 DSD, I already had the original Lush USB cable which I used with my previous DAC. I bought the Curious USB cable and found it to provide far better resolution than the Lush, without sacrificing musicality. The Lush tended to "smear" the sound by comparison. Thus far, the Curious Evolved appears to improve on the standard Curious USB in all respects in my system. All my listening is done upsampling all music files to DSD512 with HQPlayer.

The Curious Evolved USB cable is my new reference. The differences between the Evolved and the Standard USB cable are somewhat subtle, but nevertheless discernible and positive. There is greater inner detail, which shows in both the timbre and greater separation of instruments and vocal harmonies. One particularly favourable attribute that I noticed early on is longer decay. This was observed, for example, in more resonance from acoustic guitar and greater sustain from piano and cymbals. Because of the foregoing, the sound also tends to be somewhat fuller and more open and backgrounds appear to be quieter. These are, of course, subjective observations and the perceptible effect of cable changes tends to be system dependent. But, for me in my system, the Curious Evolved USB cable is a keeper.

Depending on where you live, there are often options to buy on a trial basis with a full refund if returned within that period. For example, the Cable Company has a Cable Library service offering in home trials for many cable brands to US customers. Curious Cable of Australia offers 30 day home trials for their USB cables to international customers as do a number of other companies.

You have conveniently or otherwise ignored the following passage.

Agreed. The quality of the original recording is virtually always more important than the format, be it hi res or otherwise.

Not only mind boggling, but truly of uncalculable social and technical impact and importance. The Luddites have no idea of the extent of their loss.

I don't doubt that it is really difficult for you, but try to live with it.

Long term only, Alex. My short term memory sucks! Regards, Allan

If i recall correctly, it was Keith Johnson who discovered this effect.

Received my Curious Evolved USB cable today. Installed it and listened very briefly just to ensure that it works. Will report my impressions following some critical listening after it has about 150 hrs on it.