Forums https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl AUDIO FORUMS >> General Discussion and Support >> High grade USB cable? https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1591720958 Message started by piezoman on 06/09/20 at 17:42:38

Title: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/09/20 at 17:42:38 Hello all, I have a generic usb standard  A-B  cable from my my external hard drive to my DAC. I'm thinking this is a probable weak link in the audio chain. If I'm correct, are there any recommendations on an audiophile grade cable? Thanks! Brad

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Tommy Freefall on 06/09/20 at 20:01:04 I've seen lots of high praise for the Curious cable. And it is priced much lower than other high end cables.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by lazb on 06/09/20 at 20:32:46 and I have seen it available used quite a bit too! so save a few bucks and resell if you find something better. Just how much improvement can a USB cable offer? and, after looking around quite a bit, at what cost?

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by beowulf on 06/09/20 at 22:05:45 I am a believer in good cabling for analog system components, but I believe it's considerably less important when it comes to USB.  I have a WireWorld Ultraviolet cable and can find no difference between it and a standard cable that comes free when you buy a printer ~ it looks nice though. ;) Just my .02 cents ... I seriously doubt that a USB cable can ever be considered a weak link in one's audio setup unless the cable is somehow defective and/or broken.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Palomino on 06/09/20 at 23:03:18 I think cleaning up the USB signal can have an impact.  I have a Uptone audio Regen amber that I have A/B'd and feel it is better with it in the system. I also bought the curious cable and felt it provided a lift as well. I can't remember the brand, but there is a rather inexpensive USB cable that was pretty popular a few years ago.  It was blue in color, nothing fancy.  Maybe somebody else here will remember it.  I am drawing a blank.  I considered it before I bought the curious cable. Edit: I think it was the Supra USB cable.  Also, people said you couldn't go wrong for the money with the Schitt Audio USB.  Like $20 or something.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/10/20 at 00:25:02 I am not sure about the drive to computer cable, but it seems likely to have similar, but perhaps less intense issues as between computer and DAC, especially if the drive is noisy. I have a firewire cable connecting mine, so different, but this particular stock cable, Oyen Digital, sounds a little better than other FW cables I have, and interestingly, sounds a little better in one direction than the other…more clear and resolving. Subtle, but real. Relative to DACs, whether a cable helps, and how much, can certainly be dependent on the cable used, but seems dependent on the DACs sometimes, some DACs having internal clarification methods that sonically act similarly to Regens, theoretically fixing data and noise issues. I think it may have been some of the early Auralic Vega DACs that first pointed to this for me, by reports, seemingly more immune to different USB cables. Alternately, I know from listening with my DACs that different USB cables can make really notable differences between computer and a USB regeneration/converter/noise cleaning box, or direct to DAC. My first experiment felt similar to Beowulf's, though I don't know, maybe Macintosh DACs are more immune to cable differences. Early on I tried the most inexpensive Kimber USB cable, maybe $50-60. And though I could hear some improvement over the "standard" USB cable I had, it was not big time. But then, trying a Wireworld Starlight, maybe $80 on sale, it was notably better than a standard USB cable and the Kimber...more solid, clear, and pretty nicely weighted toward body. Then I tried a DbAudioLabs Essential USB, I can't remember, maybe $200, but less with my Tranquility DAC? It had good body, though not as much as the Wireworld, but was notably better at fine resolution and space, shifting my allegiance to the Essential. Later, to connect an Uptone Regen, I got a short Curious Cable Regen cable, and liked it better than the Hard USB connector it replaced...more spacious and natural sounding, which I figured meant it was a good cable. To me, USB cables are a little confusing in that they carry digital information, but on wires, analog pathways on which power and ground between devices travels also, and noise. Seems a big concern is noise corrupting data (or not), but as best I can tell, other things matter to the sound beyond tech specs... wire gauge and twists, wire types, shield types…analog sorts of things. So are they digital of analog. Even the data wires have physical connections to the electronics they connect and apparently can carry noise between devices and contribute to digital corruption. Together these things (and more) make isolation of noise on the digital lines, as well as that on the power and ground wires, important parts of good audio grade USB cable design. With my analog cable experiments, like dielectrics, different shield materials, geometry, and its distancing from wires can be heard, creating different sound effects, usually not great ones to me, often creating veils. And since I had developed an attitude for shields, I designed my USB cable to work without a shield (hopefully), and using ideas and materials I had liked with analog cables. It seemed to work, becoming my favorite sounding of all USB cables I have heard, good enough that I preferred its sound all by itself over the Essential/Uptone Regen/Curious setup. Though shielding is a standard in USB design, mine has no shielding. But it is short, uses really good materials, and has the power and ground wires physically separated by a good distance from the data lines. Also twisting the data lines tighter, or looser, at steeper or milder angles, dialectic used, etc, like analog, these all seem to effect noise and tonal values for USB also. I think there is loads that science has not put together on this stuff, so am inclined to using known info, but then experimenting to find the sound I like. I find repeatedly that this leads me “outside the box,” for finding really good answers.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/10/20 at 00:42:27 Everyone, THANK YOU for all your input so far. This is an interesting facet in the audio chain. I do have to apologize though.....I was in error when I mentioned the USB connection was between an external hard drive [an 8TB Seagate, not the hard drive in my computer] and the DAC....actually it is between the hard drive and the media Player [the Player being linked to the DAC via a Better Cables Silver Serpent XLR]. Not sure if this changes anything in terms of previous replies. Brad

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/10/20 at 00:52:56 I guess I knew that from previous conversations and didn't consider the omission of the media player in your post. I am imagining the media player as a computer set up specially for that purpose, so similar to a computer in-between a Drive and a DAC. But that is another area of concern. Digital so fragile, all computers, and all media servers are far from equal in retaining and conveying all the analog potential from a decent digital file. Labyrinth! ;)

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/10/20 at 01:02:07 will, the meticulous and always uber professional ;) Maybe I'll just put this aspect aside for the moment and just roll. Not sure how much RF noise or jitter noise would exist between an outboard hard drive and the media player......ahhh hot sauce  :)

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by GroovySauce on 06/10/20 at 12:11:07 I have a Curious Cable Evolved .2m between my streamer and DAC It was a step up from the Shunyata venom. It's a keeper. I found this video very informative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grzoqEb2KMk

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Tommy Freefall on 06/10/20 at 17:30:05 For those interested, the engineer who runs the audio website Audio Bacon has a lot of content on cables. https://audiobacon.net

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Donnie on 06/10/20 at 21:31:18 Tommy Freefall wrote on 06/10/20 at 17:30:05: For those interested, the engineer who runs the audio website Audio Bacon has a lot of content on cables. https://audiobacon.net Hell I'm an Engineer too, Kinda scary isn't it? Actually paid for it, got a title and everything. Graduate of MIT* But I do hear the differences in USB cables. *Mississippi Institute of Truckin"

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Palomino on 06/10/20 at 21:36:57 Thanks for the video Groovey.  Good info presented in down to earth terms.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/11/20 at 00:45:24 Me too, thanks for the video link Groovy! I have a hard time trying to wade through UTube, so glad to have a link to something so nicely done. Also thanks Tommy for the Audio Bacon link. Looks interesting.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by alper_yilmaz on 06/11/20 at 10:37:39 I use DH Labs cables throughout all of my systems, including the following: https://silversonic.com/products/digital-cables/usb/ There is one more USB cable in their portfolio which is more expensive, but I have never tried it.  I am not in a position to compare different cables carrying digital signals, but DH Labs are quite good in their build-quality. I definitely love their interconnects and speaker cables though...

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/11/20 at 20:37:30 I should have provided a photo of what the cable looks like. Here's an example [below]..... Its a generic cable that came with the external hard drive. I'm having trouble finding anything out there that's an upgrade. Most of the stuff I see look like printer cables. Should I just forget about it?

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/12/20 at 00:51:05 Ah....I think that double part end is called a USB micro-B or something like that. I have not seen audiophile cables with this end either, but admittedly, have not looked a lot lately being satisfied with what I have. It does seem most DACs and USB converters use a standard B USB end, more of a square with two corners slightly beveled. Especially with so much new stuff coming in for you, my inclination might be not worry much about this part for now. As I said, from my experience anyway, I am not sure just how much it matters. I could hear a little difference between my Firewire hard drive to computer cables, even the direction, but with my setup anyway, it was not substantial.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 01:07:32 thanks will! if its not of much relevance in your system / room [which is more refined], then it certainly shouldn't be in mine. and thanks again to everyone else who tried to help. there's good info for those looking for the other type of usb cable.....maybe some others will continue to post in this thread, to the general benefit of the forum.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 01:26:29 after some additional checking, i looked into "the cable company" and found this [micro-B to A usb cable]: https://www.thecableco.com/alpha-design-labs-fururtech-otg-ma-otg-cable.html $58 for 0.18m length. maybe i'll opine over this one for the next 6 mos :-)

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/12/20 at 01:28:47 piezo, Part of the refinement of my system might be that my HD is electronically quiet, not causing much trouble to begin with ;) I really don't know. But I suspect this is not a huge deal. I may be wrong though. How is that for wishy-washy?

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/12/20 at 01:37:44 The writeup of that cable sounds good, and in my experience, Furutech things are well designed and made, and from the relative consistency in tech and sound, seemingly not just put together, but likely listened to! Some of their things I have are quite transparent, and others are colored warmish, but it is good warm to me, having good detail as well as weighing a little toward the bottom. You probably have spent time there, but if not, I hate to recommend a labyrinth of opinions on lots of things, but you may be able to find some information on the importance of drive to server cables on the ComputerAudiophile site.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 02:58:21 Thanks will, for your latest input. Indeed, Ive done some more thinking on the matter of airborne RF noise, and it only makes sense that the fact that I have a wireless router in the same room.....wouldnt that Furutech cable provide superior shielding than a generic cable? Brad

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by armstdav on 06/12/20 at 03:31:47 Piezoman, Is your external hard drive by any chance a Toshiba? That connector looks like ones I've seen for Toshiba hard drives, and I've never seen them used anywhere else. It's a Micro-B 3.0, and the Micro-B 2.0 was completely different, and it looks like the Furutech is 2.0, which was way more common. If you were going to get an audiophile USB-A to USB Micro-B 3.0, you'll need to be very specific with the supplier. Definitely not common. David

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 03:52:15 Armstdav, I have a Seagate 8TB drive, 3.0 usb You bring up a great point! Im checking with thecablecompany on compatibility. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Greg C on 06/12/20 at 04:17:47 ....they are a Micro B hard drive cable...as far as finding a high end one ..don't know...I have yet to see any because they are for a carrying type of external drive ...more portable ... I feel the key here is speed and not so much as protection with shielding...getting the bits of information as quick from one device to another...such as flac files ...my feeling here is shorter the better... I do believe that the shielding in the stock wire that comes with Seagate and WD are good but you notice they are all fairly short and a a good gage quality.... I like them because they are easy to take from computer to DAC with your flac files, plus they will hold a ton of albums Greg

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by GroovySauce on 06/12/20 at 13:54:16 Curious Cable sells direct similar to Decware. I like the model, especially for cables where you can easily ship and demo the product to see if it's a good match. Most will let you return the cable if you are not happy with it.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Greg C on 06/12/20 at 14:23:23 .... I looked up the Curious Cable from site Groovy suggested...nice cable it is about 8 inches long and recommend it for straight line ...Don't know if this will work for Piezoman but it looks like nice cable...in some cases where USB port is on back of sources the wire might be to stiff to bring up to set on top or around to the side...might make a call to Curious Cable and ask how flexible wire is ...may look into it myself ...thanks for post Piezoman and all involved for info. Greg

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 19:40:29 Greg, You were right! thecablecompany got back to me this morning and confirmed the link I posted above is NOT compatible with my usb 3.0 hard drive. The product I posted was indeed 2.0. They offered these two: https://www.thecableco.com/cables/usb-cable/starlight-usb3-usb-3-0.html https://www.thecableco.com/cables/usb-cable/cinnamon-usb-3-0-a-to-micro-cable.html

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 19:42:21 as for the curious cable, i now see this: https://curiouscables.com/shop/ols/products/curious-usb-30-hard-drive-to-pc-200mm

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/12/20 at 21:23:09 at this point, i'm leaning toward: curious usb 3.0, A to micro-b, about 7 in. length @ $170.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Greg C on 06/13/20 at 03:40:56 ....if you decide to get it, let us know what you think Thanks Greg

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/13/20 at 18:03:05 I had an interesting email from the the Bryston vp of marketing, a reply to my question on the relevance of a USB cable upgrade from an external hard drive to their Bryston DAC: "Hi Brad Well you have asked the question the elicits the most controversy there is.  There are people who swear by the fact that a short USB cable can make a difference in the sound and others like myself who do not recommend exotic cables. USB sends 'packets' of data to a receiver in your DAC and then the DAC processes the packet if all the zeros and ones are correct. So unless the data is accurate it will not pass a signal. Also because the receiver in the DAC acts as a storage bin for the data there is much less jitter than with a typical COAX bitstream. So in my opinion there is no advantage to a more esoteric USB cable because the digital data is stored and released as required rather than a constant stream of data like in a COAX connection." I do wish to emphasize that I'm not using my DAC for streaming, though its Roon, Qobuz & Tidal ready. I don't believe in streaming, the cloud, or any external access; I like my own FLAC files accessed directly on my own hard rive. So there's two camps out there regarding the configuration I use: some people think they hear an audible difference with a cable upgrade, and others who say it doesn't make any sense. Anyone like to provide their thoughts on the above?

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by will on 06/14/20 at 01:07:59 I don't know what to think of this. But different DAC receivers, DAC chips, etc, etc are aspects of what make different DACs sound different. So it is hard to say if these comments are somewhat influenced by old school non-belief in the efficacy of good cabling, or describing and standing behind very advanced tech that might overrule cabling. I can imagine how Bryston could have their digital output and input sections (and all the rest) so well designed that cables matter less, especially drive to server. But basing this on 1s and 0s "accurate" enough to make a signal, seems a little general to me. A basis of this whole conversation seems to be that a functional signal can be audibly corrupted by noise and jitter. Opinions on cables get confusing for me, knowing that there are people who hear a lot, and those who's listening is influenced by belief that if a theory makes sense based on current measuring tech, then that is the end of it. And this may be true in some cases. But too often, theory becomes ideology, closing doors to heightened perception, discernment, and learning. To me, it is always in the listening finally, and I can't really recall hearing two things that sound alike, whether cables, wires, resistors, caps, connectors, tubes.... I think very high quality audio is generally, and quickly, becoming more and more attainable for more and more people. And as our tech and prices offer more complete sound potential, including better DAC  and cable tech, if we make the right selections, we hear more, making many old school ideologies more obsolete. But better access to better tech does not necessarily create more complete and complex sound. As many of us here know, if we have weak links, they can cause us not to hear subtle things that our systems are otherwise capable of. And if you can't hear it, it is not there. As far as I can tell, many audio "controversies" are mainly controversial because some folks believe and uphold ideologies that are becoming obsolete, accepting them so fully that it closes doors to finding ways to reveal more complete musical information as home audio improves. Here, there is no doubt... as I find and resolve weak links, the same system/room can become capable of revealing more completeness, more complexity. Subtler information growing more "audible," in balance, an optimal musical experience is more accessible, while also potentiating hearing and discerning things that may not have been as noticeable before. And depending on need, a more fully resolving cable with good spectral balance, one that does not truncate or damage anything, is a good example for resolving weak links in my experience. But even now, it seems many people are still just coming around to how better considered and made parts and implementation can improve everything. I can't really fathom the "belief" that there is little or no difference in wire sounds. But there are still folks who believe that if wires or cables spec correctly, they will sound alike. So why buy more expensive cables, even ones that are reasonable for what they are but are more expensive because better materials and design can convey the sound better! Similarly, many folks still don't believe how much power quality can change the sound....or related, vibration....or how different vibration mitigation schemes have different sounds. But in electronic systems, why wouldn't the purity of energetic quality and flow matter? Little jaggy bumps on a sine wave or on DC currents that are ideally smooth (noise), EMF/RF interference, vibration induced distortions, truncation from parts that diminish aspects of the sound, etc. ...when subtle energy creates the chain of power and signal in a component, how could these "irritants" to an easy, undamaged energetic flow not effect the sound? A good example to me is how energy can be influenced by the purity and smoothness of conductivity of wire... Think about smaller gauge, solid core, UP-OCC wire using dielectrics that do less harm. Having the purest metal, the most clear and continuous crystal structure, minimal skin effect and dielectric interference...it simply does not mess with the electrical character and flow like wire where the current has to work through metal impurities, fissures in wire runs, complications from jumping across strands of wire, or increased dielectric modification....Seems to me that less negative effects on the current potentiates a purer signal. Same with caps and resistors, connectors and all...the easier it is for the power and signal to do their things without impediments, the more fluid, easy, and revealing what they convey can translate into real seeming sound from our speakers. But it still seems a balancing act, many noise mitigation methods and implementations, even with pretty "pure" materials, can impose sound degradation along with mitigating noise. Having played a lot with these things in my system, they seem pretty obvious. But my system/room is quite revealing, and I have spent a long time listening carefully as I tune it. And out of necessity, my ability to discern more subtle differences has made improving my system/room more compelling, possible, and efficient. If I hear something off that I can't recognize or identify clearly, it is harder to address. But if, having explored lots of causes and effects, I am able to hear something more discretely, it is easier to solve. And each solution potentiates deeper hearing. Naysayers will often say the ability to create and hear completeness in music is based in "psychoacoustic" wishful thinking. But unable to hear what others can clearly hear could be in part that "psychoacoustics" can work both ways. More complicated than "belief," we all hear differently, and on subtler levels, we all perceive differently. I say perceive rather than hear since what we "hear" is only an aspect of the effect of our systems filling our rooms with energy waves, so it is more than hearing that creates our musical experience. Also, we all discern what we perceive differently, where one person, often due to more practice, might "hear" what another with equally good perception doesn't "hear." And as we all experience, improvements add up...each good solution improving the whole. Subtle things become more obvious, eventually potentially taking our setup into areas of resolution, revelation, and musicality we could not have imagined at times in the past. So I don't have an answer, or mean to pack this advice about USB into an old school camp...just thinking out loud about how many things play into whether something "works" or not. I can conceptualize that a tonier USB cable, in that position, might make little difference. Who knows how this might translate between different environments and systems... At the same time, I know that between my drive and tuned up Mac Mini, the Firewire cable makes some difference. And between the computer and tuned up Gustard x20Pro DAC, different USB cables matter notably to me. Also, with my Singxer USB bridge between computer and DAC, every HDMI cable I have tried for I2S between Singxer and DAC sounds different enough to be a real choice. Coming from the also tuned up Singxer, all I tried sounded pretty good, but after getting so deeply into full spectral balance and complexity, if the very fine detail and space are not there, my musical enjoyment is seriously diminished. So this has been a primary read for me for some years in all choices, and it is not just fine detail in space that matters. I am pretty sure this subtler information is the most difficult information not to damage, so if it is there, everything is less damaged, making the sound across spectrum better.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/14/20 at 05:37:06 Wow, will, amazing intellectual / experiential write up. Thank you for sharing. The dac/ player combo cost $5k, then again I dont know what that actually means. I will say that the Bryston units are superb in my mind, the company has a long and storied history going back to their pro audio days, and they stand by a 20 year warranty which is quite rare in the solid state audio industry. Enough of that though....... Their marketing VP may be the dinosaur on this issue though, as I see your points. After more reading and thinking on the subject of perfect data transfer and error correction protocols and neae non existent jitter associated with the DAC, I too am coming to the conclusion that there has to be some audible benefit to a USB link between an external ard drive and the DAC. Bit perfect every time, forever? I get the streaming aspect and how important it is to mitigate data transfer issues.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/14/20 at 17:16:52 I just sent a query to Wireworld, posting the response from Bryston, to see what they have to say. I'll post their response. I've identified the Wireworld Starlight 8 as another possibility.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by spyder1 on 06/14/20 at 20:14:59 A USB to SPDIF converter requires a basic USB cable, and Toslink cable. Not a big investment in digital cables. :)

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Tommy Freefall on 06/14/20 at 20:23:37 piezoman, although I don’t think this is a solution that would work for your specific situation, for those considering a good USB cable at a modest cost, Chris Sommovigo of Black Cat Cable used to sell a $150 USB cable called Silverstar. https://blackcatcable.com I noticed it is - unfortunately - no longer offered on his website, but I imagine used ones show up for sale occassionally. 6 Moons wrote about it a few years ago https://6moons.com/audioreviews/blackcat2/1.html

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Tommy Freefall on 06/14/20 at 20:56:54 Also, tucked inside the review of the Curious cable over at Audio Bacon is some positive commentary on a cable by Phasure called the Lush USB: https://audiobacon.net/2017/09/18/curious-cables-usb-review/ Like the Curious cable, it is also reasonably priced: https://stordiau.com/collections/cables-and-more-snakes-oil/products/lush-2-usb-audio-cable

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by ArtMan on 06/14/20 at 22:45:58 This is my two cents. I have the Denafrips Pontus, which also puts the information into memory and then re-clocks the stream. I bought the Curious USB cable and I can hear a significant improvement in the sound over a generic USB cable. I believe my ears over any audio ideology.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/15/20 at 03:55:35 Artman, your DAC looks nice and  is probably very comparable to mine. Indeed, proof is in the ear and not theory, ideology, or the spec sheet. Wireworld and Curious both offer an A to micro- B connection. Many others dont. Im checking on the Lush cable [thanks Tommy!] though Phasure doesnt indicate this type of connectipn at their site. For me at this point, its Wireworld Starlight 8 [$100] or Curious [$170]. Did you experience a long burn in period, on the order of 200-250 hrs.?

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/15/20 at 14:42:39 Phasure responded by saying a B to micro-B adapter would be needed. The only one known in existence is made by Audioquest. I ruled this one out because I'm not interested in adding adapters in my audio chain.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Palomino on 06/15/20 at 16:15:13 I have the short curious cable and it can bend.  At one time I had my dac on top of my Mac mini and it worked.  I wouldn't suggest it though as it is pretty short and fairly stiff.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/15/20 at 18:44:21 Thanks for your input on that, Pal. I have no choice but to physically configure my hard drive on top of the dac and player [all stacked, each with isolation feet]. So its down to the Curious or the Wireworld Starlight 8 [which is very flexible]. The decision comes down to which would be best in my system, and thats a big guess.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Palomino on 06/15/20 at 19:30:08 Yeah, can't help you there except to say that the Curious cable works well in my setup.  I would like to try some other USB cables so I am following this thread. I kind of missed originally that you were talking about a Hard Drive cable. Sorry about that.  My external is firewire (Mac based) so I think it does not have some of the issues people experience with USB.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by Donnie on 06/15/20 at 20:21:38 I have used Mapleshade usb cables before and it was just opposite of what everyone else was using.  Very small wires and very flexible. But I don't see that they make them anymore. I could tell the difference between it and a Beldon.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by HockessinKid on 06/15/20 at 21:15:41 I've used Triode Wire Labs USB and Acoustic BBQ (Audiogon Grannyring) USB cables. Both sound very good. The Double Smoked Acoustic BBQ cable (two runs of 16 gauge Duelund wire)  is simply outstanding quiet, amazing detail, and robust sounding. I'm still waiting on my Modwrght modded Cambridge CXN V2. Since I'll be going with a combined streamer/DAC at that point, I'll probably list my .75M Acoustic BBQ Double Smoked USB cable. Dominic has my old single run Acoustic BBQ USB, hopefully he'll note his impressions. HK

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by MrDerrick on 06/15/20 at 23:23:39 USB cables, one area that I have sorely neglected due to time. The Pangea silver wire USB was the first USB cable that I used. Then for isolation I moved to the Corning optical USB, a very good performer but a little on the dry side. Finally I have some time to listen to some other USB cables. I have a Curious Evolved USB burning in as I type. A WireWorld Platinum Starlight 7 is on its way. Straight out of the box cold, the Curious trounced the Corning. Hopefully after a few hundred hours it will still perform as well. I will let you know where the dust settles.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by ArtMan on 06/16/20 at 16:43:47 Piezoman, As far as burn-in for the Curious USB cable, I would say 20 hours was sufficient. The only qualification I can make is I added some of Steve's power cables and ultimately the Denafrips DSP upgrade since adding the cable so I cannot truthfully determine effects beyond 20 hours.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/16/20 at 18:09:21 Thanks Art, I appreciate that.

Title: Re: High grade USB cable? Post by piezoman on 06/18/20 at 15:16:20 I've settled on the Curious cable: https://curiouscables.com/shop/ols/products/curious-usb-30-hard-drive-to-pc-200mm My Taboo MK IV and two Z boxes are still in Testing. I expect another 2 weeks until shipped, then with my listening habits about another 3-4 mos. until everything is burned in.

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