USB cable recommended?
- Thread starter ozzzy
- Start date
Reading the forum in last several weeks/months it seems to me that USB type of connection is somewhat becoming or it already is a second tier connection type where more and more users are choosing good old spdif or eas/ebu (me also using spdif often) while other with the units capable of i2s are pushing for the crystal clear signal via this one. I won't even mention XDMI of the Taiko/Lampi latest developments. Still some still use good old USB hence its worth to explore viable options in this domain.
After living for years with FTA Callisto and Sinope I've sized the opportunity when I was receiving back my units from Edisoncreation to order his reference USB cable. Not to write about the spec I'll just do copy/paste of the specification and basic info from the website which is located here: https://ediscreation.com/product/reference-silver-usb-cable/
Specifications:
- Perfectly Polished 5N Sterling Silver Cores: The cable features impeccably polished 5N sterling silver cores, offering superior conductivity and signal purity.
- Independent Insulation: The cable is designed with independent insulation material that effectively reduces crosstalk, ensuring clear and uninterrupted sound.
- Special Spinning Shield Construction: This advanced design feature further enhances signal clarity and reduces interference.
- Special Isolated 5V Shield Construction: This feature effectively isolates the voltage, reducing any possible interference and enhancing audio quality.
- Carbon Isolation Technology: This advanced technology further minimizes interference, ensuring a flawless signal path for your audio.
- Custom-Made EMI Block: A specially designed EMI Block reduces electromagnetic interference, ensuring pristine and uninterrupted audio transmission.
Look and feel:
Cable is packed in a very very neat box which gives immediate feel of the premium product. Cable as such is as well looking impeccable and you can see attention to details in the production. It is very flexible which in my book is a huge plus.
Sonics:
Break in with the standard ups and downs lasted for good 100+ hours which I expected and was advised by Edison about it I did not pay too much attention to overall presentation but the cable sounded good/great from the get to.
Now as I've been using it for the last good two months I can with confidence say that this particular cable is ticking my USB cable boxes by any means and definitely is a keeper. It is extremely fast, reveling and detailed but not on the fatiguing side but rather in a pleasant and musically engaging way. Nothing is popping out of the picture where it should not, vocals & mids are seductive and in the "room" somehow. I always like to mention "extensions" and this cable is excelling in this regard. Bass is deep and firm while high frequencies and super nicely extended while tonally it is also spot on.
Actually if I roll back the film a bit in my head - it brought me back to the beginning of my story - I'm again daily using USB connection which i scrapped for the slight superiority of the spdif one.
Price:
I'm ashamed to mention it, as someone or even many, will say that this price point has nothing to do with "reference" product, being used to pay in numbers with close to, or with minimum three zeros after the first number.
Well this particular one starts for a change with zero followed by dot and number 4 and k (0.4k). Yes - its a real deal in this insane audio price matrix we live in. If you have a need for this type of connecting cable make sure you give it a try!
King is dead long live the king! Pure bingo by Edison
After living for years with FTA Callisto and Sinope I've sized the opportunity when I was receiving back my units from Edisoncreation to order his reference USB cable. Not to write about the spec I'll just do copy/paste of the specification and basic info from the website which is located here: https://ediscreation.com/product/reference-silver-usb-cable/
Specifications:
- Perfectly Polished 5N Sterling Silver Cores: The cable features impeccably polished 5N sterling silver cores, offering superior conductivity and signal purity.
- Independent Insulation: The cable is designed with independent insulation material that effectively reduces crosstalk, ensuring clear and uninterrupted sound.
- Special Spinning Shield Construction: This advanced design feature further enhances signal clarity and reduces interference.
- Special Isolated 5V Shield Construction: This feature effectively isolates the voltage, reducing any possible interference and enhancing audio quality.
- Carbon Isolation Technology: This advanced technology further minimizes interference, ensuring a flawless signal path for your audio.
- Custom-Made EMI Block: A specially designed EMI Block reduces electromagnetic interference, ensuring pristine and uninterrupted audio transmission.
Look and feel:
Cable is packed in a very very neat box which gives immediate feel of the premium product. Cable as such is as well looking impeccable and you can see attention to details in the production. It is very flexible which in my book is a huge plus.
Sonics:
Break in with the standard ups and downs lasted for good 100+ hours which I expected and was advised by Edison about it I did not pay too much attention to overall presentation but the cable sounded good/great from the get to.
Now as I've been using it for the last good two months I can with confidence say that this particular cable is ticking my USB cable boxes by any means and definitely is a keeper. It is extremely fast, reveling and detailed but not on the fatiguing side but rather in a pleasant and musically engaging way. Nothing is popping out of the picture where it should not, vocals & mids are seductive and in the "room" somehow. I always like to mention "extensions" and this cable is excelling in this regard. Bass is deep and firm while high frequencies and super nicely extended while tonally it is also spot on.
Actually if I roll back the film a bit in my head - it brought me back to the beginning of my story - I'm again daily using USB connection which i scrapped for the slight superiority of the spdif one.
Price:
I'm ashamed to mention it, as someone or even many, will say that this price point has nothing to do with "reference" product, being used to pay in numbers with close to, or with minimum three zeros after the first number.
Well this particular one starts for a change with zero followed by dot and number 4 and k (0.4k). Yes - its a real deal in this insane audio price matrix we live in. If you have a need for this type of connecting cable make sure you give it a try!
King is dead long live the king! Pure bingo by Edison
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I had a Curious Evolve USB and was suspicious of its sound. To my ear slightly thin sounding. I tried a WireWorld Starlight Platium 7 and never reinserted the Curious cable.
I'm just checking in about the Mad Scientist Black Magic Ultra USB. Some members tried it a year ago (@
Compared to my reference (which is a cable I built and modded) the Back Magic has significantly more naturalness, richer tonality, with more musical details (not technical details). However, compared to my cable, it doesn't have the tight deeper bass or the focus, images are a bit blown up and less precise.
But the overall musicality is really addictive though. Two examples. In an album close miked piano, I can hear the strings detuning or going off key with some hammer strikes that I didn't hear before. On one of my favorite albums, there is a Balinese Gamelan in the background, and the instrument sounds much more like a Gamelan instead of just some percussion with brass bowls etc. This is not the same as technical detail, its more musical detail.
The one comparison I have found online between the Ultra and the Standard is that it improves upon bass depth and tightness, and precision and focus. Hence my interest in the Ultra. Also, their review of the standard aligns with my experience as well. Anybody have more experience with it?
Miki70).
I recently got a used Black Magic Standard USB cable, and have really been liking it. I also have a number of Mad Scientists Nano tweaks which I have applied to cables and circuits that are really fabulous. I am a fan of their sound and science.Compared to my reference (which is a cable I built and modded) the Back Magic has significantly more naturalness, richer tonality, with more musical details (not technical details). However, compared to my cable, it doesn't have the tight deeper bass or the focus, images are a bit blown up and less precise.
But the overall musicality is really addictive though. Two examples. In an album close miked piano, I can hear the strings detuning or going off key with some hammer strikes that I didn't hear before. On one of my favorite albums, there is a Balinese Gamelan in the background, and the instrument sounds much more like a Gamelan instead of just some percussion with brass bowls etc. This is not the same as technical detail, its more musical detail.
The one comparison I have found online between the Ultra and the Standard is that it improves upon bass depth and tightness, and precision and focus. Hence my interest in the Ultra. Also, their review of the standard aligns with my experience as well. Anybody have more experience with it?
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Hi, Calvin. It was my full intention to be down there this year. I was planning on it and was looking VERY forward to it but my work demands dictated that I could not make it, unfortunately. I'll try again to make it down for LASF but there are a lot of moving parts to that equation at the moment.
Tom
Tom
Ok I have a room and Infigo will be showing this year with Gato speakers and all Infigo gear and cables. We have a new cryogenic USB. Come check us out. I will tell you the room soon
I received the Ediscreation Reference Silver USB Cable yesterday @Golum did a great and accurate run down of the cable, thank you!
The first song was impressive. I was expecting to play a few songs then transfer the cable to the living room system to burnin for a week or two then bring it back to the main system. Nope, I'm going to happily listen to it. After I get 100+ hours I'll put the Snake River Audio USB back in and see which I end up with long term.
The first song was impressive. I was expecting to play a few songs then transfer the cable to the living room system to burnin for a week or two then bring it back to the main system. Nope, I'm going to happily listen to it. After I get 100+ hours I'll put the Snake River Audio USB back in and see which I end up with long term.
I broke down and bought a Mad Scientist Black Magic Gold USB cable. It took a very long time to break in and settle down. Four days on the AudioDharma Cable Cooker (usual source cables only take two days tops), and another 200 hours play time to sound its best. Until that time it sounded a bit bright and thin. Now that its broken in it is by far the best USB cable I have heard. Deepest and tautest bass, extended highs without fatigue or spotlighting, very organic and natural presentation and midrange. All music sounds much closer to master tape and much more analogue. I don't regret it!
I have placed an order for the Albedo Mono-Crystal USB Cable and will provide an update on this once it arrives.
My favorite USB cable so far is the Stealth Audio USB-T, after owning the FTA Sinope before.
(Note I am using the upgraded Taiko USB Card output and not this standard USB output in the first photo)
(Note I am using the upgraded Taiko USB Card output and not this standard USB output in the first photo)
Good luck on the Albedo cable. For me personally USB is at this stage a rather moot issue as I’ve chosen to use a superb AES cable to run from my Antipodes K22 player to my Tambaqui DAC. To my ears it sounds better than any USB cable I’ve heard.
well thats not a universal truth, it will depend on the DAC/Streamer designs to some degree. I don't agree AES often can be better but in my case I have only USB out from my streamer until Innuos releases the new cards that will have AES. You can get USB to sound pretty damn good with the right set up.
Well, if you parse through the wording of my post I think one would be hard pressed to interpret my statement as a “universal truth.” I simply stated “for me personally,” implying an utterly subjective experience based in fact on my equipment. The COO of Antipodes and I share the same DAC, and he himself feels like for OUR gear AES delivers the best overall sound. This is NOT to say one couldn’t gather equal or better performance over USB. Either way, it’s very close.
I have utilized AES USB and Plink (Fibre Optic from Playback Designs) and after years of experience with Playback Design, I've concluded that the sound quality depends on the DAC architecture. Some DACs perform better with USB, while others excel with AES. In my experience, Playback Design sounded best with its own Plink Connector directly to the DAC, regardless of the streamer used alongside the PD Full Series.
Currently, I am exploring the Aries Cerat DACs, which are optimized for USB input, but I intend to test AES on this DAC later. There isn't a one-size-fits-all method; you have to experiment and find what works best for your final setup.
In my experience, the Aries Cerat DACs outperformed my Playback Design DAC, whether connected via fiber optic or USB. This reinforces the idea that a superior DAC will deliver exceptional performance regardless of the connection method used.
On another note, I am still awaiting the arrival of the Albedo Cables.
Currently, I am exploring the Aries Cerat DACs, which are optimized for USB input, but I intend to test AES on this DAC later. There isn't a one-size-fits-all method; you have to experiment and find what works best for your final setup.
In my experience, the Aries Cerat DACs outperformed my Playback Design DAC, whether connected via fiber optic or USB. This reinforces the idea that a superior DAC will deliver exceptional performance regardless of the connection method used.
On another note, I am still awaiting the arrival of the Albedo Cables.
I would agree with the assertion that the better then dac less then input matters, in my experience anyway. I have a TotaldacTriunity and I really can not hear much if any negative difference between the AES and USB-both sound good which is a first for me when it comes to USB. In past implementations of lesser priced dacs I always preferred the AES or SPDIF almost always.
As far as the AC DACs, lots of praise for them and I don't doubt their prowess in certain set ups. My experience with the Helene was not impressive at all, definitely not my sound. But the moment I plugged in the Totaldac Unity demo unit I had, BINGO, it was all there in spades and quickly got myself a Totaldac Triunity. Best dac I have ever heard without question. My biggest issue now is not related to any system improvements, but tearing myself away from my system and being a productive member of society again. lol
FWIW, I have an .75M Audience frontRow Reserve USB Cable on order. It is replacing an Audioquest Diamond. I felt the diamond was good but a bit too lean for my tastes. Looking to improve midrange warmth a bit and better bass, hope this is the ticket. It's their best cable.
I'm currently auditioning the 'Stealth Audio USB-T Select V3'.
Compared to the generic USB cable I use, it is almost the same.
I can notice certain subtleties that make me hear differences.
but I really have to make an effort to spot them.
Like here, for example: https://tidal.com/browse/track/215721185?u
With the 'Stealth, the drumming is more subtle, and I can recognize that it is drumming on the guitar itself and not on a drum of some sort.
In general, it sounds a little more "natural" and more pleasant to the ear in busy sections.
I was wondering if someone had the chance to compare the 'Stealth' to the 'David Laboga Emerald Mk2'.
Compared to the generic USB cable I use, it is almost the same.
I can notice certain subtleties that make me hear differences.
but I really have to make an effort to spot them.
Like here, for example: https://tidal.com/browse/track/215721185?u
With the 'Stealth, the drumming is more subtle, and I can recognize that it is drumming on the guitar itself and not on a drum of some sort.
In general, it sounds a little more "natural" and more pleasant to the ear in busy sections.
I was wondering if someone had the chance to compare the 'Stealth' to the 'David Laboga Emerald Mk2'.
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