USB cable recommended?

MichaelHiFi

Active Member
Jan 6, 2022
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Strange, they got back to me in a day.
 

ozzzy

Well-Known Member
Feb 21, 2019
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I guess it could be because I stated that I was in the USA, and they are not set up with a USA dealer.
Still, it would have been nice for some type of response.

ozzy
 

MichaelHiFi

Active Member
Jan 6, 2022
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They are setup for the USA. 80% of their market is from the US.

I mentioned to Rob (Rob being my contact at Network Acoustics) that a forum member couldn't get a response from them. He was very sorry about that. I'll keep you updated if you'd like.

Michael
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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I have a Curious USB cable, it is about 6 inches long. I just tried a 1M Pangea and to my surprise it sounded better! Is it because of the longer length or the cable itself? I know the Pangea usb is considered an el cheap- o cable, can someone recommend something better?

Thanks,
ozzy.
There might be some individual component interactions here, because I recently replaced a 1m Pangea with the 6" Curious and found a significant improvement. I also tried a Cinnamon 1m and Carbon 1.5m (both Audioquest) and likewise found them inferior to the short Curious and also to the Pangea. Not to say that continuing to move up the price ladder from the Curious (WW, Sablon, etc) won't give better results

I did find the Pangea True Balanced Premier interconnect to be an amazing performer, easily the equal of cables 5x its price (which are still relatively inexpensive around here). YMMV of course.
 
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Alrainbow

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Dec 11, 2013
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usb cables matter for a host of reasons, cable lenth is one . a usb cable needs to be a min certain lenth and should not be too long as well .
aside of all boutique cables wire world and fta are very good and not crazy prices .
most all usb cables made for audio are not to specs and should not be used when installing software used with them , same for any usb boards unless they say you should
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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a usb cable needs to be a min certain length
Are there any supporting opinions or (even better) evidence that this is true? Everything that I have read says the shorter the better, unlike with coax S/PDIF where there is an optimal length and too short can introduce errors and artifacts.
 
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ozzzy

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Feb 21, 2019
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Well for what it is worth I just replaced the 1-meter Pangea's (which replaced the 6" Curious and a .08 M).
The replacements are the WW Platinum 8. One of the cables is 1 meter the other is 2 meters.

I have the 1M attached to the new outstanding ADD-POWR Symphony I/O unit and the other a 2 meter goes to my external hard drive.

I know the cables are much more expensive than the previous ones, but I do think the longer cables also add to the absolute fantastic soundstaging I am getting. Hard to believe that usb cabling can make that much sound quality difference.

ozzy
 

rbbert

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Dec 12, 2010
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Why did you choose the 1m and 2m lengths (as opposed to, for example, 0.3m or 0.6m, both of which are stock lengths for this cable)?
 

Sampajanna

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Apr 1, 2021
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Shunyata Omega is the best USB cable I have tried.
 

Ultrafast69

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I am found of Intona, clean and pure!
 
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MichaelHiFi

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Jan 6, 2022
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I received a Supra Excalibur USB cables a few days ago.

As I may have mentioned, I have 3 USB cables, 2 are audio quality and 1 is generic. I couldn't honestly discern a winner. Given what I've read by audiophile reviews - you folks largely - I felt there may be something to the USB cable hype and perhaps the Holo May KTE didn't really care about the quality of USB transmission. And before I shell out big money for a state of the art USB, the Supra was a no brainer for me. 140 dollars to see if there's any difference and if not, cable for sale and perhaps then I'd know.

I plugged the Supra between the May dac and the UltraRendu, hit play and left the room for dinner.

To be honest I really didn't think there's be much of a perceivable difference if any. I was wrong.

It took 4 listening sessions to understand how wrong I was as I was in denial, disbelief, call it what you will.

Session 1 with about 45 minutes on the cable I sat back and played a familiar tune. What I heard greatly surprised me. The air and separation of instruments was far greater and not in a perceived etched delivery one sometimes realizes with cable changes. I played the one tune and ran upstairs and grabbed my wife for a listen. She sat dumbfounded, the air, 3D image and even greater clarity in our system that already has great clarity got not subtly better! She had to get back to work but was in a frenzy of listening. She asked what I did to change the sound...

I'll give one example of a tune I played yesterday. Fleetwood Mac's Emarald Eyes. Never mind that the purity of Peter Greens guitar was portrayed fully, it was the chorus that got me. The background chorus where Nicks and McVie change tones so perfectly and so perfectly delivered, It lit up my nerve system head to toe.

I'm pulling the trigger on Networks Acoustics new line of USB cables. I don't feel the need, yet I feel the need if you can relate. 30 day trial then I can put this to sleep.
 

ozzzy

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Feb 21, 2019
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WRP,
I chose those lengths because that is what I found used at a good price. And they do sound very good.

ozzy
 

AudioDoc

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Jun 7, 2016
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I received the Pachanko Stellar Nano Silver USB (1 meter) cable from Pachanko Labs, and the first thing that impressed me was the packaging.
This is real White Glove treatment.
The cable is packaged in a nice box and is in a beautiful white cloth bag along with a pair of white gloves.
So much for the packaging aesthetics .
The cable looks well-made has very nice terminations with gold plated connectors.
Listening to Eric Clapton’s new CD “Lady in the Balcony” using the Pachanko Stellar Nano Silver USB was a real pleasure, the detail and openness of the instruments were so satisfying and the blackness and lower noise floor made me want to listen to recordings after recordings.
Sarah Vaughn singing Seasons from her Crazy and Mixed Up XRCD album made me feel like Sarah was present in my listening room.
Pachanko Stellar Nano Silver USB is one really nice cable and definitely improved the sound in my listening room.
 

MichaelHiFi

Active Member
Jan 6, 2022
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Nice Audiodoc. That's what this hobby is all about. Getting the singer/musicians in the room, up close and personal.

Now I got to pickup that Eric Clapton album.
 

MichaelHiFi

Active Member
Jan 6, 2022
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Yesterday I received the Network Acoustics Muon USB cable. This is a short observation due to the lack of break-in but interesting to me and thought I'd share.

The very first song from Beck's Sea Change was a wow moment. It was different for sure. Music slowed down. Silence was paramount due to how music evolved from nothingness it seemed. Huge soundstage. Bass was different as well. Big yet even more nuanced. The next song came up on my playlist The Black Keys "Weight of Love" This song historically in my system was BIG bass, out of control but fun to listen too, especially for my wife. It's gotten much better to listen to with the upgrades I've been performing. With the Muon it was so different I'm not sure I even liked it. There was no discernable "boominess", and yes the bass was still there, just different.

I let it play for a few hours then brought my wife down for a listen. She has very discernable hearing and will let me know when she feels something is off (which is or has been annoyingly all the time). But upon hearing the Muon, I had never seen her react to music the way she did. She was into it! She was moving, pointing out instruments in air and commenting on the size of soundstage, air and clarity. I mean I liked what I was hearing but sticker shock and still not believing that a USB cable can make that much difference, well, it takes getting use to.

I think that trying the small number of USB cables has made this a mental exercise for me. There's so much there there. Just played out of nowhere Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight". At 2:45 seconds into this song there's very clearly and briefly an errant voice out of the left speaker. It's almost as if my computer rips are exposing themselves?

I noted to that the sweet spot has narrowed to ~6 inches. Need to reposition the speakers. And another note right from the get-go was that I perceived this cable as louder which for it shouldn't be right? Just so dynamic but so is the Excalibur. And it will play dangerously - for my drivers - LOUD.

I let it settle in as Rob at Network Acoustics mentioned that it needed a good 125 hours to play well.
 

rbbert

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2010
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Yesterday I received the Network Acoustics Muon USB cable.
A "shoot-out" between this and the Sablon Evo would be interesting (similar pricing, made within a (relatively) few miles from each other.
 

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