The Great USB cable debate poll

Could you please let us know what the science is? I know classical field theory and quantum field theory but I don't know the area you speak of.

 

And what would the audible impact of that be in audio data transmission?

And are we talking about the same treatment by the receiving hardware's conversion. They're not all the same as I'm sure you know.

 

Why discuss cable free usb connections for $2.00 when we can discuss cheap versus expensive usb cables for the one-hundredth time?

 

Because it's the internet. And we can!

 

' what information we rely on " There's so much info available now, particularly with the advent of the internet that we can find whatever we desire whether it's in support or against a technology or theory. All that technical info makes it difficult if not impossible to draw clear and unbiased conclusions.
Some time ago I stopped trying to analyze why certain things changed the sound of are audio systems, for me it was enough to use my ears and perception to at least determine that there truly may have been a change. I do use a spectrum analyzer to back-up what I hear but even that doesn't explain why there are differences, it only confirms that the results were not a product of my fascination.

 

Thank you for the reply. I think I understand your second example, but I'm not sure I follow the first. Are you saying it's possible for the cable to affect the signal edges and then "upset" the clock, so to speak?

 

And the audible effects of this in playback would be.... (we'll find out when he gets up!).....?

 

Right, those are the follow-up questions. Can we measure these effects? Are they noticeable to the listener? If so, what do they sound like?

 

Fair enough, I appreciate the reply.

 

Not saying it's always perfect. But it will not change the soundstage, the bass/treble response, etc. It will manifest in digital errors or the data will simply not be read.

 

This. ^^^

Case closed.

 

Here's an area where the audiophile has to be especially careful though, because if the synergy between your ethernet cables and cable elevators isn't there, a lot of the otherwise tremendous benefit of a $1000 Cat-V cable is going to vanish.

 

As long as there are companies and others that have interests in promoting certain differences and advantages with certain components, the case will not likely be so easily closed. At least not for some. What is very interesting is that nothing has to be shown of the said advantages, which is very, very different from works I am familiar with.

 

Exactly. The cable companies focus on every single wire that can possibly exist with some tangential relation to audio and claim they can make four different gradients of improvement, regardless of how trivial the task of the wire is. They know that certain folks will buy them no matter what, and that they the manufacturer don't need to make any specific claims, the cable partisans will do it for them.

Which is why when I saw that Audioquest advertisement campaign that was in all the magazines this past summer or so showing the Apple Airport router "upgraded" with expensive ethernet cables and a power cable, I actually applauded them. Why leave money on the table? Why not go after every customer you can? When there are people willing to not only buy them but exclaim about the jaw-dropping improvement made in their digital audio by placing an aftermarket power cord on an ethernet switch, they'd be foolish not to tap this market. Every day I'm angry at myself for not being in that industry.

 

My main rig is a nightclub PA system with all Rane Mojo, Crown, and JBLpro kit. Running my laptop thru a Schiit Modi produces the same incredible sound regardless of USB cable used.
I've compared cables in hopes of finding an improvement, but it simply doesn't exist.

 

You make a good point. I am amazed at how people imagine that hi-fi business practices would somehow be different than the rest of capitalistic commerce. That said, it does seem some manufacturers attempt testing, although it is easy to dismiss.

 

I don´t know if I would generally agree. The commerce has a very large span, reaching from products entirely based on objective considerations to products where nothing at all is based on facts. The same can in fact be said about ads, we will have ads that are reasonbly close to being a fact, and we will have ads that has nothing to do with facts at all, the latter will always be the most dominent.

My view of testing, as I have practised at my work, is testing at an approved third party with no economical interest in at how the testing will turn out.

 

Considering the source(s), the case remains closed - at least in my book.

It is no different than any number of entities involved with capitalistic commerce every second of the day, 24/7/365.

It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that corruption of facts, misleading, deceit or half-truths stand in profit's way.

If those who succumb are happy with the results of their decisions, that is all that matters in the final analysis.

 

And that is the easy to dismiss part. The best testing I have seen involves a manufacturer funding a university study, much as pharma and other industries do. I do have some sympathy for the manufacturers however, because development of a testing protocol seems to be a point of confusion in this scenario, as the criteria for functioning cable is well documented. I suppose IF we want to discuss something more than 1s and zeros we have to look at the analog part of the function—power/voltage. I think it is most difficult to say what is truly negligible in regards to audio—what can be measured and what matters.

It's like pants—they may cover your a$$, but how do they look?

 

I don´t really want to do that. I don´t want to discuss possible explanations to something that is not established in the first place. The only thing really is to demand proof, if something is stated, that is the only thing that can work. If not proven, it can be dismissed, if we want to.

 

And this is why these companies have got it made -- their target customers not only don't demand proof, they explicitly don't want proof. They get slightly upset at the very notion of proof.

 

Easier said than done.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f...nic-devices-cable-and-their-whitepaper-18240/

 

Holy...wow. Ethernet cables too? Wow. Just wow. I've no idea what to say to that. Other then that old classic... No one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American people. Only guess its a world wide thing now.

 

Is that ad suppose to mean something?

 

Ethernet cables are the tip of the iceberg. Want a link to a comparison of several different hard drives ranked by which ones "sounded" more open, had better bass, etc? Because I've got one, brother.