New USB Cable from DH Labs: The Mirage

New USB Cable from DH Labs: The Mirage

$250. Isolated power and data leads.

Getting sample soon.

Info here:
http://www.silversonic.com/docs/products/MirageUSB.html

 

It's pretty good, and overall a good value for the money like most of DH Labs products. On the same level as a Furutech GT2 I had around. Not as good as the Light Harmonic, but it's 4x the price.

Have fun!

 

hmmm If I were you I would just use a basic printer USB cable, not the dollar type, but not the $250 type and do a comparison. Your probably going to want to return the $250 version. A digital signal is not going to be influenced by the cable so long as it's not defective or the cheapest of cheap from China.

 

Thanks for the preview. I am wondering if USB cables are 100% system dependent. I have had other reviewers tell me there is no "best".
Each combination of source and DAC yields a different result. So you have to find the "best" USB cable for your computer/strreamer/file player and DAC.

 

That's a unique and very valuable observation. Thanks for saving us!

 

USB is a totally different animal. It carries a 5V power line with the DATA. Data does not like power.

 

LOL...

 

I would agree, most of the aftermarket USB cables I've tried are a good bit better than stock USB cables, but only have subtle differences between each other and which you prefer is mostly a function of what system it's in. The Light Harmonic was a standout but is also more cash. The biggest benefit I see of a good USB cable is a smoother and more relaxed presentation, a result shielding the data from the power.

 

Spot on. Nobody has been able as of yet been able to determine the particulars of what makes "higher end" USB cables tick..better conductors? Connectors? Shielding? I understand some "audiophile" USB
cables do not even meet basic USB specifications.

 

Analog does not like power. Digital doesn't really care until it reaches a threshold after which it fails dramatically. Average USB cables somehow manage to move computer files across them with no data loss (remember even one bit messed up means your zip file won't unzip or your document has garbage in it), music is no different.

 

All true. But music can be transmitted "bit perfect" data wise and still not sound "right" if polluted. Analog signal cables and analog outputs do not carry power per se, but voltage.

 

That's a myth that's been perpetuated across the internet by repetition. USB audio does NOT resend missing or bad info, it drops it and the DAC interpolates. Other types of USB data transmission are checked for errors and the info is resend if needed. So music IS different.

 

I wonder how common USB data errors really are.

 

Thank you Steve for that. As long as the cable is not defective it not going to have one bit of effect on the content of said data. An analog signal can be "flavored" by stray power/EMI factors but a data file is a data file. Data and power can coexist in perfect harmony in a USB cable. It's a digital transfer. If you can transfer thousands of TB's perfectly through a a regular cable.

Please explain how this $250 data cable transfers data packets in any way different than a $10 cable? How does your audio perception change when there is a bit for bit perfect transfer completed by both? What is the digital effect that is occurring on the cable that is causing the coloration of a "bit perfect" transfer?

Your comment ServingtheMusic is incorrect. A "bit perfect" data packet is not influenced in any way. There is no coloration of the data received, hence no change in the content in any way whatsoever. It's "bit perfect".

Now an analog signal can be influenced by outside parameters, but thats a story for another day. This is a digital data cable, not analog. There are no gray areas for interpretation here or perceived differences.

 

How is my comment incorrect when USB cables DO sound different.

"A "bit perfect" data packet is not influenced in any way. There is no coloration of the data received, hence no change in the content in any way whatsoever"

The above is strictly your opinion. An enormous user base has reported otherwise when listening.

 

You mean AFTER spending their dosh?

 

There is no tests that show that they sound different, don´t know how You can state they do?

 

Once again Serving, so long as you don't have a damaged cable or using the cheapest Chinese built cables that are available, if you have a bit perfect transfer of data it is the same on each end. No coloration. This is not a perceived but a factual event that occurs.

Call it for what it is - it's a fact , not a opinion.

I'm just asking you a question and asking you to back up your statement with some facts is all. You may want to read up on how USB cables work.

Things that "can" effect the data transmission are as follows: Cheap/defective cable (we are talking REALLY cheap here), BIOS or firmware (either end), hardware (either end).

 

I used to believe that USB Audio Class (1.0 or 2.0) performed a data consistency check of the data payload but there is no evidence of such a mechanism in the specifications.

Having said that, DAC behavior when the data stream is corrupted is unpredictable at best.

Also, published Bit Error Rates for USB cables (especially high end cables) would clarify their true value. And for that reason, we're likely to never see those rates.

 

wow, it did not take long for the flat earthers to to arrive.

 

You are right. ALL cables sound the same, analog and digital. Since there are no "tests". Thanks.

 

Again. Repeat: USB cables DO sound different. It is not my job to explain why.

 

Sorry ServingTheMusic... I've noticed there is a lack of respect on this forum for cable discussions. Your thread has officially been shat upon.

 

Yeh, and no toilet paper in sight! LOL..

 

With all due respect, this trolling does not help. At all.