The Great USB cable debate poll

...or your system is not good enough.

The reason is that the belief is being called into question and nothing is as firmly believed as that which is least provable.

Oftentimes, the reaction is to suppress and debase those who do not follow the narrative.

 

Aren't there really far too many variables for this poll to have meaning?

Changing one piece in the whole kit -- which is not described in any manner?

What is the relative quality of all the other components?

If everything else was super-high-end (whatever that means, and that will never be agreed upon here) and the power was clean, versus a laptop to a DAC all plugged into wall power with various other household devices? I'd still be skeptical, but would offer a "maybe".

 

Considering my modest system, and my shot eardrums, I can only say, not that I think I would notice.

 

Given the way it's worded, I think you're right, but it's been my impression from the discussion that what we're really after is whether there is any possibility that moving to a premium USB cable over a capable cable would affect sound quality.

 

Good questions.

 

I didn't believe it would make a difference until I tried a couple different ones and was proven wrong. Thos is simply my experience - I don't care to get into any arguments about it as nobody is going to change their mind based on this thread.

Out of curiosity, I wonder if people also believe that it is impossible for USB-spdif converters to have an impact on sound quality.

 

You are on the right track. A any cable has physical properties which can be measured to quantify the signal/noise ratio, which for digital is traduced to BER for a specific bitrate; both s/n and BER increase with cable length.

Any cable conforming to USB 2.0/3.0 has been designed and measured to guarantee a maximum BER. I think that any manufacturer claiming a better cable should provide the specs.

Note: s/n and BER can be affected by electromagnetical interferences, specially for long cables. Thus shielding a cable must be needed in some environments.

 

Thank you for the helpful reply. BER stands for bit error rate?

 

Yes.

 

Wow. The people have spoken lol. I have to say I'm impressed with the results. I really thought it'd be a lot closer if not the opposing opinion ahead.

 

I knew there wasn't a chance the yes votes would beat the no votes but I thought it would be more like 60-40. Again, I don't think this in any way suggests that there aren't sonic improvements. In fact, I think the fact that over 30% say they believe there IS a difference is reason for the rest of you to consider doing a side by side comparison for yourself.

 

Have done it, as I am sure many of the respondents that voted no have, and heard zero difference. Then there's the actual science and engineering behind digital signals and USB. I can conseed that there might be slight audible differences between a 200 dollar pair of speaker cable and a 1000 dollar pair even that changing a power cable on an amplifier that's a really heavy load might amount in a sound difference but 200 dollar USB cables are the new magic clocks, pebbles and green highlighters of the audio world. Lots of people bought those too. Also, since there have been so many types of arguments used in this thread including ad hominem as someone else pointed out, I'd just like to put out there that basing something on the fact that some or many people believe it to be true is a classic logical fallacy.

 

You basically just said that over 30% of the members of this forum believe in fairy dust. Imagine if one out of three members of your gym believed in unicorns or that the "sawing a lady in half" trick is real. You're entitled to your opinion but dismissing as fantasy what over 30% of us believe to be fact is really inappropriate.

 

The results of this poll assure him in thinking that he is right. And if you don't agree with him - well, you are in minority. Heck, even a guy with Shindo speakers voted no. He is not ashamed of it either.

 

What do you suppose it says about the 70% then?

 

Why on earth would he be? I am delighted to see that the number voting Yes is as low as it is.

Tells me that people are rightly questioning some of the buffoonery that gets passed off to the consumer these days.

 

That you're entitled to your opinion and that, hopefully, the majority of that 70% has at least compared for themselves. Seems reasonable to me.

 

Ive always thought that getting rid off this kind of flim flam is one of the only things that can really help save the audio industry and help give it credibility with new consumers.

 

For sure. Customers deserve honesty from retailers. I think most retailers are, but I have deep doubts over some elements of the trade /hobby.

 

You and me both and I think this thread shows that we are not alone. Now if only the magazines and reviewers could take a hint.

 

They once did - around 30 years ago.

 

It´s too complex, I think. Where should one start, with the ads?

 

I'm guessing you don't think many of them have?

 

You start by breaking down the concept of "golden ears". But there's ego involved there, which makes it tricky. I think being part of the 30% vs. the 70% in the context of this thread makes people feel like part of an elite privileged minority, not outliers.

 

I really have no way of knowing but would assume that some have never listened because either A) they're not running a computer driven system or B) they're positive the 1 and 0s argument has to be definitive.