I am looking for a USB cable that performs well in combination with the T8. Does anyone have any tips? I want to spend a maximum of $150. (The cable will be connected to Pontus 15th). I tried a Tertullus HIFI cable from Amazon that cost around $30. I was a bit disappointed with the sound, which was rather flat. A $60 AES/EBU cable performs much better. To my ears it has more depth and a much better soundstage. I'm curious to know whether more expensive USB cables really do perform better. i2S doesn't sound good to my ears. Too clinical, harsh, and tiring to listen to.
You do not need to spend more than 10 bucks for a USB cable. It's a DATA cable. Buy one that looks good to you (the eye wants it share, always) and is of good build. The very same cable that can get your printer to receive correct data with no loss would do... this is the purpose of a DATA cable.
I use the Inakustik Excellenz USB Cable 1m approx. 50€. They look good, are robust and have a good fit. I hate the wobbly fit, but that probably has also to do with the mother side of the connection.
Purchase a USB.org certified cable, don’t waste your money on anything more expensive because there will be absolutely no difference. Keith
"Absolutely no difference" is not correct. Might be correct regarding data transmission, as long as signal integrity is provided, but not on build quality, aesthetics, haptics and shielding.
Buy a cable certified by USB.org, you know the organisation that sets the actual standards required. Keith
I like DH Labs for cables. For USB, their standard (not high end) offering works well. If you just want to go for a certified cable, I’l likely go with blue jeans cable.
From a purely digital data standpoint, I understand the argument that any compliant USB A–B cable should perform identically. However, in my own system I hear a clearly audible difference between a generic USB cable (such as those commonly used for printers) and a higher-quality USB cable designed specifically for audio use. The main difference, in my experience, seems to be related to shielding, cable geometry, and noise rejection. A better-shielded cable may reduce the amount of conducted and radiated RF/EMI noise entering the DAC via the USB interface. If the incoming signal is electrically cleaner, the DAC’s clocking and noise-rejection mechanisms may have less work to do, which can theoretically result in lower jitter and a more stable analog output stage. This is, of course, system-dependent and not a universal claim, but in my setup the sonic difference is significant and repeatable.
You know that interference in data cables ONLY affects the integrity of the data itself, and not what the data represents, right? You either get you printer print the document, or not, right? You never get it printed with the graphical equivalent of RF interference, or background noise, right? Same applies to AUDIO.
Even though i'm aware that most of the generic, manufacterer provided cables would do the trick, i prefer to choose a slightly "better" one and with better, i don't mean the ones that are shielded with virgin hair, woven at midsummer night with specific planetary alignment, that cost the equivalent of a condominium. I'm talking about the ones with decent build quality and nice fit that one doesn't have to spend an arm or leg on and when it gives me the feeling it sounds better, even if based on false belief or biased assumption, rather then scientific evidence, so what. The matter of the fact is that I LIKE IT and that is, what is most important to me and many other music lovers.
I understand the logic, but there's a key difference: USB audio doesn't work like printing. When you print a document, it's asynchronous data transfer; packets can be buffered, retransmitted, and error-corrected. The printer doesn't care if data arrives with slight timing variations. USB audio, however, uses isochronous transfer mode: data must arrive at precise intervals with no retransmission. If interference causes timing errors (jitter), the DAC can't ask for a resend; it has to work with what arrives. Those timing variations can affect the sample clock and introduce audible artifacts. That's exactly why devices like the T8 use galvanic isolation on the USB output: to break that interference path. In isolated systems, cable quality becomes irrelevant. In non-isolated systems, it can still matter; not because the "data" changes, but because the timing does. So you're right that I was hearing things that weren't there in my specific case, but the mechanism itself is real in other configurations.
If you compared unsighted, quickly switching between two identical components ( two dacs for example) you would quickly realise there is no difference in SQ whatsoever. Keith
USB-IF certified cables meet all the requirements for USB-Audio. "Highend" cables with premium materials and advanced shielding do provide minor advantages in measurements, but these do not result in human audible improvements. I also find myself believing that my aftermarket cables sound better and i am absolutely fine with that, even though i'm aware that this has others reasons then the above mentioned ones, which don't come in effect with certified cables.
No, in the case of USB the data is requested by the DAC when it sees fit, and then reclocked onboard the DAC. The very same logic as for a printer (that is: the printer does not request data, but it simply notifies the sender that it is ready to accept more data as its buffer is close to be empty, which is almost the same thing). And if you hear glitches they are only due to your upstream device being not able to feed the DAC fast enough.
USB printers (or data file transfer) use bulk transfers: no timing guarentees, retransmission allowed. To a certain extent, USB port can be noisy and USB cable doesn't matter. USB DAC use asynchronous transfers: guaranted bandwidth, no retransmission. In such case, both the sender and the cable matter. With well designed transport (isolated USB output for example) and normal not ultra-messy environnement, jitter is reduced to a point that it is not a problem anymore. You can use whichever USB cable you prefere.
Jitter hasn’t been a problem for forty years, unless the component is heroically badly designed. Keith
Waaat??? Almost 240 USD for a USB cable, and you are still so brave to call it "not very expensive"??? O.M.G.
