# monoprice v augioquest and other "audiophile usb cables



## zachchen1996

Sooner or later I'm going to have to build a desktop system with a dedicated Dac and the such. I will be needing a usb cable for the system to connect the computer to a usb to spdif converter. I was planning on ordering some usb cables from monoprice, then I started reading that many people had high end expensive USB cables. I did research, and some people swear that USB cables don't affect sound because its just transferring data and some people are saying they do affect sound and matter just as much as headphone cables do, buying 100$ to even 1000$ usb cables! I know that headphone cables affect sound, with the differences between silver and copper etc. Is there anyone out there that can HONESTLY close their eyes, have someone swap out a monoprice usb and replace it with some audioquest one and tell a difference?


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## goodolcheez

Quote: 





zachchen1996 said:


> Sooner or later I'm going to have to build a desktop system with a dedicated Dac and the such. I will be needing a usb cable for the system to connect the computer to a usb to spdif converter. I was planning on ordering some usb cables from monoprice, then I started reading that many people had high end expensive USB cables. I did research, and some people swear that USB cables don't affect sound because its just transferring data and some people are saying they do affect sound and matter just as much as headphone cables do, buying 100$ to even 1000$ usb cables! I know that headphone cables affect sound, with the differences between silver and copper etc. Is there anyone out there that can HONESTLY close their eyes, have someone swap out a monoprice usb and replace it with some audioquest one and tell a difference?


 

 Good thread.  I voted for Audioquest.  Doesn't have to be Audioquest btw, as there are quite a few competing manufacturers that have very impressive sounds.
   
  What type of DAC are you planning to get?   I have not much say to Asynchronous DAC's but for Sync and Adaptive you will need better cables.  Cheap cables (like monoprice cables) not only cause more distortion but also the music is inaccurate. Transparency is also weak. 
   
  If you want body and warmth to the music with great details in the lows, the copper purity USB cables will suit.  If you want to take steps further to higher levels, i.e. extended, cleaner trebles and reflection details the solid silver is the way.  Of course the difference varies depending on the gears (speakers and DAC) too, but whatever you get there is plenty room for improvement in every part of the components.  And with high end cables (anywhere from $150- grand+) they'll give you greater depth / space.  You can "locate" where each instrument is played.  You will also be able to sense how far apart one instrument is placed from another. So it's not just "width" but "depth" also.
   
  Monoprice cables are for people that do not care for sound or have numb ears that they can't tell the difference in music tonality / sonic signatures and detail.  All they care about is whether they can "hear" the music, or not. Like 1's and 0's. On and Off. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 (lol)..


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## goodolcheez

This forum might not be good enough, as majority of the users have no clue with cables and don't have trained ears. Not enough passion in sound.  ComputerAudiophile forum maybe a better suit.  You can get more info there.


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## Rawrbington

Start with Monoprice. You have nothing to lose but about 7$ and that includes priority shipping. Ignore people trying to justify their giant waste of money by trying to convince you to waste a giant sum of money


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## anetode

http://www.head-fi.org/t/546191/usb-cable-supposedly-improving-dac-sound-quality-how-can-i-take-other-posts-seriously-after-that

They'll make a difference, if you really want them to. Though if you're asking if anyone can tell the difference in a blind test, then no.



goodolcheez said:


> This forum might not be good enough, as majority of the users have no clue with cables and don't have trained ears. Not enough passion in sound.  ComputerAudiophile forum maybe a better suit.  You can get more info there.




My sound lacks passion and my ears can't even do a single pushup


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## sonq

Quote: 





zachchen1996 said:


> Sooner or later I'm going to have to build a desktop system with a dedicated Dac and the such. I will be needing a usb cable for the system to connect the computer to a usb to spdif converter. I was planning on ordering some usb cables from monoprice, then I started reading that many people had high end expensive USB cables. I did research, and some people swear that USB cables don't affect sound because its just transferring data and some people are saying they do affect sound and matter just as much as headphone cables do, buying 100$ to even 1000$ usb cables! I know that headphone cables affect sound, with the differences between silver and copper etc. Is there anyone out there that can HONESTLY close their eyes, have someone swap out a monoprice usb and replace it with some audioquest one and tell a difference?


 

 Beware that many people on forums are offering advice base on assumption, they most likely have never tried anything beyond generic USB cable/s. Order a few cables with return policy to try and decide for yourself. Try Moon Audio or Furutech.


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## Matt head 777

Quote: 





rawrbington said:


> Start with Monoprice. You have nothing to lose but about 7$ and that includes priority shipping. Ignore people trying to justify their giant waste of money by trying to convince you to waste a giant sum of money


 

 LOL


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## Matt head 777

what so special about these expensive cables exactly, the interconnect material, the wire material, what? How does it affect sound so much? Their are so many things to spend money on, your claims about being able to locate sounds better etc sound rediculous. I read of a person that claimed a pretty'd up jug chord sounded better too. Their only seems to be one proponent of these expensive cables on these forums and argument sounds weak.


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## goodolcheez

Quote: 





sonq said:


> Beware that many people on forums are offering advice base on assumption, they most likely have never tried anything beyond generic USB cable/s. Order a few cables with return policy to try and decide for yourself. Try Moon Audio or Furutech.


 

 BINGO! DING DING DING DING DING!!!
   
  Very good recommendation.  Now we are talking.


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## zachchen1996

Quote: 





sonq said:


> Beware that many people on forums are offering advice base on assumption, they most likely have never tried anything beyond generic USB cable/s. Order a few cables with return policy to try and decide for yourself. Try Moon Audio or Furutech.


 
  So true, other than moon and furutech cables have you compared other usb's such as audioquest and oyaide?


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## zachchen1996

Quote: 





goodolcheez said:


> Good thread.  I voted for Audioquest.  Doesn't have to be Audioquest btw, as there are quite a few competing manufacturers that have very impressive sounds.
> 
> What type of DAC are you planning to get?   I have not much say to Asynchronous DAC's but for Sync and Adaptive you will need better cables.  Cheap cables (like monoprice cables) not only cause more distortion but also the music is inaccurate. Transparency is also weak.
> 
> ...


 
"I have not much say to Asynchronous DAC's" What do you mean by this?


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## proton007

Quote: 





zachchen1996 said:


> Sooner or later I'm going to have to build a desktop system with a dedicated Dac and the such. I will be needing a usb cable for the system to connect the computer to a usb to spdif converter. I was planning on ordering some usb cables from monoprice, then I started reading that many people had high end expensive USB cables. I did research, and some people swear that USB cables don't affect sound because its just transferring data and some people are saying they do affect sound and matter just as much as headphone cables do, buying 100$ to even 1000$ usb cables! I know that headphone cables affect sound, with the differences between silver and copper etc. Is there anyone out there that can HONESTLY close their eyes, have someone swap out a monoprice usb and replace it with some audioquest one and tell a difference?


 
   
  Its kinda inconclusive to ask someone, you'll have to try it out on your own. Most of the times you're trusting another person's ears/brain, combined with their interpretation that is influenced by their experiences so far. There's too much subjectivity involved here, you cannot 'see' things for yourself (like you can in video/displays) to align your interpretation/understanding with others.
  As a safe option, try something relatively cheap first that doesn't cost a lot, so that you won't regret the purchase.


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## goodolcheez

OP, Asynchronous USB uses a clock housed near the dac (usually in the external DAC's casing) and allows it to drive the converter directly, thereby not relying on the instable computer's clock, caused by jitter that is.
   
   
  Quote:


sonq said:


> Beware that many people on forums are offering advice base on assumption, they most likely have never tried anything beyond generic USB cable/s. Order a few cables with return policy to try and decide for yourself. Try Moon Audio or Furutech.


 
  I read it again.  Really.  That is damn good quote.  Very well written.  That is so true.


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## anetode

Seeing that my post was removed because of some perceived personal slight, I decided to vent some steam in a writing exercise, so here's my attempt at the most innocuous reply I could muster to this thread:

Zanchen, I'm going out on a leap and deducing from your username that you were born circa 1996. Upon further deduction I have taken that to mean that you are 16 years old and likely still in high school, with maybe a part-time job to support your audio purchases. You may or may not have taken any courses in psychology, physics or economics, but it is likely that you will become more familiar with these topics as you grow older. Being a member of a young generation you have an uncanny familiarity with the internet flora and fauna, with various forums and with the varied cadences of written communications endemic to these forums. This gives you an unparallelled advantage because it allows you to instantly connect to the common knowledge of any demographic of audio enthusiast and benefit from their advice. However it also saddles you with the disadvantage that you will run across odd factionism that leads to forum members advocating for or against certain products. The choice of who you listen to is an important liberty, but I'd like to make you aware of the following:

Take the hundreds of dollars that you might spend on a USB cable and spend them on music, books and headphones, leaving maybe 10 bucks for a well-made monoprice cable. The music could grant you far more pleasure than staring at the colorful weave of an audioquest's cloth, the books could entertain or educate you on the aforementioned topics of physics, psychology and economics, and the headphones could make the greatest difference in your listening experience even according to steadfast audiophiles who would never pay less than 1,000% markup on a cable.


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## sonq

goodolcheez said:


> I read it again.  Really.  That is damn good quote.  Very well written.  That is so true.




Thanks and I was guilty of doubting USB cable makes a difference till I tried the furutech formula 2 - improvement is so obvious I didn't even bother to switch back to confirm.


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## sonq

zachchen1996 said:


> So true, other than moon and furutech cables have you compared other usb's such as audioquest and oyaide?




Never tried audioquest but the oyaide with separate power lead is the one that got me curious about audiophile USB cables. Unfortunately, oyaide's prices are too high to make any sense on my humble office rig. The wire world starlight follows a fairly similar concept by distancing the power lead from signal. 

Moon's blue dragon and furutech's formula 2 cost around $75.


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## TJ Max

uote: 





sonq said:


> Beware that many people on forums are offering advice, they most likely have not tried anything beyond generic USB cable/s. Order a few cables with return policy to try and decide for yourself. Try Moon Audio or Furutech.


 
   
   
   
  I have been following this subjet for sometime now, and this quote is part of my overall conclusions. 
  I'm not a scientice or an engineer, but after paying attention to both sides of the argument I've come to an understanding that the text-book scientific theories of how USB works may not include all varibles. It's assumed that you'll be transfering plain data , like text documents ,videos, or backing up your system, but not live streaming audio. The text books may not reference this and the additional varibles that may be included. For example most serious foriegn language text books like Spanish assume you're learning it becuase you are a traveling business man and not just learning Spanish to hang out with friends and pick up women in bars. So theres alot that book won't get into. Likewise serious computer text books read like you're running a business and not chillin out listening to music.
   
  It appears like it just takes some personal experience with USB Audio cables to truely know. When someone says "It's just 1s and 0s" I think they understand the theory but not the application, as mentioned above they never compared  a generic cable with a high-end one. It's my understanding that It's not "Just 1s and 0s" . It's an analog signal in the form of a sine wave thats just being represented by 1s and 0s. And this signal can be effected by the enviornment and conditions of the cable, and may result is audible results. Something not obvious when you're just transfering photos.
   
  Anyway based on what everyone is saying on both sides of the argument, this what I've been lead to beleive. 
  P.S. I don't think USB cables make audio "Better", but they may color the sound into something perfered.


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## sonq

Quote: 





rawrbington said:


> Start with Monoprice. You have nothing to lose but about 7$ and that includes priority shipping. Ignore people trying to justify their giant waste of money by trying to convince you to waste a giant sum of money


 
  Good suggestion, but I started with trying as many generic IT usb cables as I can as I was quite skeptical. I heard subtle differences between some of them before I went further to buy a dedicated cable. 
   
  I have the Furutech Formula 2 and the improvement is obvious enough that I didn't bother to A/B further.


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## drez

Try not to get personal otherwise it will bring the mods down.
Not having tried either I would suggest the Monoprice, or from there one of the Wireworld cables if you can demo with no obligation. In my experience they will not make a huge difference, and more expensive is not always better, but yes I have heard very easily detectable differences. If there is no big difference don't buy the more expensive cable or just sell it at a slight loss. Easy.


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## moogoob

Quote: 





anetode said:


> Seeing that my post was removed because of some perceived personal slight, I decided to vent some steam in a writing exercise, so here's my attempt at the most innocuous reply I could muster to this thread:
> 
> Zanchen, I'm going out on a leap and deducing from your username that you were born circa 1996. Upon further deduction I have taken that to mean that you are 16 years old and likely still in high school, with maybe a part-time job to support your audio purchases. You may or may not have taken any courses in psychology, physics or economics, but it is likely that you will become more familiar with these topics as you grow older. Being a member of a young generation you have an uncanny familiarity with the internet flora and fauna, with various forums and with the varied cadences of written communications endemic to these forums. This gives you an unparallelled advantage because it allows you to instantly connect to the common knowledge of any demographic of audio enthusiast and benefit from their advice. However it also saddles you with the disadvantage that you will run across odd factionism that leads to forum members advocating for or against certain products. The choice of who you listen to is an important liberty, but I'd like to make you aware of the following:
> 
> Take the hundreds of dollars that you might spend on a USB cable and spend them on music, books and headphones, leaving maybe 10 bucks for a well-made monoprice cable. The music could grant you far more pleasure than staring at the colorful weave of an audioquest's cloth, the books could entertain or educate you on the aforementioned topics of physics, psychology and economics, and the headphones could make the greatest difference in your listening experience even according to steadfast audiophiles who would never pay less than 1,000% markup on a cable.


 

 Haven't posted for a while, but I have to agree with this poster. Even the most ardent "cable believer" would agree that cables are several steps own in importance in a system. I beleive it usually goes recording>headphones>source (DAC in your case)>amp>and finally interconnects (cables).  (The order shifts around based on your phones - some are more amp specific than others)
   
  Me? I use toslink rather than USB. Much more convenient in my system, bypasses OSX's system volume and in needed with my DAC for playback of high sample- and bit-rate files. My cable? A $15 thin one with built-in mini connector I bought at a computer shop. Sounds just as good as any USB I've tried, and even better on high-bitrate files that aren't supported by my DAC's USB interface.


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## goodolcheez

Try Wireworld USB Starlight cable. Much better performance for the money.


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## CB3874

I have an Audioquest Carbon 0.75m USB cable. It made an huge improvement in my opinion over the Apogee Duet 2 stock cable. It's currently listed in the classified section.


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## sebna

It is quite funny how some people witll stick their noses into somebodies wallets and comment on what tye should or should not buy.
   
  The question of the OP was about two quality USB cables. So why would somebody come here and preach their non-relevant completley subjective opinion about cheap USB cables?
   
  I will tell you how I see it - I dont care if they work or not. I will buy them because I can. Simples. If my approach bothers some one, that still does not bother me. But it just happens that I happen to know why quality USB cable can sound better then the cheap ones. It is down to engineering and how the electricty works but hey - listen to the guy who if he would listen to his own advice should be still riding a horse, because following his logic, it can also transport you from point A to B so why would you ever need a car? if the horse can do the same job, or maybe it does not work that way?
   
  If you are cheap enough to spend thousands on HPs and then shell out 2$ on usb cable go ahead but it is just in my opinion pure non-sens.
   
  I like quality and I will always choose quality over quantity  and not even once I was dissapointed with my choices (if the research was done correctly OFC)
   
  Good Luck


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## Tablix

If you do the research you will find scientific answers, not personal "biased" opinions, that go's for the believers and the critics.  Use the internet to learn something rather than asking others opinions about something that is purely subjective.  If you read the science behind the technology you can make an informed decision about how much you are willing to spend. 
   
  People seem to be missing a little point in this thread that I will bring up, the comparison with a USB and an audio interconnect.  A normal audio cable is affected by materials and connectors, any "average" USB cable will be almost identicle in what it is capable of, and any data loss will be so insignificant it would be inaudible by the time a DAC has converted it.  This is what my extensive research has taught me, and I have tested both standard supplied USB cables against a $50 "audio quality" cable.  Maybe my gear is not detailed enough to show any differences but if I have a £350 rig and if a £5 cable works I am happy.


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## blazingazn

I've studied these very topics for a couple years now in University. I even use to sell Audio/ Video gear at a local well-known company.
   
  When it comes to analog connections- the amount of copper available to carry the signal matters, definitely.
  When it comes to digital connections- if the data isn't being dropped or loss completely it will not affect the quality of the data coming out the other end (*remember that digital data packets are continually resent within milliseconds if they are lost in transit- much like internet transmissions*.)  Shielding matter, yes, but even basic cables have shielding that is far above adequate.
   
  In the end, if you are really curious, buy some cables and try them out. Be warned, the placebo effect is very strong in regards to your perception. If you can, have a friend blind test the cables with you.
  From my experience, studying the technical science behind it and selling the stuff to consumers- *get a cable that is decent quality from a respected brand that meet industry standards- it will sound great.*


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## Manyak

Quote: 





tj max said:


> I have been following this subjet for sometime now, and this quote is part of my overall conclusions.
> I'm not a scientice or an engineer, but after paying attention to both sides of the argument I've come to an understanding that the text-book scientific theories of how USB works may not include all varibles. It's assumed that you'll be transfering plain data , like text documents ,videos, or backing up your system, but not live streaming audio. The text books may not reference this and the additional varibles that may be included. For example most serious foriegn language text books like Spanish assume you're learning it becuase you are a traveling business man and not just learning Spanish to hang out with friends and pick up women in bars. So theres alot that book won't get into. Likewise serious computer text books read like you're running a business and not chillin out listening to music.
> 
> It appears like it just takes some personal experience with USB Audio cables to truely know. When someone says "It's just 1s and 0s" I think they understand the theory but not the application, as mentioned above they never compared  a generic cable with a high-end one. It's my understanding that It's not "Just 1s and 0s" . *It's an analog signal in the form of a sine wave thats just being represented by 1s and 0s.* And this signal can be effected by the enviornment and conditions of the cable, and may result is audible results. Something not obvious when you're just transfering photos.
> ...


 
   
  Actually, no, it's in the form of a square wave. All digital signals are.
   
  And the USB interface does not care what kind of data you're sending. Does your internet change speeds depending on if you're downloading a movie vs downloading a program? Didn't think so.
   
  As long as the USB cable is not damaged and it meets the minimum specs the error rate of the data transmission will be statistically inisgnificant (in other words, the differences between tests/cables will be so small that you won't be able to determine mathematically if one is better or not). FURTHERMORE....all data transmission over USB is buffered at both ends. The audio you hear out of a USB DAC is actually being played not directly from the computer, but from the DAC's own internal memory. It buffers several milliseconds in advance, this way IF there are any errors in the transmission the packets can be resent before the DAC actually plays it. So any jitter caused by the cable (which there won't be any of anyway) doesn't actually get passed through to the audio.
   
  In conclusion - any undamaged cable will sound the same. If you want to pay extra for nicer jacks, a cloth sleeve, thicker insulation, and so on, then that's your prerogative. But it does not change the sound.


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## blazingazn

I agreed with Manyak, thanks for more scientific info.


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## drez

manyak said:


> Actually, no, it's in the form of a square wave. All digital signals are.
> 
> And the USB interface does not care what kind of data you're sending. Does your internet change speeds depending on if you're downloading a movie vs downloading a program? Didn't think so.
> 
> ...




In theory this holds true but in practice buffers are not perfect, it's not only the dropped packets you need to worry about because audio streaming is time sensitive, so any jitter caused by poor cable performance that isn't fixed by some DSP will translate into poor performance (which are also imperfect in my experience.). Please excuse me if my explanation is not 100% technically sound but I am tired of coming across the argument that digital cable performance has no effect on the sound quality. USB audio actually uses a fair share of the bandwidth of USB, it is not heavily over engineered as say some coax cables from Belden where they are rated in the GHz range and SPDIF only uses MHz range or something.

I am by no means saying that a wireworld will be better than a monoprice, just that whichever produces the best square wave or has better shielding will have better performance, and that in my experience this difference has an audible influence over the sound quality. This is not a huge difference and it will vary from system to system, but even on budget systems I could hear differences, and the differences were still there with high end components. IMO it will still be there until we start using a better connection method like USB 3.0 or CAT7 or something with higher bandwidth rating to get audio data off the computer.

I used to think USB cables wouldn't matter at first, I think most of us do as it simply isn't something that is easy to accept especially if you come from a technical background. But for those that keep an open mind and actually go to the trouble of listening to different cables a very high percentage hear a difference, even between ordinary camera and HDD USB cables. Personally I have no interest in there being differences, in fact I sincerely hope there is none so I can sell off some of my cables. In fact with my SPDIF cables I sincerely hoped my $150 silver cable would beat my $12 Blue Jeans, but the $12 Blue Jeans was just a better clearer more precise cable. I also wished some of the freebie USB cables I have would be better than the $300 cable I am using but they didn't perform as well subjectively. Unfortunately I can't stick my head in the sand and say "there should be no differences so there are none"


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## drez

I guess the counterpoint to that is that "I perceive a difference therefore there is one" is sticking one's head in the sand.  But take your pick.


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## Manyak

Quote: 





drez said:


> In theory this holds true but in practice buffers are not perfect, it's not only the dropped packets you need to worry about because audio streaming is time sensitive, so any jitter caused by poor cable performance that isn't fixed by some DSP will translate into poor performance (which are also imperfect in my experience.). Please excuse me if my explanation is not 100% technically sound but I am tired of coming across the argument that digital cable performance has no effect on the sound quality. USB audio actually uses a fair share of the bandwidth of USB, it is not heavily over engineered as say some coax cables from Belden where they are rated in the GHz range and SPDIF only uses MHz range or something.
> 
> I am by no means saying that a wireworld will be better than a monoprice, just that whichever produces the best square wave or has better shielding will have better performance, and that in my experience this difference has an audible influence over the sound quality. This is not a huge difference and it will vary from system to system, but even on budget systems I could hear differences, and the differences were still there with high end components. IMO it will still be there until we start using a better connection method like USB 3.0 or CAT7 or something with higher bandwidth rating to get audio data off the computer.
> 
> I used to think USB cables wouldn't matter at first, I think most of us do as it simply isn't something that is easy to accept especially if you come from a technical background. But for those that keep an open mind and actually go to the trouble of listening to different cables a very high percentage hear a difference, even between ordinary camera and HDD USB cables. Personally I have no interest in there being differences, in fact I sincerely hope there is none so I can sell off some of my cables. In fact with my SPDIF cables I sincerely hoped my $150 silver cable would beat my $12 Blue Jeans, but the $12 Blue Jeans was just a better clearer more precise cable. I also wished some of the freebie USB cables I have would be better than the $300 cable I am using but they didn't perform as well subjectively. Unfortunately I can't stick my head in the sand and say "there should be no differences so there are none"


 
   
  In practice, the buffer _has_ to be perfect for the USB transmission to function. USB sends the data 1 bit at a time. If each sample is 16 bits, and there are several samples in each packet, what is the DAC going to do with each bit on its own while the rest is still being transmitted? And there are ECC algorithms used to make sure that all the received bits are correct. So even before the DAC's chip receives any of the sample data, it has to be processed by the USB controller first. If even one bit is incorrect you will hear clicks and pops in the audio.
   
  Jitter on USB is only worth worrying about if you're trying to use an unusually long cable. And you'll _know_ when there's too much jitter because the DAC will cease to function reliably. We're talking anything from clicks and pops to randomly disconnecting from the PC. All very obvious symptoms.
   
  USB 2.0 actually has plenty of bandwidth for audio. After protocol overhead and everything it ends up providing a solid 25MB/s, give or take. Even 24-bit/192kHz audio doesn't need more than ~1.1MB/s. CD audio needs only ~172kB/s.
   
  What I actually find amazing is that so many people get hung up on the jitter over USB and from within their computer (a PC's clock actually has insanely low amounts of jitter by any standard, which is necessary for the components to run at the high clock rates we're used to) when what they should really be worried about is the clock jitter within the DAC itself. Jitter does have a significant effect when converting digital to analog, *but only at that stage of the process*. Here we're talking about jitter in the sampling, not in the data transmission. You can use a USB cable woven from unicorn hair and sprinkled with pixie dust and it still won't have an effect on the DAC's clock generator.
   
  I believe you're hearing something, I just can't believe for even a second that it's the USB connection.


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## FatmanSize48

Let's try to get back on topic and help the poor OP from months past. Some of you say it is nonsense not to shell out "only $2" on a USB cable, while others state that there is no scientific difference. What if I told you that you are both right? Though it might not make a sonic difference, better built cables, if you switch cables often, will aid in the longevity of the system. And so to the OP, I say go for the Audioquest Forest line. You get great build quality and the cable looks sexy. At <$20, you aren't ripping off your system, or ripping off yourself.


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## TJ Max

I do hear a difference from switching from a 6" oem usb cable for a printer to Kimber Kable AG USB. But the difference is so subtle that it doesnt justify the cost fot the casual audience.
As a matter of fact I didnt hear a difference in everything I sampled. So I think the source quality really matters.
I used a connection from my HP Notebook to a Teac UD-H01 DAC.
The 2 main albums I sampled were
Light As A Feather by Return to Forever a 24-bit Japanese mastering from 2011 on SHM-CD.
Ripped to FLAC 44.1 /16
The other is 
Heavy Weather by Weather Report from HDTracks in Flac 88.2 kHz.

With Return to Forever the printer cable sounded really good, But the Kimber Kable AG did better define the sound stage. The benifits are found in Flora Purims vocals which sounded more forward and smoother. Also Joe Farrells saxophone is more present and detailee from the mix.

However I didnt hear any differences with the Weathet Report album. None.
I went back and forth with the cables numerous times. And the results were the same.


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## goodolcheez

Guys,
   
  Monoprice cables really should not be used for the audiophiles.  Monoprice cables are for the general public average Joe such as mom, dad, sons and daughter, grandchildren, grandpa, grandma and such.   It's not for audiophiles.  I am not trolling. I am being serious here.
   
  I have used it before, many years ago. And it sounded lame.  Stick with something better than monoprice, seriously.


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## blazingazn

I use monoprice, I consider myself an audiophile on a budget.
   
  Good advice- don't spend a high percentage of your audio gear budget on cables.


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## blazingazn

please follow this link and read the associated articles.
  http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/pear-cable-science
   
  you will get the general consensus of many reliable sources.


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## Lenni

UL warns of potentially hazardous...


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## roadcykler

Quote: 





manyak said:


> Actually, no, it's in the form of a square wave. All digital signals are.
> 
> And the USB interface does not care what kind of data you're sending. Does your internet change speeds depending on if you're downloading a movie vs downloading a program? Didn't think so.
> 
> ...


 
  Stop with all your sciencey stuff. The only thing that matters is if I think it sounds better despite the measurements and facts telling me it can't. These are my ears, you don't know my ears. <<<< Heavy on the sarcasm for the objectivity impaired.


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## drez

roadcykler said:


> Stop with all your sciencey stuff. The only thing that matters is if I think it sounds better despite the measurements and facts telling me it can't. These are my ears, you don't know my ears. <<<< Heavy on the sarcasm for the objectivity impaired.



Yes thank you for that. Please feel free to keep your sarcasm to yourself.


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## blazingazn

Quote: 





drez said:


> Yes thank you for that. Please feel free to keep your saecasm to yourself.


 
  +1


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## FatmanSize48

+13 
   
  ^^Sarcasm
   
  Where did the OP go?


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## JakeJack_2008

Quote: 





fatmansize48 said:


> +13
> 
> ^^Sarcasm
> 
> Where did the OP go?


 
  The OP is not here, but I am here.
   
  I'm soooooooooooooo  confused. It all depends on _whom 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 _you ask.
   
  I need to try some USB cables with my ODAC.


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