# USB interconnects: Cardas Clear USB vs. Kimber Kale USB cables



## Syan25

I have a choice to make between the Cardas Clear USB and the Kimber Kale USB...
   
  Cardas Clear is $118US and the Kimber Kale is $50US....these are at the 0.5 metre length.
   
  I want a great sounding, clear, NEUTRAL sound from the USB...
   
  Thing is  - Cardas advertise their cable as being_ a musically neutral cable_. Then Music-Direct advertises it as a
   
_Clear USB is a stunning sounding cable, with traditional *Cardas *warmth and the astonishing resolution and power of the new *Clear *series. With greater air, definition, bottom octave power and control and of course, the glorious *Cardas *midrange presence that is the hallmark of *Cardas*designs._
   
  WHAT??
   
  Anyway - if anyone has any experience with either of these and can inform me as to which is better to buy - I would be happy. Blue Jeans also offers a similiar USB cable at a very decent cost.


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## Rdr. Seraphim

Hi Syan25 , Just be aware that you're gonna get the "ones and zero's don't impact sound quality" crowd--I'm a bit surprised that they're not here already. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  I was surprised by the differences in USB cables. I have the Kimber and it's "Ok." I'd call it clinical. Haven't tried the Cardas.


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## Syan25

OK - I have been forewarned. I do think the Kimber cable is decently priced. And yeah - clinical or neutral is what I am after because if any coloring is going to happen - I want it to be at the amp stage only. I will be getting an RSA XP-7 which has a little warmth to it. So I just want everything lining in to it -  cables and DAC to be neutral, clear and detailed...
   
  Cheers!


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## JRG1990

I don't understand how a usb cable is meant to colour sound, id go with the kimber as it's the cheapest and probley sounds no different to the more expensive cardas. I myself use a lindy premium gold usb cable and it doesn't do anything to the sound its therefore completely netrual and alot cheaper at only £16 for 0.5m.


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## Bina

I'm dealing with same problem, which usb cable buy, My favorit at the moment is Wireworld starlight. I read something about it on computeraudiophile, anybody have experience here?


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## Lenni

Bina, browse Audiogon for better deals - I got this at an auction for $30+shipping (nrp was $149). very pleased with the cable, recommended - a steal!


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## myinitialsaredac

Can't say from experience with the usbs, but I have yet to be disappointed by the high-end Cardas cable lines. (Both in terms of construction and sound).
   
  That said, I just picked up a 1m Clear USB that should be here soon (though I wont have a system to test it with until I track down my amp/dac 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ).
   
  Dave


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## Syan25

Would be good to hear your comments when you get it sorted out. It's not the price that is the problem for me so much as the question: is it worth the extra $60 compared to the Kimber Kale...


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## MrProggie

"What?" indeed. When it comes to digital cables I guess people hear what they want to hear.
   
  I've just bought an Optical cable from Hong Kong costing one dollar. And I am going to use it whether my new DAC will cost 200 dollars or 2000 dollars.


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## p a t r i c k

As long a USB cables are well made there is no significant difference in sound quality between them.
   
  It is just the same as with interconnect cables. The "perceived" difference is auto-suggestion.
   
  You will waste a lot of money on nonsense with expensive USB cables.
   
  I would definitely suggest the Blue Jeans ones. I haven't tried them but others seem to be happy with them and the cost is reasonable.


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## Bina

If you tried different usb cables and here no difference, that is ok, but dont force your opinion to others.


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## p a t r i c k

Quote: 





bina said:


> If you tried different usb cables and here no difference, that is ok, but dont force your opinion to others.


 


  I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone.
   
  I'm giving very good advice to anyone that wishes to take it.
   
  The reported differences in these expensive interconnects and USB cables etc is auto-suggestion.
   
  Auto-suggestion is massively powerful in hearing and of course people want to flatter themselves that they are amongst a privileged few who can hear some difference in some silly cable.
   
  Well, they've been conned plain and simple.
   
  If you take apart one of these expensive cables you will see that the manufacturing costs were a fraction of the asking price.
   
  Remember that the manufacturers have absolutely no research and development costs.
   
  The people who claim to be able to hear differences with this cables have not demonstrated this in good blind ABX tests.
   
  I recommend that people spend money on honest manufacturers of sensible well made cables. Not voodoo rubbish.
   
  BTW I have listened to music with a great many types of interconnect in my time. Unlike you (I suspect) I remember well before these ridiculous cables arrived, I was even taken in by them myself when they arrived (about 30 years ago).
   
  It's just auto-suggestion.
   
  Don't waste money on this nonsense.


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## leeperry

I'd personally put my money on an ADUM4160 USB Isolator, this will provide your DAC w/ a cleaner signal than any "premium" cable ever will o/
   


mrproggie said:


> I've just bought an Optical cable from Hong Kong costing one dollar. And I am going to use it whether my new DAC will cost 200 dollars or 2000 dollars.


 

 Glass toslink sounds way better that POF, IME(and others). POF has terrible optical properties(constringence, OTF/MTF sharpness)...this distorts the signal even further, and your S/PDIF receiver will have a hard time recovering the embedded clock.


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## Syan25

Here is a website to check out that:
   
http://www.engineeringtv.com/video/ADuM4160-Integrated-USB-Isolato
   
  It looks great but the question is - has anyone tried that and then listened the sounds coming out of it?? I would do it if I know it is tried and tested and worthwhile doing...
   
  H


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## leeperry

I don't advise stuff I haven't heard myself...you can look up the Firestone Bravo and Tera X2 threads for more testimonials. This is a great sounding chip.


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## evanft

I'd just buy a cable from Monoprice.


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## Syan25

Brilliant. I wonder where I can get one in Taiwan. I may pop into the computer market here and look for one...


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## Syan25

Also - being in Taiwan - it is very common here to build DIY desktops...rather than buy brand names..
   
  So it makes sense to pop this baby into my desktop...for notebook - that would be more of a problem...
   
  I will still buy a quality cable for USB anyway ...more than likely the Kimber Kale...


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## kboe

I've owned the Kimber USB cables, and now own a Cardas Clear USB.  The Kimber is very nice and worth every penny.  If you cant hear the difference, (whether you find it an improvement or not is another matter) your deaf as my bronze book ends.  The Cardas is much more neutral and natural, where as the Kimber was warmer and fuzzier.


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## Syan25

Ah....I see - well that was what I was wanting to know more about...


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## kboe

You bet!


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## bassmidtreb

This is a good question, one that audiophiles never have an absolute answer to. This is not unlike the Tube vs. Solid State issue which gave birth to the "hybrid" component extolling the "best of both worlds." Some audiophies have even rebuffed these issues as "auto-suggestion." There is a bit of truth to that, but one should beware of at least to constant variables that every other audiophile cannot account for. The first is that hearing varies from person to person and people have different preferences and responses for and to sound. Secondly, every audio component, including cables, has its own sonic signature. You have to know which sonic signature you like and the only way to know that is to experiment and rely on your own ears.
   
  To answer your question directly, I happen to have the Kimber usb cable and I would recommend it if you want a warm analog, as opposed to digital, sound. The Kimber doesn't sound digital and I would also characterize it as neutral. My experience with Cardas is with their analog cable which has a warm and dynamic sonic signature, but I would consider it to be neutral. But all of this sounds good to my ear and on my system. I use the Kimber in between my computer and a dac which is connected "optically" to a sample rate converter which is connected to my pre-amp via analog (rca) cables. However, my music is stored on an external hard drive which is connected to the computer with an Audioquest usb cable. The Audioquest is detailed, but it is also bright and lacks the warm and "fullness" of the Kimber. I am considering purchasing the Cardas as an experiment to comapre it to the Kimber and also to determine whether a Kimber/Cardas combination has some sonic benefit. If I find I the Cardas sounds better I will replace the Kimber. I believe the Musicdirect description of the Cardas usb is accurate. It is how I would describe Cardas analog cables.
   
  Happy listening


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## GoSUV

[td]  At first I did not believe USB cables make any difference at all and had just used whatever I could find around my computer desk. I had always just stole the cable from my portable USB harddrive and used it for my DAC. But one day I was also using the harddrive so I need a different one for the DAC, so I just grabbed another cable from a cheap USB hub and connected it to the DAC. Now I noticed the sound was different. Vastly different. I even thought there was something wrong with my system. The highs are harsh, lows are gone and the dynamics are just missing. I couldn't believe it was the USB cable, but that was the only thing changed. So I waited for the USB harddrive to free up, so that I could rob its cable again and use it for the DAC. Voila. Everything is back to the way it was. Both cables were no more than 1 meter long, but the harddrive cable is of course built much better and thicker, with the cheap USB hub cable thinner and more flimsy, same as the ones you would find in a dollar store.   
 Tell me, how could this be your so called "auto-suggestion", since I was honestly not expecting to hear any differences, but I did. The difference was way more than just "subtle", but obvious enough that anyone who has the slightest sense of music would be able to tell, between the two cables which I didn't explicitly pay for, but were just freebies from other products and happened to be lying on my computer desk.
  
 Eventually I bought an Audioquest Cinnamon USB cable and was happy. Honestly I wasn't going to spend a lot of money on just a USB cable, and my DAC being the type which accepts a mini-B plug, my selections would be limited anyway, and my DAC wasn't that expensive to begin with. But the bottom line is, USB cables do make a difference and stop pushing your ignorance onto others, especially on something you have no personal experience with. If you have tried different USB cables before but couldn't hear a difference, it still doesn't mean the differences aren't there.


 [/td]   Quote: 





p a t r i c k said:


> I'm not forcing my opinion on anyone.
> I'm giving very good advice to anyone that wishes to take it.
> The reported differences in these expensive interconnects and USB cables etc is auto-suggestion.
> Auto-suggestion is massively powerful in hearing and of course people want to flatter themselves that they are amongst a privileged few who can hear some difference in some silly cable.
> ...


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