Can This Really Matter?


I hear it again and again, everything matters in the digital chain. So I recently unboxed my new Bryston BDP 3 renderer and it’s connected to my Ayre QB9 Twenty USB DAC. I have a SSD inside a generic enclosure (with a fan) that will power up via bus. I have a twenty cent USB cable running from the SSD to the Bryston. So here’s the question, does the enclosure matter and does the cheap USB running between between the SSD and into the Bryston really matter? If so, it wouldn’t seem practical to spend much money on upgrading these accessories. And if so, what do you suggest?

128x128goofyfoot

@pedroeb I’m assuming you’re using the Diamond USB cable to your DAC. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to use an $800.00 cable to connect a Solid State Drive.

Think back in the day where components used copper chassis.  So the box can make a difference in a few ways.  You can use automobile dampening material which is cheap to try also.

I had the BDP-3 and a SSD drive connected to it.  I experimented with three cables, 2 of which I borrowed from a high end dealer.  I didn’t notice any difference.

Also I ‘m not sure that transmission is any faster with a pricey cable.  There may be better shielding

A bad (not to spec, defective) cable can cause trouble even in digital paths, but a solid cable will be no different from a really expensive one.  Bits are, in fact bits unless there is a serious defect (impedance, shielding, etc.)

 

Now, before people pop, there ARE issues int he digital path.  At the DAC chip itself (not the box) you must have timing. I explain this int he sonogyresearch blog -- but that only applies to SPDIF, not USB which is asynchronous.  A much bigger issue is ground and power noise, which is why sources, LPSs etc can affect sound.  I power all my sources with a custom low noise LPS, (linear power supply) and wherever possible I also use a bridge (e.g.: dedicated ethernet --> USB box) to further isolate the DAC from the noise of a computer. All streamers are computers, although they may be embedded in a fancy box.

You would not believe how much testing i have done on these various issues, both as me and through the company.  Many things surprise me and do matter.  Digital cables, past the point of engineering correctness, are not one of them.

 

Beware the placebo effect. One thing i can say, for sure, is every system sounds better with a glass of good wine.  really. And that tells you a a lot.  The wine (etc) variable must be accounted for in real listening if apples are to be compared to apples, which, when in this world, is my business.