Experience up-leveling streaming with USB cables?

@bluethinker 

I will put the Wireworld Platinum Starlight 8 USB up against any cable regardless of price. If out of your budget, the inakustik Reference USB is a killer. Both are organic-sounding cables with jaw-dropping realism. 

@bluethinker: I am sorry to be the one muddying the waters, but... it’s not that simple IME.

1. Price and reputation can be misleading sometimes. Synergy and personal preference, on the other hand, do play a huge role. I have pretty good gear, not very high end but pretty decent (Accuphase CD/SACD player / Dac, Accuphase integrated, Spendor and soon to come Graham speakers) and I have tried the following USB cables in my system: FTA Sinope (1m, great reviews), Charlin something (1m, it was about 700 euro retail a couple of years ago or so), Curious (1m and 2m, great reviews), Supra Excalibur (1m), Supra (1m and 2m, still have them both), LH Labs Lightspeed (1m), something from iFi with power and signal separated and 2 A-type connectors (1m or smaller), something from Kimber (1m, silver plated copper I think, about 5-600 euro retail iirc) and I think also a DH Labs Mirage (1m). And the winner was... to my ears and in my system... the cheapest Supra (2m)! Believe it or not! I could tell a very similar story regarding the power cables, btw. I’m not saying Supra is "objectively" better, it was overall preferable to me. I’d love to try others though: Sablon, Transparent, maybe even the ubiquitous Audioquest Diamond.

2. Length does matter in USB cables. When I compared the 1m to the 2m versions of Supra and Curious, in both cases I preferred the longer cable: stronger, punchier bass and more assertive treble, better authority overall. The short cable was definitely more midrange centric and might have had a more complete (as in not simplified) rendition of cymbals, but I’m not sure anymore. In a different system, a different cable could result in a different conclusion. The 1.5 meter minimum lenght is a recommendation of Steve Nugent of Empirical Audio if I’m not mistaken and is not about the USB cables, it’s about the coaxial SPDIF cables. Something about the imperfect impedance matching resulting in reflections that travel back and forth along the wire and arrive at the receiver a short while after the initial impulse. If the delta t is too small, i.e. the cable is too short, the receiver gets confused.

@soix ​​​​​​  I don't know if there is any validity to it, but some seem to think there is.  I bought the cable used when I got my streamer and it happened to be 1.5M. 

My I2s cable is only 0.5M.  I picked up a new one from Wyred 4 Sound.  On sale for $99.

I've read that 1.5M is the ideal length for a USB cable used for audio.

@sls883  I’m not sure that’s the case with USB.  That was once thought to be the case for SPDIF and AES/EBU digital cables but I’ve since read that as digital has evolved that’s no longer the case and 1m is fine as well.  Maybe an audio engineer will chime in and clarify, but getting a 1m cable can obviously save a lot of $$$ if it can work as well. 

I have an .75M Audience frontRow Reserve USB which is superb. NOT inexpensive though. I too am thinking the shorter the better.

I've read that 1.5M is the ideal length for a USB cable used for audio.  I have no idea if that's accurate, but I bought a 1.5M cable (Inakustik).

Hi @bluethinker , A few years ago all my analogue cables with AU24SX and I thought they were great.  Then my dealer brought KS Elation speaker cables for me to try with my new Hailey speakers, and oh my so much better.  Still very resolving (a strength of the AU24 SX) but much fuller in the bass and midrange.  I feel a very natural sounding cable, smooth and full, and still very resolving.

For USB and AES, I have tried a few, and the KS Realization are all of the above... Full, natural, resolving.  I have directly compared to the Network Acoustics AES, and I like that as well, but give the edge to the KS.

@bluethinker

USB is a two way protocol, Preventing noise ingress is paramount, hence: the shorter the better. You may also want to chack out Uptone Audio‘s USPCB, which does away with the notion of cable altogether. Intona not only offer superb cables but also high speed isolators which are very beneficial.

Thank you. Our journey with the Merason Dacs continues. 

And a pleasant journey it is. I almost pulled the trigger on @mitch2 's MkII the other day. At some point I will have to compare one of those to my Reuss.

@jrareform - Thanks for the Shunyata recommendations! 

@rrboogie - I'll read through that forum post you've provided. I've read many folks are pleased with the Network Acoustics Muon2 cables. I've had them on a shortlist to consider.Thanks for the recommendations. 

@rbstehno - I have an Innuos Zenith mkiii streamer that uses USB. It sounds really good. I'm happy with the sound of my system. Simply trying to up-level as possible. What streamer do you recommend?

@antigrunge2 @benzman @bassbuyer  @cfa88 @glenmschneider - Thank you for your suggestions. I'll take a look at those suggested USB cables. I've read that 1.5 meters is good for USB, but it sounds like you suggest that shorter is better? 

@soix - Thank you! I'll research those cables you've suggested. 

@zlone - Thank you. Our journey with the Merason Dacs continues. 

@jayrossi13 - Thanks for that link. Those are two of the cables that have caught my attention, btw. Have you heard both? And could you describe the impact of the Black Magic Ultra? What's your impression of that cable? I'd welcome your description of the impact in your system. 

@fastfreight - KS seems to be consistenly praised. Would you mind sharing what you feel the impact of the KS cable is in your system? 

 

Shunyata alpha or theta USB was huge in my system.  Went with slpha ultimately but theta gave me most of the alpha improvement but found a used alpha online for same price as a new theta.  I'd HIGHLY recommend you find a local hifi shop to let you try different cabling.  I found the Shunyata stuff beat the other brands like wire world that I tried.  Best of luck to you!

This is a good USB reference comparison thread. https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/usb-cable-shootout-8-cables-tested.37488/
I suggest picking two USB cables that have sound characteristics described close to what you are looking for and A/B them in your system. Keep the one one that sounds best in your system and return the other one. 
I A/B the Network Acoustics Muon2 against the Intona Reference and the Muon2 stayed. I have tried the top Sablon, Audioquest, and Supra as well. Every USB cable sounds different.

Another person wasting their money on trying to make usb listenable. A few more tweaks, a few more cables, and you will be where I was at 6 years ago, usb sucks no matter what gimmicks you use. Good luck on your adventure, in time you will realize you’ve wasted your time and money.

I use this from LavriCables that I think offers high value with 5N silver and physically separate data and power legs for only $150/1m.
https://www.lavricables.com/cables/ultimate-silver-dual-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/

They also offer a higher end version with higher gauge 5N silver if you want more and still not horribly priced at $425/1m

https://www.lavricables.com/cables/grand-silver-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/

I’ve got several of their cables and have been impressed by their quality and performance/$. Best of luck

Hi, I have one on hand if you want it. You can write me directly.

it is a great cable, very fast, accurate, open, airy. It bested several cables I used before. I have it new, unused as that particular project did not materialized. 
usb cables do make a difference. This one is a combination of silver and copper. Silver adds speed and open up the highs.

best

I used a Transparent USB cable to connect my Zenith III to a Merason DAC, but found a huge improvement when I upgraded to a WW Platinum 7 cable. I was very pleasantly surprised, as I was not expecting much. It sounds like @benzman has found further bliss beyond this cable with the Stealth, maybe I will have to try that one. 

JCAT reference usb

Inakustik Pure Silver (not copper version) USB cable, a transformational cable.

Agree with keeping the cable as short as possible, a meter or even less if the components are close together.  I custom ordered my USB cable from Pine Tree Audio. I was able to pick the length and color too.  It sounds great and looks cool which never hurts.  

I really like the Black Magic Ultra from Mad Scientist. 

This review from Hifi Advice compares the Black Magic Ultra to the FTA Sinope you mention in your original post. 

https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/cables-reviews/reviews-digital-cable/mad-scientist-black-magic-ultra-usb-cable/

Love my KS Realization USB ( and an AES) cable!

Enjoying Stealth cable Select T . Tunable collar.   Upgraded from a WW Platinum 7. Nice bump. 

Keep‘em short! Intona Reference and Mad Scientist or Oyaide Continental S2