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Long USB cable recommendation

Hi all.

I'm looking for recommendations on a long (~6 meter) USB cable (a to b) to go from my iMac to an ifi Zen signature DAC. Would like to keep it reasonable (~$100.00) if possible. For context, I like to stream Qobuz from my Mac and while the ifi has bluetooth, the delivery of high-resolution audio exceeds the compressed size of Bluetooth audio. I also use the ifi from my CD changer. 

From what I understand 5m is typically the limit of USB and the longer the cable the more prone it is to RF interference. For additional context, I also have a Bluesound streamer that I run ethernet from my router to the device, but I'm constrained with using BluOS, which I'm not a fan of. I guess Qobuz is still working on a connect feature to stream directly from their app but not sure on the timeline.

Thanks very much in advance !

128x128hazeloop
erik_squires
16,289 posts
 

You can get an active USB cable that can go that long, no problemo. The biggest issues are ground loops at that length which are sometimes introduced, depending on whether or not your DAC has galvanic isolation built into the USB port or not.  USB isolators are cheap though.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,314 posts
 

That’s a bit too long for usb. Check out this article…

https://www.cablematters.com/Blog/USB-C/usb-cable-max-length

If you don’t like BluOS, give Roon free trial a go. Yeah it’s a subscription service but the UI/IX is insanely good. 

ditkaditkaditka
30 posts
 

Shorter the better with USB. 

carlsbad2's avatar
carlsbad2
1,732 posts
 

No use spending a lot of money on a cable coming from a laptop.  any of the audioquest that have silver coated conductors would be my choice.  I think the least expensive is the Forest. 

A long usb is much better than wireless.  

Jerry

soix
9,694 posts
 

This is a lose-lose proposition IMHO. Streaming from a computer is bad, and using a long USB cable is also suboptimal for both performance and cost reasons. You’re better off selling the Node and use the proceeds and the $$$ you would’ve spent on a long USB cable to put toward buying an Innuos Pulse Mini that comes with their excellent Sense app that gets top marks for both sound and usability — some even choose it over Roon it’s so good. Plus it’s a better streamer than the Node, and you can add a LPS later for another nice performance boost.

Another possible workaround might be to get the mConnect+ app and use that to run Qobuz through the Node. It worked with my iFi Zen Stream so could be worth looking into if it’ll work with the Node. FWIW.

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