MacMini USB ports which is better?


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I have been A/B-ing the audio qualities of three of the four USB ports at the back of the MacMinis I own and use for music. All of them are MMINI 2.0 2X512/120/SD/AP/.

Facing the back of the Mac and looking directly at the USB ports, the one on the far right (the first outside one) seems to sound most musical to me.

The next runner up seems to be the third in from the outside edge. (I can not use the 4th because the head of the USB cable is so large it interferes with the monitor cable.)

Any experience with this? It might all be just illusion...

:) listening,

Ed
istanbulu
Argh, remove the a=href"in front of the http. Here:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1717

Lee
Assuming you're not baiting for a debate, I don't know for sure. I just hear it to sound better and I'm good with that. It might have something to do with being far enough away from the monitor port to not be affected by EMI radiation or maybe that that port is dedicated without having a bunch of other stuff slaved to it or a combination of both.

I'd guess somebody has better info on this than I do.

If you have a Mini and haven't done any comparisons, try it and see what you think. If you hear a difference then I bet the best sounding port will be the Right/East port - or Left port if your Mini's upside down. If you don't hear a difference then you're futunate to not feel a need to obbsess and spend time over this. ;)

Cheers!

Robert
Ah! See what I mean about doing stuff in front of a mirror!?
"...Now choose the East port and you're done.
Should be West!

Sorry 'bout that.
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Jtwrace...

>>Why do you think that port on the Mini sounds better?<<

Robert's having a good bit of fun with this, and I appreciate the banter... but my original post was that particular USB ports seem to be more musical than others... I was seeking validation if that was the experience of other users of MacMini's with USB DACs.

I have three identical combinations of Mini's and USB DACs and regardless of the difference in the systems, the same ports seem to sound better than others.

To answer your question, the other ports sometimes sound more detailed, but less musical to me. The outside port seems to sound best to me: detailed, but no grit or glare, better image depth and overall "musicality." Friends and family seem to concur, but all of us feel a bit uneasy about our impressions, so I thought I'd ask for others' input in a larger venue.

:) listening,

Ed

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