$500 USB cable

been usin' walmart $9 and was happy with that. $479 is too much.

mgreen27 we all know what it does as I mentioned in my first post "transferring digital data" then again in my second post. That was not an answer to my own question. Why would some people spend that much money on a USB cable when they already know what it does? Are there really some serious science associated or could there be some other practical or psychological reasons that I didn't know? I hoped someone could explain to me in a manner that doesn't require a professional degree in electromagnetism. sbank " by improving the digital source(to a microRendu fed by Synology NAS using CAT6A ethernet cable) and a good quality linear power supply, I can now use an inexpensive(i.e. basically free!) USB connector... " I agree with you 100%... I would spend my $500 to upgrade my DAC.

Chrisr, you're correct, in asynchronous USB timing makes no difference and the only thing affecting sound is injected (or radiated) noise by the cable.  Digital S/Pdif cables are different - characteristic impedance mismatching causes reflections in the cable - hence time jitter. Jitter equals to noise within the music.

Many hood observations . Trust me if I could get away with a $10  Beldon USB 
cable i would use it Ihave personally tested several cables directly from Audiophile friends  and I would say starting at the $100 range it is a major step up in USB sonic vs the $20 cable l.  Then  say Silver starlight -Wireworld 
very respectable at $300  . All depending how well your audio system is your digital for sure should. Be very resolving to spend $300 end up.
i will say the Cardas for $200 is a very respectable warmer sounding cable 
and not break the bank. I got my AQ Diamond for under $400 as a package 
with a Aurender 100 player. I will say install a synergistic black fuse 
the writing  on the fuse  left to right installed  towards the source these fuses especially after 100 hours of play time resolution Very much improved for $120
well worth the effort  And comes with a 30 day like it or get your money back .
you have nothing to loose. 

Perhaps we should understand what is happening to fully understand insanity of expensive USB  cables.  In asynchronous USB, computer transfers the data in frames at about 1kHz rate.  USB DAC places the data in the buffer and responds with under/over buffer signal causing less or more data in the next frame.  This data is clocked into D/A converter with internal DAC clock that is independent of the transfer or computer.  The only thing that can remotely affect the sound is noise injected/radiated by the cable.