The Absolute Sound "review" of USB cable reads suspiciously like a press releaste

1. Can a 1 be mistaken for a 0 at the usb receiver if the waveform is degraded enough?

It can get complicated. For CD, their is error correction. If a byte comes in with error, and if the error is not catastrophic, the error can be corrected. But if the error is catastrophic enough that cannot be correct, the next layer of defense is the missing data will be interpolated. Because the music data stored in the CD is interleaved, interpolated is possible. For example, if there are 20 consecutive bytes of error, they do not comprised a continuous stream of musical data, because of interleaved, the 20 bytes come from different segment of music. Based on CD spec, you could potentially drill a small hole on the surface of the CD and it can still work. Most of the differences you hear from different CD player probably not because of error because of power supply design, noise, the output stage, and of course JITTER.

I am not quite familiar with USB protocol but I CANNOT imagine that it would not have error correction and interpolation, and that the data is not interleaved. If USB has all this characteristic, I don’t see how what I said above would not apply to USB as well. Again, I don’t think most audible differences you here is from bit error because it is just a small percentage of all the variables. Now if you hear scratchy sound or spikes like a damage cd, well that’s different.

2. If the DAC is receiving a degraded waveform and the data recovery circuitry is working hard to sort through it, does this circuitry not increase the electrical noise in the DAC? If so, is it negligible or does that just depend on the DAC design?

It's a bit complicated because it's not like you have a usb data hooked up directly to DAC.  You have a usb data that has to go to different hardware protocol before it gets to the actual DAC.  And on top of that, you have the software on top of it to control everything.

This could be a long explanation especially if one may not have a background in electrical engineer.  

Now there two different USB DAC architectures - synchronous and asynchronous.  Synchronous was an old architecture which was susceptible to jitter and clock.  Most DAC nowaday probably use asynchronous.  This architecture essentially, at least in theory, eliminate the effects of jitter, which means even if the input USB data has a lot of jitter, the DAC will be affect.  The detail why is a bit complicated.  

Now my turn to pose the question (especially to wynpalmer4 since he claims to have a design background), because the asynchronous architecture essentially eliminates the effects of jitter, why then the USB cable would make any difference?  (Assuming you still have bit perfect which is not that unreasonable)

Come on...its a Nordhost product.  Starting out it is well made, over priced and of questionable efficacy.   A poor value even if it does make a difference.

A poor value even if it does make a difference.

Why would it make a difference though?  That is a question I'd like to know.

@tom32801

The "fiddling" I did with USB cables is to try a few.  I had started with a basic DH Labs USB cable, and I received a freebie Supra Sword USB cable rolled in with some gear that I bought, so I tried that.  I could hear no difference at all.  None.

Then some months later the importer of my DAC recommended a Final Touch Audio Callisto USB cable that other owners were really liking.  Wow.  It was like when I discovered what a really good power cord brings to the party.  My digital took some important steps to a truer sound, gaining some more information, and with an uncanny greater coherence and palpability, like the focus sharpened at the micro detail level and fleshed out harmonics, space, and dynamic shading a bit better all together.  And really feeling coherent.  The sum total is surprising to me, and it has certainly converted me to a believer that USB cabling matters.