Best budget USB
Apologies, I know this has been asked before, and perhaps this question should be on the Cables forum. However, I thought I'd refresh the question, as some of the previous instances are quite old, and it has struck me that the digital thread generally has a better insight into USB cables.
I've bought a 2nd-hand Innuos Phoenix USB to fit between my Zenith Mk3 and Hegel H390. I also have an FTA Sinope, which I intend to fit between Phoenix and Hegel.
Unfortunately, the Phoenix didn't turn up with the original USB. And assuming the USB before the Phoenix is hugely less significant than the USB after, and given I'm now WAYYY over budget I'm looking for something less extravagant than the Sinope.
In the UK, the go-to outlet for choice is Futureshop, and if I limit myself to approx £100 ($120),the selection is:
Any preferences?
Thanks,
Mark
I bought a 1m LavriCable Ultimate Silver Dual USB cable because the data and power runs are separated physically as two separate cables and it uses 5N silver conductors — design features normally found in much pricier USB cables — but at US$124 it’s only just a hair over your max budget. I’ve got several LavriCables and they’re all well made and punch well above their price sonically IMHO. Best of luck. https://www.lavricables.com/cables/ultimate-silver-dual-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/ |
@soix , thanks very much for that recommendation. Lavricables are new to me, and certainly seem to offer a lot of bang per buck. Plus, also good to see it available in 0.5m |
@lollipopguild Just fyi and so you know it’s not just me, a few others here have tried Lavri and all have been very happy with their performance and in all cases they bested the cables they replaced. I found them because I thought the Apple Camera Adapter was suboptimal for getting USB out of my iPad for my HeadFi rig and LavriCable was one of the only aftermarket products I could find so gave it a shot. It was a significant improvement and since then I’ve bought a pair of balanced interconnects and headphone cable in addition to the USB and all have been excellent. They’re out of Latvia and fly under the radar but maybe not for much longer. FWIW. |
If you're really budget. One of the biggest changes I've made to my system was filtering the power from the USB source with a simple power blocker adapter and then adding it back with a powered USB hub. If you want to go whole hog you can use a inexpensive 5V linear power supply to the hub. Topping makes one and there are even less expensive ones. So for about $25 plus the PS (little over $150 with). YMMV but again it might not |
