Does USB cable length make a diference?

The Tivoli made me laugh!

My digital is not high end, just occasionally streaming PC audio, but still: it is so easy to try alternate stuff, keep something, return the other, don’t let written opinions (even measurements) get in the way of reality, if you cannot hear any difference .......

I have a basic Topping DAC in my office.

To reach from my computer (horizontal workstation on a shelf) at my left side to the system in front of me:

I needed either

a. usb extension cable to get to the DAC placed with the equipment

b. keep dac near computer, use longer rca out of dac

I ordered both from Amazon, free returns, you just drop stuff off unpackaged at Staples these days.

tried short usb, long rca

I tried usb/usb extender, short rca out of dac, worked, sounds great

I also got a short one, to transfer a rear usb 3.0 port to the front to use a usb 3.0 card reader

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N4GN1T?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

Everything is relative, signal/power: think about the very long runs of ethernet cables feeding incredible noise free bandwidth in office spaces, and the miles of transmission/switches ... it all goes thru to get to your office building or home.

I have also heard that 1.5 is ideal, and even that anything shorter might not be as good.  However, at one time I was playing Tidal from my computer to my main system's DAC and that required a 3 meter run.  So, I bought a modestly priced 3m AQ Cinnamon USB cable.  I didn't hear anything unusual, but I didn't do a direct comparison.  My experience with noise and distortion is that I don't notice it until it goes away.  In any case, with casual listening I did not hear anything that made me think, "Boy! I need a shorter USB cable."  But like the man said, your experience may vary.

PS.  I use a 1m USB on my desktop and .5m on my main system.  Perhaps it's time for an upgrade because I need a little more and a little less of a good thing.:)

I was told the opposite, shorter for USB. Coaxial SPDIF and AES/EBU 1.5 meters is best.

The Tivoli... funny. I bought one of those for the kitchen... I gave it away.

Yes, separates of the same quality outperform an integrated. Putting all those circuits so close together generally degrades the performance.

In general, interconnects and speaker cables... shorter is better. But they must be long enough to do the job. High quality ones don't degrade the sound as much as budget ones. 

Power cords are different. Longer the better. 2 meter being the preferred length. I was able to test a one and two meter of the exact same model on my power amp... it was very obvious. As my dealer says, "Twice the length, twice the power conditioning."