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Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

RE: USB Cable Length




It's correct to say that 5 meters is the maximum recommended length for a USB cable, but that's not necessarily true for each and every USB application, and when it comes to a high-performance audio application, a 5 meter USB cable when compared to a shorter USB cable should be considered, since there may be the usual caveat of "the shorter the better" when it comes to audio cables of any type.

However, I found a particular make/model 1.5 meter USB cable for use with a DAC sounded somewhat better, with better imaging than a 1 meter USB cable. But that's anecdotal evidence based on a particular situation, so YMMV. Use of an audiophile-quality USB cable is more important than being finicky about a specific length. If a listener can achieve a stable signal with a 5 meter USB cable, the benefits of an audiophile-quality USB cable should be even more readily apparent vs. a typically mundane USB cable intended for computer peripherals. That said, if a very long length USB cable is required, I would opt to use an audiophile-quality USB to S/PDIF converter, and use a HQ Toslink cable that can be even longer than 5 meters without much concern about the integrity of the signal vs. an electrical digital cable for very long-length audio cable applications.

Keep in mind the primary difference between the various AudioQuest USB cable models is the thickness of the silver plating over a solid core copper base metal, with a solid core pure silver conductor design being the top of the line AudioQuest model. The entry-level AudioQuest Pearl USB cable is the only unplated solid core copper AudioQuest USB cable product, and when compared to a silver plated USB cable I found the AudioQuest Pearl to sound more natural to my ear, but without the more vivid presentation that silver plating produces to one degree or another. I would suggest that listeners try the relatively inexpensive AudioQuest Pearl USB cable as a baseline to compare with any of the silver plated AudioQuest USB cable models to hear if the silver plating provides more of what they might seek. I tend to prefer any cable be either pure copper or pure silver rather than plated with silver or tin for audio applications.

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  • RE: USB Cable Length - Duster 15:51:06 07/28/20 (0)

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