Thread: Help me choose a USB cable

Since I just bought my first USB DAC, the Luxman DA-06, I am in the market for a reasonably priced usb cable. I have narrowed it down to these three-

Wireworld Starlight 7

Shunyata Reseach Venom

VooDoo Cable Magic Bus.

I called the Cable Co and they were helpful in narrowing it down to these three. I want to stay in the $125-150 range.
I want a cable that is very detailed and resolving without being harsh and with out sibilants.

Any thoughts on these 3 cables?

Thanks,

Larry

Has any one tried the new Straight Wire's Level 3 USB 2.0 filtered cable? 1 Meter runs about $150.

BZR,

what USB are you running with your Luxman DAC. I think that it needs a very detailed USB cable. I love my Luxman DAC but it could use a bit more detail. It has better resolution than my old Van Alstine tube DAC but the VA had a bit more detail, tighter bass and crisper attack. I am not looking for a cable to fix this issue but I don't want one to make it worse. I want a cable that is transparent, detailed an lends a little more texture to the sound. I may have to spend more to get what I want.

I am using the Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 USB cable and I love it. This USB cable is tremendously transparent, detailed and refined without sounding at all edgy in the treble. It replaced the Audioquest Diamond USB in my system because there was no contest. It was significantly better in my opinion.

Ken

Originally Posted by Alpinist

I am using the Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 USB cable and I love it. This USB cable is tremendously transparent, detailed and refined without sounding at all edgy in the treble. It replaced the Audioquest Diamond USB in my system because there was no contest. It was significantly better in my opinion.

Ken

You are right about the WW Platinum. A friend of mine loaned me his and it sounds great. I was going to order the Starlight 7 but I need 1.5 Meters and it does not come in that length which is strange because the Platinum 7 does.

I am intrigued by the Straight Wire Level 3 USBF. The question is, will the filters on this cable mesh well with a Regen. I heard my friends system with and without the Regen. The Regen made a very noticeable improvement.

Any thoughts?

Try the Straight Wire cable with filtration. Awesome!

Originally Posted by Mike

Try the Straight Wire cable with filtration. Awesome!

Mike, I sent you a PM for the 1.5m cable.

Larry

Originally Posted by Dpod4

I tried a bunch including $1000 dual cable audience and new dual cable do labs. Best bang for the buck and most musical is Cardas Clear. Something about the timing and lack of glare makes it stand out for me.

I still own the Cardas Clear USB cable. It was my first USB cable and I agree it's one of the best bang for the buck. In fact, I preferred it to the Audioquest Diamond USB cable, which I ended up selling. It just sounded more musical than the Diamond. However, once I auditioned the WW Platinum 7 USB cable, I switched over to it because it was so much more transparent, and I haven't looked back. The Clear sounded a little muddy comparatively. But the Clear remains a tremendous value and one of the most musical. The WW Platinum 7 is the only USB cable I've tried that surpassed my K-01 transport is some ways, more detail and nuance than the transport but less midrange density and smoothness.

Ken

What can one expect when using a standard Laptop out to a $150 Fubar USB DAC into stereo?

Am I going to hear major changes using a $150 USB cable, or should I just try to find a reasonably well made low price cable for that application?

Originally Posted by Dpod4

Ok interest peaked - how best to buy a WW platinum 7 USB cable?

Darrin - I'll sell you mine.

Is an Audioquest Forest a decent entry cable @ $35?

Originally Posted by mauidan

Depends on whether the USB DAC needs to see the 5vdc from the computer.

Description and specs here...I don't see that figure

Fubar2-MKII from Firestone Audio

Nordost Blue Heaven is also a good option


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Shadowfax

Is an Audioquest Forest a decent entry cable @ $35?

For about $10 more I would suggest the Supra USB cable. It has received some very good reviews in the UK and the computer audio forums. I prefer it to my Audioquest Carbon which was over 2x the cost.

FWIW, here are some USB cable ratings from Martin Colloms. (higher numbers are better)
Colloms Sound Quality Ratings: Interconnect Cables - hificritic.com

Audioquest Diamond USB 75
Audioquest Carbon USB 1.5m , 5metre 67, 35
Cardas Clear USB 47
Chord Silverplus 5m USB coiled 70, uncoiled 90
Furutech GT-2 USB 82
Kimber USB-Ag Blue 80
Kimber 'USB' 73
Supra USB 2m 70
QED Graphite USB 3m , 1m 36, 40
Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB 70

Have a look at the iFi USB solutions.

Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 also.

Originally Posted by Shadowfax

Is an Audioquest Forest a decent entry cable @ $35?

I have read that some people prefer the AQ Forrest and Cinnamon over the more expensive AQ Carbon. A guy on the AC forum did a shoot out of USB cables under $150 and the inexpensive Belkin held its own. I believe he liked the WW Starlight 7 the best but the differences were minimal according to him.

I have been very impressed by the WW Platinum 7 so far.

I guess I'm the only one to defend AudioQuest's honour... I find the Diamond USB cable to be simply stunning, way better than Coffee and far better than Wireworld Starlight! I also recommend using the shortest length possible. In my case this was 0.75m. The longer it is, the worse it sounds!

Originally Posted by bzr

Steve, do you rate the iFi usb as good as the WWP7 or better?

I think their split USB cable (Gemini) into their iUSBPower+ iPower device plus the USB Mercury is right up there, yes.

I am still experimenting with combinations.

I will be buying more iPower devices which use noise cancelling technology on power. These seem to be as good as a conventional linear PSU.

So I decided to try the Audioquest Cinnamon USB Cable and it arrived yesterday. By the time I got to listen I could only do so at low volume. Without listening to the original cable first, I dropped the AQC in between Laptop and cheapy Fubar DAC. I played some 320 MP3s and some FLAC files and listened for a while. Sound was good, decent bass and all the rest. I then dropped the generic USB cable that in that came with the Fubar DAC and listened to some of the same music but had a real hard time trying to tell if anything was better, worse, or different.

I need to spend more time playing around at more normal volume to see if it was worth the $65 or if the little Fubar just isn't a good enough DAC to show the cable differences.