What's the best source for audio?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 17 тра 2019
- When computer audio is the subject is a laptop adequate for the task or do you need a big high priced computer instead? If you want to learn more, grab a copy of Paul's new book, The Audiophile's Guide. www.amazon.com/Audiophiles-Gu...
- Наука та технологія
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/n.gif)
My god, and this whole time I thought my speakers were bad. I installed Audirvana, and my music came to life!
It's a great, convenient, digital option, and one I use myself. I still prefer my CD player though.
Thanks, and good to know. How much does it cost?
you probably dont give a damn but does any of you know of a way to log back into an Instagram account..?
I somehow lost the login password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me!
@Phillip Aden Instablaster :)
@Grant Kabir Thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and Im in the hacking process now.
I see it takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
You are such a wealth of knowledge! I hope I get to meet you someday.
Paul, good morning. Thank you for the videos! About programs such as Audiovana... I understand why you use it but at the Windows configuration, on audio setup, there is an option to choose the audio quality reprodution versus the output. So, when you check the possibilities of audio quality for headphone, or built-in speaker from the computer or the USB output for the DAC you note that they're all limited by its specifications. On the USB DAC output the Windows let you choose the highest quality, 32 bit/384kHz. Is not that setup enought to not use the Audiovana or others? When you first go to this configuration the standard output is 44.1kHz so if you change it to 384kHz I believe that Windows is no longer down sampling, is that correct?
By that logic, any streamer
such as a BlueSound Node 2i
that plugs into the wall to be
avoided?
And are you comparing the quality
of Qobuz to Tidal's MQA service?
Hi... Sir which power amp IC using in high-end audio system and which is better TDA, STK or LM series?
I have many music videos (some with audio only) that I downloaded from UA-cam (MP4). How can I play them in 2 channel stereo, and also see the video at the same time ? Can an HDMI cable transfer 2 channel music and video from my laptop to either a DAC or processor ?
I'm not sure if the PS headphone amp runs with a USB driven dac, but if not, best upgrade is to connect up an external USB dac to drive your amp. Bypass the laptops audio output altogether. I use a Topping D10, and it will deliver great sound for a very reasonable cost.
Apart from my home theatre, I have a Mac Mini connected voa Firewire to a Focusrite external sound card sending audio to a pair of Yamaha HS-80 monitors. They sound great to me. I use a software called Vox to listen to my tracks which are mainly ripped from CDs at maximum rates. I wonder if it is a good setup.
This is one time when I Have to support Paul.
Last year, I did some work on a setup that included a Sprout 100 (Great little box, that!) being used as a DAC.
The first USB cable we tried caused all sorts of problems.
Replacing it with one that cost only about twice as much --- and still under $20 --- eliminated all the trouble.
David O'Banion I’ve found some things don’t like longer USB cables if they are powered by the USB or even a printer. Not sure if it would change audio quality though aside from if data is lost
audioquest does have some goofy names for their cables but it worked it gets you thinking about the company.
Thanks Paul, great advice. I also run a Mac Mini and I also use Qobuz to stream music. The Qobuz application actually allows me to chose the output device and resolution output (I have a DAC hooked up to USB). Does this have the same effect as using Audirvarna to bypass the internal computer's control?
Does roon also bypass the windows upsampling thingy too?
What about toslink out of TV to DAC, using your tv as streamer. Say Amazon Music or the like. Would that be a quality digital signal?
i have a set of studio monitor speakers they are very fragile against energy from the pc
to solve it (kinda) the pc had do have its own power socket otherwise u hear a constant noise
my JBL soundbar is digital connected to my pc when it doesnt play any noise u hear some weird things from the energy from the pc/ stuff like mouse clicks make the speaker make a small noise
not always tho... its weird and yes the soundbar is fine and the pc is fine maybe the cheaper cable between em
The title of this video is "What's the best source for audio". But this video is about optimizing the use of a computer as an audio source.
CD is still the best.
That’s what you WANT to believe.
What happened? You turned the music back on.
- That comment was very helpful.
Here’s a question: why (since Audioquest was exhibiting at Axpona), did someone have to fly one in? Couldn’t they have just gotten one from them at their booth?
Larry Niles wow, sarcastic AND lazy response, AND failure to miss the intent. You can do better; we have faith in you.
I’m sure, since PS Audio has a few engineers on hand, that they can evaluate these two cables and show how a digital signal was manipulated between the PC and the DAC, and can show us the results of those findings. An added note: humans can tell differences when two sounds are compared close in time to each other, but are pretty lousy at comparing when the time is longer. Check out what an engineer on the Audioholics channel has to say about quality of cables, and the social engineering aspects/group dynamics mentioned there as well.
drift Techie Yeah!
I would have thought a PC wouldn't be much different from a laptop. In fact, I assumed that a PC would typically have a smoother power rail.
That's because the PSUs inside a laptop are still usually switch mode buck/boost regulators.
So for a PC, you have the mains, which gets rectified, and then smoothed using inductors and caps, to a smooth DC source. Then from there, it gets pumped into switch mode converters.
In a laptop, you start with a DC source, and then that's fed into the switchmode converters.
Although, laptops dont have to rectify/smooth the AC mains, so there is one less conversion step... They will still have a frequency induced by the switchmode converters.
Also, in a PC there is a lot more room for shielding, and more room for smoothing the power. So even though they have to convert the mains to DC, I would think the extra shielding/smoothing would make up for it.
It would be interesting to take a scope, and compare the ripple on a PC vs a laptop. And actually get some real-world tests.
Paul, what do you think about Beats Audio on Android?
I know you weren't asking me...but I disabled beats audio that came stock in my HP laptop. It sounded muddy and bass heavy, with the treble turned down. To my ear it sounded much better with beats disabled. From there I bought a decent DAC and the music sounds miles better
hi paul,good video,well explained.
I think the main point is getting a decent phone with fairly quiet outputstage & resolving dac. Then setup streaming apps, done.
The quieter the output noise, the less ine have problems with noise at high gains.
I also use a PC as my source, but I have decided to just get a sound card that offers a Toslink out to get the uncompressed digital signal to my amp that also has a decent DAC in it. Nice thing is I can also get a decent surround signal that way for some movie streaming (I use an old AV receiver with my stereo amp hooked up to the pre out).
Is a good compromise for me between getting good quality audio without hassle and on a decent budget as well.
If your laptop or desktop PC has optical SPDIF, and digital integrated home theater amplifier with optical SPDIF, then try use otptical cable for audio playback. I playback movie with 5.1 DTS on Macbook Pro 15" and send the 5.1 channels audio to home theater amplifier Yamaha RX-V361.. . The video is output to big screen LCD TV. ..
I also can use media player with otptical SPDIF such as Western Digital WDTV as the transporter ..
So, we have several options to enjoy the digital audio.
I'm very curious to see why USB cables matter. Not because I don't believe they make a difference or anything like that. I'm curious to know if it has to do with jitter on the data lines or the quality of the power and ways that equipment can stop being affected by USB cables such as with a buffer for the data or not taking any power from it.
Some audiophile usb cables forego the 5 volt power transfer lead inside the cable. I believe that makes a difference.
@@jamesrobinson9176 In my case I've been using an adapter that lets me use a separate power supply for the 5v instead of what comes from the computer and I think that did make an improvement (I need to do more listening). I'm curios to know if the data cable would still matter in that case. Based on how USB works, there shouldn't be any possible difference since there's no clocking that the interface uses off of the cable (unlike many digital cables where jitter matters greatly). If it does make a difference, then I think it would have to do with how it's interacting with the rest of the circuit of the device (like introducing noise into the converter circuit) rather than having any effect on the actual USB data in which case buffering the signal would make no difference.
@My Name Thank you for pointing this out. I was going to do the same. I've seen obvious differences using different speaker wire and RCA interconnects, but I have not... repeat not, been able to identify any difference in digital cabling. Either it works or it doesn't. I don't think a USB cable could introduce jitter. If the cable makes a difference then the USB implementation on the DAC must be bad. Schiit has gone on record to say that it does not make a difference. I have heard that better cables can make a significant difference on SPDIF, but that might be due to a difference in error correction in that format. When it comes to USB, it's much like HDMI. It works or it doesn't. You won't hear a degradation in sound, you will likely hear dropouts, static, or perhaps nothing at all.
@My Name I think there could still be a potential issue with how the signal is "thrown out" as you said. Nothing to do with the transfer of data but just how the electrical signal and affect something else onboard.
@My Name "The data inside the device (DAC, etc.) is not the signal that traversed the cord... it is a COPY of that data, all cleaned up and error checked."
You will have to provide a reference for this statement. Every description I can find for audio/video data over USB carries a variant of the following:
"Isochronous Transfers are used for transmitting real-time information such as audio and video data, and must be sent at a constant rate. USB isochronous data streams are allocated a dedicated portion of USB bandwidth to ensure that data can be delivered at the desired rate. An Isochronous pipe sends a new data packet in every frame, regardless of the success or failure of the last packet... Isochronous Transfers have _no_ error detection. Any error in electrical transmission is _not_ corrected." [Emphasis mine]
www.keil.com/pack/doc/mw/USB/html/_u_s_b__isochronous__transfers.html
Correct me if I'm wrong: But doesn't a good DAC and good cables bypass everything bad?
Yes! The sound card is very very important... Use an RME device or similar compared to the default sound card for the laptop, for your sound and hear the differences :)
The problem with USB cables is that lots of them are of substandard quality and need to transmit data chunks repeatedly which can cause troubles on the receiving end since the USB audio connection is asynchronous.
There was a blind test comparing several sources playing the same track . A totl CD-player , same CD player with totl dac , totl vinyl player , and a reel to reel at 19ips. The reel to reel killed it proper...
typo ? you meant ..... 15 ips ?!
@@NavinBetamax 15 ips right.
I had a fine Technics RS-1500 reel to reel in my stereo system 10 years ago. I preferred the sound every time compared with the rest i had (Including 24bit High rez digital) But managing the reel to reel was time consuming and expensive . A 10 inch reel at 15 ips last exacly 33 minutes per side and blank tapes costs 100$ a piece. (Ampex 456) I eventually gave up on it because i had my 24 bit files in the computer that i could manage basically as fast as a jukebox.
A USB cable making or breaking an audio system? Wish I was there to see that first hand. I've not seen that before except in the case when the cable being replaced was defective. That said, I have seen large differences in the audio quality of software... thanks for sharing your "signal path."
Making or breaking a system? Not really, but there is some improvement with high end USB cables and most DACs.
No one says that. Cables are the last part of the system to worry about and no one buys thousand dollar cables on a $500 surround-in-a-box. Cables are tweaked when the rest of the system is accurate enough that someone can hear differences between cables. When someone has between 6 and 7 figures into a hifi system, is it really that unreasonable to consider hi end cables that produces noticeably better sound than $5 black rubber on the best buy rack?
@@esquiremoderator32 I think it also has a bit to do with the type of cable. You can get better bang for your buck with I2S, Ethernet and Toslink than USB.
@@esquiremoderator32 I guess you didn't watch the video all the way through. Paul says that cables, especially USB cables matter "A LOT." He even noted that his system at AXPONA was lacking enough in terms of audio quality to require him to make a "panic call" to Audioquest. I don't think he would make a panic call to correct something that was not critically and negatively affecting the sound. I am not disagreeing or agreeing with what he says, only that I wish I was there to hear the change he was talking about.
@@terrywho22 i was agreeing with you. On a system as good as Paul's the cables matter and you can hear a difference . i was referring to the people who seemed to be alleging that every audiophile is telling people to start with thousand-dollar cables or your system will be lacking, when in fact, cables do matter, but audiophiles will tell you to put your money there last and worry about the rest of your system first. Obviously, when Paul is demoing his new speakers, he's going to not make cables a failure point of his new product at a convention and get something high-end
Ok, so windows/OSX upsampling is shit basically? Does this also go for outboard DACs that upsample? Is upsampling moot for the mostpart?
Paul I have a Onkyo TX-nr585 and have a set of Bose 301 series 2 and pioneers CS607 what would be a good set of surrounds speakers to add and a really good preamp?
What about his DAC?
Mine was the same. Somehow I did not play with Geek Pulse xFi DAC, I connected my MAC mini with a USB JCAT Reference Cable with the hub separately to ULPS Geek and MAC. The effect was as if I had changed the DAC to an absolute high end. However, the varying resistances in the USB cable can seriously damage the electrical packets and the DAC does not process as it should. I recommend it to everyone - the most important thing is the USB cable!
Point of clarification. Roon users running NUC Roon servers do not use Windows. Those NUC's run Roon ROCK (Roon Optimized Core Kit) which is based on Linux.
Yeah - I think he was actually referring to the Nucleus, Roon's 'off the shelf' NUC in an fanless aluminum heatsink casing. It uses Roon OS, of which Roon ROCK is an DIY variant.
Well technically you can run Roon Core under Windows on a NUC. Not sure if actually anybody does it though.
Roon comes in various guises, so Paul could have been referring to something else. Cool name btw!!
You can install bit perfekt for foobar2000. Makes a huge improvement in sound quality.
No it doesn't, only the placebo makes a difference.
PS Audio has ASIO drivers that work with Foobar2000. It bypasses windows sound manager altogether. Downside is while music is playing no other sound works. I like that the most though since Skype doesnt make BLOOP sounds in the middle of a song. lol
Bit Perfect is a Mac application for use with iTunes if that’s how you organize your library and it’s less expensive than Audirvana.
Hi Paul, what was the name that player for Windows? And where can it be found? Keep up the great work!
Foobar 2000. Probably the best computer music player and best of all it's free.
www.foobar2000.org/
@@jonathansturm4163 Thank you! I'll give it a try. As a side note, I am not looking for a bunch of "bells -n- whistles". Just good clean music without Windblows interfering with the signal. Which I believe Paul stated about the program he mentioned.
Audirvana
@@cizagui Thank you! However they don't reveal the cost. I will never buy anything from anyone who does not openly publish their prices.
@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv I think it costs around 70-80$, but to be completely honest, I hear absolutely no difference between Audirvana and streaming from Tidal directly.
However, there is a 2 week free trial, so you can hear for yourself...
If you have an ASIO driver specifically written for your DAC, make sure to use that.
and let's not forget to choose a better sound card over the shit motherboard builtin audio chip which is also a dac :)
@@SuspiciousAra LOL! you obviously know nothing about high end motherboards, theres no need whatsoever to buy a soundcard today, the inbuilt ESS sabre DAC built into my x470 gaming7 wifi motherboard is just amazing and also has asio, the motherboard even has dedicated USB adjustable power designed for audio
If I’m understanding what’s going on here correctly, the sound card in your computer has nothing to do with running a music server the way that PS Audio is doing it and the way I just set mine up. The external DAC outside of the computer is the one that matters. You are bypassing the computer’s sound card by using the USB output from your laptop and it’s sent digitally to your DAC outside the computer. Mine plugs directly into my PS Audio Sprout100 integrated amplifier via USB from my Dell Laptop running Audirvana. I can also push audio to all of my DLNA devices through my home network. It works great!
@@brenmangood I use an external DAC but I use optical cable from mb soundcard to the external DAC. I can use USB too but choose optical instead.
@@Taffy84 , Paul says he doesn't like optical cables. I believe they are not good for anything higher bit rate than a CD, 44.1. I think if you have CD quality AIFF or similar, you are fine using optical, but if you are doing anything higher resolution you should use USB.
Unless you are into vinyl records what source sounds best will continue to change. Newer and better streaming services and audio programs will always on the horizon.
Sure, you have a point, but the quality of vinyl pressings vary dramatically ! Some of the same albums, pressed at different times and pressing plants can be a completely different experience. I have 2 copies of Black Sabbath Paranoid for example. One is the very first pressing which is raw and dynamic reaching 28KHZ per channel, and then the very next pressing a year later, is heavily compressed and limited to 15KHz per channel. Just food for thought that Vinyl has many factors to why it can be great or crap.
What about Spotify on phone or ps4
Spotify is compressed whereas Qobuz and Tidal are uncompressed (lossless) so generally are regarded as better although they are more expensive.
Maybe I’m just more sensitive to the digital cables, I’m not sure. To me the USB and SPDIF cables in particular make more difference than the analog interconnects or speaker cables.
It's likely your previous usb cables were not up to standards. Digital cables will not make any difference in the sound unless they are degrading the sound due to lack of quality
If you going to do audio via computer you have too get an EVGa NU Audio Sound Card but a lot of computers (Apple iMac, Lenovo thinkcentre, Apple Mac mini, Intel Nuc, Dell Inspiron, etc.) don’t even have pci-e slots anymore 🙄
Cable and software. Good to know. Now I'm off to find a really nice cord. Any suggestions on what to look for?
Ifi usb cables are awesome
Walmart. Don't fool yourself into spending too much on cables.
I prefer optical SPDIF over USB cable. The difference is significant. My setup was.
MacBook Pro 15" --optical SPDIF --> iBasso D10 Cobra --> custom IEMs.
The headphone amp referred to in the video has only USB connection.
@@GodsMistake
Yes, I know. I am give my opinions based on my experience and what I have. My DAC headphones amp has SPDIF opticle and USB input. Wehn connecting via USB, I able to hear slight noise., and it dissapears when using optical SPDIF, and runs on battery.
So, for digital audio lovers, using optical SPDIF is a better way to enjoy digital audio.. IMHO.
Thank you.
@@bahathir_ Mohammad, unfortunately I have to disagree with you. In general, digital audio to an external DAC uses USB cable in a specific and superior way than optical. However in the case of headphone users this won't always be the case. In a full system digital to DAC via USB gives the best possible performance.
@@GodsMistake
No problem, Sir.
I only mentioned based on my experience with my audio setup, is for IEMs. My IEMs collections, which are ranges from USD 5 - 500. My most sensitive IEMs, Westone UM3Xs has 120dB/mW. So, 1 MW of power may produce 120 dB SPL. of dynamic range. So, minute noise will be audible. By using optical SDPIF, we can venefit the electrical noise isolation between PC/laptop and DAC headphones amp.
For HiFi speakrs, which is not sensitive enough to hear the differences between USB connectivity and SPDIF opticl link
If I am wrong, please correct me.
Thank you..
@@bahathir_ You must be the final judge of your own system.
However, in a full system the link between your computer and DAC is best achieved through USB. The DAC and computer can talk to each other with USB but cannot with optical.
PS Audio!!
My computer for audio is Linux based for this particular reason, linux does not fool with what's coming through and you can actually fine tune the configuration of the audio driver yourself, all the way down to the math the cpu will use to take it and send it to your DAC. If you haven't tried your hand in this I highly recommend installing either Ubuntu or Mint (unless you've got a Linux nut in the house and then they'll have their own flavor of choice for sure). That person might even pick something like Arch since it's the most lightweight distro you can get unless you build your own, which means nothing else would be getting in the way and it would be an operating system literally designed only for your listening needs. Here is a link to explain a little of what I'm talking about.
Love the videos, I did sub, I watch almost every single one of them for about 1/2 a year now. I think you are absolutely doing it right as far as informing along with getting recognition. I'm no pro, but I've been in audio (playing/listening) for 20 years now and I can tell you there is absolutely a major difference when you load up what I mentioned above. Oh and.........IT'S FREE!!!! Linux costs nothing!!! It's UI is also more in line with Mac than windows, so you'd feel right at home.
medium.com/@gamunu/enable-high-quality-audio-on-linux-6f16f3fe7e1f
I just installed Linux and the audio was about 85% left channel and 15% right. I went into Alsamixer and there was nothing that I could find wrong with any setting AND there is no way to stream Qobuz at HiRes quality without using Wine, I tried the web player in Firefox and it would stop playing every other song so I installed Chromium to try my Chromecast Audio, but I guess those only work with Chrome. I usually use a network audio adapter as I've never liked the sound from USB, but after wasting all that time I had other, more pressing issues to correct than looking for the best controller app.
@@BigFarm_ah365 Did you install and modify pulseaudio close to the specifications listed in the link I provided? Which distro are you running? Is it a fresh install or an older install that you've modified over time for other purposes?
@@johnsmithy3790 it's a clean install of Mint cinnamon 19 dual boot with win 10 and that was my first time running it after setting some things up. I was just kicking the tires.
Got a fairly beefy gaming rig. I just turn off all the fans and downclock when listening to music.
Why decreasing the clock?
@@Wassermelonenbaum Decreasing the clock means u can lower the voltage and hence, lower thermals enough to be cooled by just the pump and the radiator.
@@AccuphaseMan No need for undervolting and underclocking if you just use a decent air-cooler and a manual fan control (;
Seriously- the best source for audio is the one you enjoy the most. Which is to say- ultimately one's own ears and preferences should rule the day, even if one could argue for or recognize certain superiorities of one source over another from a more 'objective' perspective. Beyond that, obviously one can research the matter according to others' statements to help influence one's path.
Ive tried cheap amazon cables and expensive audioquest cables, i hear no difference between the two cables.
1.your system is not good enough to reveal the difference. 2,your ears cant hear the difference...either way, its good man, saves a lot of money
@@liran547 my system is pretty resolving and my hearing is good. If you can hear the difference then that's great, i cant. Im not saying anyone is lying just telling my experience.
Neil K Nd your experience aligns up with the theory of how usb cables work
I thought dsd was the same as pwm
Every cable has its day ..!
Oyaide makes wonderful cables for not a lot of money, the $70 USB cable is fantastic, hell, they all are.
$70 for a usb cable? You're getting ripped off buddy
@@MarkDanov No, not really, not at all. I'm sure you believe all cables beyond the absolute cheapest are a ripoff. I don't. This $70 'ripoff' was chosen by an absolute sound guy as the best he had ever heard, compared to any USB cable at any price, i.e. up to about 3k... I'm also pretty damned sure you think all digital cables sound the same. They don't. I have about 8k$ into the system that has that cable, is $70, or say $60 if you subtract the cost of a generic shit USB cable, worth it in order to get/keep super sound VS sound that is audibly not nearly as good? For me it is, for you, well, I guess it all doesn't matter to you.
Before you answer that they all sound the same and they are all a ripoff and snake oil, I will just say this, if you do not have good equipment up to the task, and if you do not have an acoustically treated room that was painstakingly done to a very high level, then yeah, good cables are a waste of money.
I am not advocating for anything cable wise above what matches ones system, so don't think I'm saying everyone should go buy a $600 USB cable or a $3000 one, nope, just ones that match the level of your system.
I wager you haven't done any actual cable testing on your own, thus you speak with great authority, yeah?
@@bc527c the only in depth cable testing I've done is between xlr cables and in conclusion - the better ones for recording were the sturdiest ones, hence why they costed more and lasted longer. The cable question came up multiple times as I was studying sound engineering and never once in 6 years of did I hear any of my professors advocate for a $70 usb cable because that's not how digital signals work anyway. Nome of the sound engineers/operators I've since worked with had had any preference for USB cables (apart from length and sturdyness). If you're not planning on transporting, connecting/disconnecting, tying/untying cables all day then there's frankly no point in spending $70 on a USB cable. Some advice - if you want to achieve optimal sound - get better speakers and a better treated room, then find the best spot for the speakers to actually be placed, the difference in your listening experience will actually be tangible.
@My Name The only reason I would say that maybe one's system isn't good at being revealing of cable differences is because I have two full on systems, and one is vastly more revealing of cable differences. I'm just making shit up here to sound fancy... My B&W speakers are insanely sensitive to everything inn the signal path. My Open Baffle speakers are not nearly as good for revealing such things. The reason is twofold, one, the Open Bafflers tweeter is not as revealing and the system's highs are not dead flat to 20k, there is a fall off. The other is that open baffle speakers want a minimally treated sound stage area because of how they use the walls, thus, you get a very dense acoustic soup that masks high frequencies small variances. The room with the B&W speakers is completely treated, 1 (big) step below a mixing/mastering room, many big steps above a standard room treatment (first reflection, some attempts to trap some bass and maybe some ceiling absorption, my room goes way beyond that).
I don't take anyone's word for anything and I certainly didn't take any salespersons advice for any cable I have talked about on the web.
If you haven't experienced any synergy in your system between parts and think they are all the same, well, good for you, but that has proven to be utter rubbish in my personal experience. I really do not care if you think I have been taken for a ride, because I have ears and a brain and a lifetime of experience making subject evaluation of things in order to improve them, with success. You can not gaslight me.
@My Name Well gosh, you said that my comment of matching the sound of cables to parts of my system was bullshit. I said something about synergy (The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.) and again you said bullshit... fine. Whatever. I find that if I take two different interconnects I have and use 1 for a tube output on a DAC and one for the non tube output on the same DAC, I choose to use the cables as I do because if I swap them the sound is displeasing, mismatched, wrong. But you told me, without hearing the setup, that my conclusion is bullshit. Excellent, I bow to your clairvoyance. You are 50000000000000000 times the man I am. For fucks sake.
I will have to join the vinyl group . For example $1500 worth of turntable vs $1500 worth of CD player / DAC. Using the same music on a CD and a record . There was absolutely no comparison the vinyl was more lifelike by far .
After all are we not trying to achieve life like musical realism ?
I've always wondered about why vinyl was still alive. You found it better, or much better? What about the needle scratching on the record?
@@porkchopspapi5757 A clean record and a clean stylus aka needle should not have that problem.
@@richardf7885 Huh. Im going to have to do some listening.
Don't think there is a Windows version of Audirvana. Not that it matters, I only use Macs.
audirvana.com/buy-windows/
ofc digital cables also matter, we need em. not sure about them quality :) maybe they had faulty ground?
if the cable makes such a difference, couldn't be argued that the usb port does too? what if i have a cheap shitty usb port? am i fucked?
Anyone else using a Chromecast Audio? My aim isn't audiophile quality, I just don't have the money. But I do enjoy music and can't abide bad Hifi. So, my relatively inexpensive hifi will start with a NAD 3240PE amp, KEF Q35 speakers and a Chromecast Audio. I have downloaded my Qobuz purchases into the Qobuz app on my Android phone and "cast" them to the Chromecast Audio whose inbuilt DAC handles the hi-res stream. It sounds pretty good to my tired ears.
USB does CRC checks to make sure the received data is bit perfect from what is being sent you simply cannot hear the difference between cables it's digital end to end
USB ports can be “dirty” and some “better” cables can reduce unwanted “noise”. However, in most real-world cases the amount of “noise” is below audible to start with, unless doing very, very long runs.
@@homeboi808 Yes, but it doesn't matter. USB has 100% quality or no output - you won't have any noise or interference reaching the final IC on the other end of the cable. Buuut, as per my other reply on here, a poor quality cable WILL make a difference to audio output *IF* the remote sound card is USB-powered.
@@olorinhenderson ....from source to dac....the usb interface is at a low voltage, fixed output...thicker usb cable is not going to allow more power through it ....😂😂😂.....in this particular context because its such a small amount to begin with in which standard usb cable is more than adequate size ....but a thicker usb cable may have reduce EMI in the cable itself for such obvious self explanatory reasons ....increased cable size will create greater distance between multiple shields, signal transmission, and power transmission sections of usb cable....greater seperation equals less interaction
@@mikelanden Honey, no. A DAC has an analog output. That means it requires power and pushes out voltage, a sinewave signal, aka music. Whether it's pushing analog output at 0.775v or 1.4v, that's still fluctuating output power. If you have nothing but white noise, then the current required to drive the DAC and push that output voltage will be consistent. But music isn't white noise, nor consistent. It's full of peaks and troughs. That means, the output voltage will fluctuate heavily between 0v and (up to) 1.4v.
I have literally no idea where you're getting the idea of a 'fixed output' from. Voltage is not current.
@@olorinhenderson...covering the full spectrum.. ..devices like computers that output digital and dacs that dont have a volume control which outputs analog ...have a fixed/max output in volts and millamps ( both types of outputs above have their own set of specs in volts,milliamps of course ) ..which is very little voltage and current which when multiplied together equal ...very low wattage...which does not challenge or tax .. a usb cable's standard size, geometry (an example being usb cable connected to digital outputs of computers ) and interconnect cable's standard size ,geometry (an example being interconnect cable attached to analogue output of DACS) ability to transmit such feeble power compared to larger cables...😂😂😂😂
My laptop sounds terrible when the ac is plugged in. It initially caused me to dislike streaming audio and ripped cds. The charging function produuces many db worth of noise
So funny, i totally agree cable (life) matters!
Hi Paul,
Please try an Aurender N10 vs your apple. I'm positive you will be amazed )) Via USB out it will be better,
Via Spdif/AES out it will be magical! (Depending on a given dac best input by design)
A dedicated streamer will beat laptops easily. The advantage of a battery is nothing compared to a dedicated silent audio server. Hearing is believing!
The biggest issue with PCs is that there is a lot of complicated stuff happening at different frequencies and this causes a lot of noise. PC manufacturers face fierce competition and the electrical noise it generates is not something they want to spend a lot time to improve.
Thus, the best way to use PC as a source is to have either internal or external soundcard that has Toslink out. This can be anything because as long as it can push bytes without glitches it doesn't matter how crappy it is. Toslink has fantastic property, because there is no electrical signal involved, no electrical noises are propagated. This isolates various devices that would be potentially generating noise from your analog audio. My PC has Toslink out, my laptop's base has Behringer UCA 202 permanently connected. This all goes to Toslink splitter (to have two copies of the digital signal at the same time). One copy goes to my integrated amplifier that has Toslink in and another copy goes to my DAC and headphone amp. I really like my DAC (Topping D50) and my headphone amp (JDS Labs Atom).
The problem with toslink revolves around the transcription from volts to light waves.
i have not tried good usb cable, but standard usb vs toslink cable sounded the same to me on my system. i have a desktop pc with a motherboard that has optical output option and usb. and my external dac is bel canto.
@My Name yeah cuz all computers are identical.
@My Name no actually you were wrong then as well
@My Name a LOT can go wrong when something happens up to 96,000 times in a second, per channel. Even if the error rate is .001% that would be 96 errors per second
Love this video about mass hallucination... 😂😂😂
3:30 - ha ha ha preaching to the choir (me) Hard for the overthinkers to understand
Foobar2000 also has an exclusive mode/bit-perfect mode but you need to download the wasapi plugin from their site. I also don't particularly like foobar simply due to it being not very user-friendly and having a lacking feature set that even the wide variety of mods for it cannot really amend. But that's beside the point, if he likes the UI and doesn't need library management, etc then he can get the same result as those other programs.
The features are all there. It is not a slick user interface but you can find everything. If you cannot then go to the 'Components' on their website.
@@zogzog1063 Sure, but it's not the same as a full-fledged GUI like Jriver or something. Usually people use it because it's simple.
Like people just using windows explorer and organized folders to select songs, etc.
@@wellivea1 J River,and others for that matter, have far slicker interfaces. After a while it does not seem to matter. My present little adventure is Native DSD over I2S and that is almost painless with Foobar.
@@zogzog1063 Yeah, I use Jriver for that reason. I'm fairly sure Jriver has native DSD support (you have to specify bitstreaming in the options though).
I use download 24 96 Flac files from Hi Rez Audio (German company), its the best format I can find and I can compare those files to Vinyl and CD copies of the same album, and every single one sounds superior.
Many people will argue against 24/96, they can disagree and arm themselves with graphs and science until time stops, to my ears 24 96 sounds better.
I enjoy my music and that's all that counts.
Aren’t CDs best because they are lossless?
Paul: like to see a video on usb cables sometime
My Name they do not change the sound, they just allow you to hear what is really there.
@My Name which is what he was saying
@My Name yeah nevermind, I think I just misread 60zeller's comment and thought he was agreeing with you (which isn't the case apparently). There's no difference between digital cables, I completely agree (unless one is more sturdy and thus more lasting than the other, but even then the difference is pretty much moot in a typical home environment). So yeah, my bad 😅
@My Name oh yeah, agreed completely bro!
Doesn’t your comment about upsampling and not doing it contradict what you’ve said previously about upsampling being a net positive?
I'm a bit confused on how exactly a USB cable would "effect" the sound of audio in any sort. USB doesn't actually carry any type of "audio" signal, just digital bits in the form of ones and zeros. (1001000100010010100110010)
Because the
Most people “digital “ signal is sent over a non -optical cable as analogue square waves susceptible to distortion ! So correct impedance over wide bandwidth, shielding mechanical construction to eliminate microphonic small voltage variances due to different lengths between conductors, etc matter. whether usb or SPDIF , use good cable designed for digital audio !
Research some more grasshopper
Waves are not square, they have latency, times shape and noise. Then of course there’s power induced interference from running the power supply right next to the data cable. Have a look at feedback from separating these two lines in usb cables esp by headphone users. There are loads of reviews reports and research available. Jump in…
@@JingoLoBa57 Correct, and if these parameters aren't met then the signal simply doesn't work. That doesn't actually effect sound though. It simply works or it doesn't. It's the keyboard you're typing on, it either works or doesn't. Upgrading my keyboard cable isn't going to make it any better in typing. It simply works or doesn't. I'm not sure why this concept is so hard to understand. If you wanna have a conversation about build quality, sure I get it. But to claim upgrading something that doesn't actually have anything to do with sound quality will make it sound better baffles me. That's like saying upgrading my car battery will make my car faster. It has nothing do with it's performance, simply provides a signal for what does.
Best move i made was getting a DAC and headphone amp for my PC..
Tube amp?
@@kalijasin yes tube amp
@@Charlie-zj3hw That's what I thought. :D
Did he just say a different digital cable made a huge difference in sound?...
Unless the cable is just faulty and has some kind of signal-loss, which can easily be the case if it was just poorly made, there isn't going to be a difference in sound.
Is and Os. - Just make sure they all make it to the other side. - Sadly, this can't be tested without a very expensive device.
Audioquest Diamond USB cables, $600 and up. There has to be a quality cable that costs much, much less than that.
If you find it, please let me know. I don't want to spend more than $10-$50 on a cable if I don't have too. I heard a lot of good things about Blue Jeans cables. But I don't think they make USB cables?
The ifi usb cables are awesome. Not super cheap but they seriously sound awesome
@@Ustaleone I'd personally suggest the audioquest carbon but if it's to expensive I know the audioquest cinnamon is also really good and although I haven't tried it I'm sure even the forest is fine. I never heard any differences like Paul is talking about but I have had issues fixed by using good cables. I haven't tried everything either but out of the stuff I have I always ended up preferring audioquest, but your just going to have to try stuff out and see what works for you.
@My Name Good cables are vital for transmitting digital sound signals. You don't need to buy the most expensive you find, but the cheapest ones will be worse at transmitting the signals correctly to the DAC. The timing of the data is vital, and that is slightly off if the cable is of bad quality. But if you don't believe that cables work it is fine with me. But you must expect to get the answer you don't like. You are in a forum where most people are above average interested in audio gear. So if you tell that a good cable don't work, you will hear that that is a pure false statement. That is obvious, because we have had the experience of changing cables, and most of the time the sound changes quite drastically.
@My Name "and for that matter neither will RCA patch cords or speaker wires."
When I changed my speaker cables from Pro Audio Speaker Cable:
www.jaycar.com.au/pro-audio-speaker-cable-2-core-sold-per-metre/p/WB1754
to Jumbo OFC Fig.8 Speaker Cable:
www.jaycar.com.au/jumbo-ofc-fig-8-speaker-cable-sold-per-metre/p/WB1732
not only did I notice the difference in the bass, so did the missus. She asked me how come the sound coming from the speakers changed. The cable is hidden behind furniture. The differences (resistance and inductance) are also quite measurable.
As for "digital sound" it's not sound until the digital signal between ears and brain are interpreted by the mind.
One of those videos when the voice in your head is saying, "i love you Paul, but no dear man, just no". Ref. Usb cables
But he's kinda right though. The digital signal is solid, and either works 100% flawlessly or not at all.
But power delivery, no. He's obviously running a DAC or sound card on the other end, and that going to require power to drive the output analog signal. A cheap, thin aluminium wire is going to be terribly high resistance compared to a thick copper wire.
#usbcablesmatter
A good old fashioned CD player.
Absolutely!
Totally agree
Inb4 he was using the laptop with the charger plugged in. It is then powered by the wall like a desktop anyways lul
Analog cables matter. USB is digital. And it uses error correction.
Use WASAPI for Windows
I guess I was surprised by your answer? Live music will always be your best source.. in my opinion!
The question in context is about recorded music.
H Cheu In that case vinyl👍
@@300zzipp wav imo. It's uncoloured and true to the source
Have you attended a concert at the Pontiac Silverdome- or Cobo Hall? you might as well be listening in a trash can, plus there is at home at most 2-3 drunks singing the lyrics near you.
A USB cable transfers data (zeros and ones) and as long as it complies with the USB standard, the data sent are the data that arrives in the other end. You can send a word document, your tax return, JPEG or music, and either way, it's the same thing...data in and data out will be identical. Anyone who claims that the "quality" of a USB cable makes an audible difference aren't really credible. If a data cable does not transfer data reliably you will get data errors and those are usually distinct in their own way through sound dropping out, DC jumps/spikes and such. The audio fidelity deterioration of data errors is quite different than what analog circuitry does to music. More likely is that someone announced to everyone else that "now it sounds much better" and everyone else got in a psychological mode of wanting to appear equally able to hear the improvement. I've seen this a lot in listening tests. It can be a bit embarrassing in these audiophile sessions to admit you can't hear something and you convince yourself there is a difference. Paying extra for a USB cable is justified only by the looks of the cable. I like heavy-looking premium cables myself but for USB, don't fool yourself, the sound of a cheap cable will be identical as long as it complies with the USB standard and is not broken.
Also power going down that cable. Try a few out, most have 30 or 60 day return policies.
@@60zeller Yes, that's true and If your DAC is powered through the 5V coming through the USB cable, theoretically that 5V could vary in quality depending on the cable e.g. higher resistance would create more digital ripple and less shielding would allow more EMI noise. Theoretically, the output stage of a DAC could be impacted by that but I believe the setup Paul was talking about had a powered DAC where the 5V USB voltage is not being used to drive the analog circuitry. For digital music I worry more about how the digital signal is being processed e.g. attenuation causing loss of bit resolution, poor sample rate conversion and jitter...besides of course performance of speakers, room acoustics and the amp.
My Name Agree, it’s not credible when someone says the depth, openness, details or such somewhat subjective audio metrics are affected by a USB cable. Obviously cable makers will tell you otherwise 🤔
My Name There is too much snake oil talk in the audiophile industry and some times Paul is also part of it like in this video. Still overall he is ok.
@My Name I don't think he's ever been 'on the rails'! So little scientific method in the videos I've seen. When changing that USB cable, he also rebooted the system. He cannot show that it was the cable alone that made a difference. I'm sure that there WAS some change in the sound, but there's no proof it was the cable swap that caused it.
May be the 'junk in the middle' was responsible!
Well, here’s the thing, computers spew noise and interference that get into your dac. For this reason I use a dedicated streamer. It’s based on the Raspberry Pi and it’s made by Pro-ject. Link below. It costs $850 which isn’t cheap. Audioquest makes a DAC called The Dragonfly Red. It has a function that cleans up the computer noise before piping the signal to its DAC. Beside spewing noise, computers don’t usually have good DACs if you’re looking for audiophile sound. There are quite a few products that offer to clean up computer signals. This is a start. Cheers!
Pro-ject Stream Box S2:
www.project-audio.com/en/product/stream-box-s2-ultra/
Audioquest Dragonfly Red:
www.audioquest.com/dacs/dragonfly/dragonfly-red
Some years ago I purchased a Toshiba laptop for the specific purpose of playing music through my hi-fi. The sound from the lappie was atrocious. A Soundblaster DAC fixed the sound quality problem, though that was eventually replaced by an ASUS DAC that was better sonically than the Soundblaster. When that died, I replaced it with a Schiit Fulla DAC and that works extremely well and was very reasonably priced. Playing FLACs using the Schiit is indistinguishable from playing the source CDs.
Most sound cards have TOSLINK output. This is a pure digital output, so no analog conversion happens. The sound card's driver interfaces with the audio subsystem of the operating system, receives the signal and converts it to light.
There is, of course, a clock-source involved - on the audio program, the driver, and the sound card. A clock source can be a source of minor jitter. But a clock source is present on _every_ computerised device, whether it be a computer or smartphone or streamer or DAC.
@@olorinhenderson Thanks for your comment. I'm aware of clock issues, indeed. It's more than i can keep up with so I basically follow the recommendations of audioquest. Steve Silberman and Garth Powell specifically. They are on youtube and various podcasts and I latched on to their train a while ago! I should have prefaced my comment with "as I understand it."
@My Name Do you think the quality computer DACs is a more legitimate concern?
@My Name CPUs, RAM, I/O IECs etc suffer from latency issues and jitter if they are busy doing something else. A Windows PC with 40 CPU cores and 128GB RAM is useless if it's busy processing other tasks. So a smaller, lower spec device with a cut-down OS and minimal services might actually deliver audio output with less jitter and more consistency.
15IPS Half Track Reel to Reel Analog Tape playing a high quality analog master. No other medium even comes close.
@@digogalvaos The question was what is the best source for audio, which implies quality not longevity of the medium. Even though analog tape can and will eventually wear out, you can get 100's of satisfying plays before it becomes unlistenable. I thought I had heard ultra HiFi from super expensive digital and vinyl playback, but it wasn't until I heard playback from a 15IPS half track master of Dark Side of the Moon that set the record straight on what medium was the absolute king of audio quality. Too bad I can't afford it!
@@bentonpix Actually, unless you are playing the original master, the best (which for me means the most accurate) source is a high quality hi-res digital copy made using excellent converters. A much more reliable source, too. You might like your tape copy (which I'm sure sounded very nice indeed), but please don't tell me it's more accurate than a digital copy.
If you prefer that sound of the tape playback, that's perfectly fine. I suspect the required end result in this case is musical enjoyment, rather than analysis.
If it's 15ips 1/4" tape, then that is the same as the actually studio master. There would be some degradation with each generation, but if it was a second generation tape you probably wouldn't notice and the audio quality would be WAY closer than a good 24/96 digital source.
@@chipsnmydip I think we can agree that this would NOT be the original master, so it's already suffered one generation loss at least. A digital copy of that will be more accurate than any analog copy you could make. You might prefer the sound of the tape copy, but "closer."..definitely not.
@@randszzob8590 I'm just going by what has sounded the best in my experience after many years of listening to many ultra expensive systems, unfortunately not my own, I really don't care what's behind the curtain. Maybe the digital recordings others have played to show off their systems just weren't as good as they could have been. But to date the best reproduced sound I have heard was from a tape source.
Thank you for this scientifically convincing explanation Paul ;)
Paul "USB cables make a difference". Me "Not if your power cables to short!" but yeah the difference it made when i fixed that issue was....werid, good werid but werid didnt expect that.
I'd say natural audio is the best!! Meaning unrecorded live audio from an acoustic source. Unaltered sound.
I have to agree but how often can you fit even a Jazz band into your listening space 🤔
Richard F - The best re-created audio source?!?!? Temp, humidity and other variables can alter how we hear live instruments. When we start to add speakers, amplifiers and mixers into the equation it all becomes subjective to the listener.
Richard F I agree with you also. I think it was a great question as I love learning as much as I can about sound. 🙂
A lot depends on the venue. I attended a concert once where the hall had the acoustics of an inverted bath tub.
In theory you are correct, but not only do you have to consider the quality of the venue, but also you have to consider the quality of the artist and the quality of the audience you are sitting with. If you are listening to some cover band, they obviously aren't as good as the original artist. And even if you are listening to the original artist, they might not be in top form this particular time, or the sound might not be loud enough to discourage the inane conversations of people around you. That happened to me at a Van Morrison concert. It just wasn't loud enough, so a lot of people kept talking and only stopped to listen when they heard something they liked. So annoying. Even at the symphony orchestra I once had the great misfortune of sitting near some guy with a horrible case of gas. Your wonderful night out is easily ruined by others in the audience.
Problem with laptops is the shit dac/amp. I have a 2018 dell 7000. Pretty pricy laptop, but the noise floor is crazy high and the dac sucks so much. My ipod touch from 2008 has a better dac. My recommendation would be to buy an external dac/amp if you can afford it. I have my eye on one and am saving up a few bucks for something under 100.
Qobuz rules the audiophile universe
USB Audio Class 2 > AUX (3.5mm)
Paul, he said he uses a cheap i3 laptop straight into a headphone amp. There's no mention of an external dac in his letter. Don't we really need to know more about his setup? Secondly, your comment about USB cables is concerning. That indicates insufficient engineering in your DAC. It is a digital data stream. Your dac has an internal clock. It is very unlikely that if there is a difference in sound quality it is anything other than due to insufficient isolation of noise being transmitted along the USB bus. Any cheap cable should be indistinguishable from an expensive audiophile one, IF the digital to analog converter is properly engineered.
People who says cables don't matter most likely doesn't have a system good, or revealing enough to notice it.
So, if your philosophy/scientific dogma doesn't actually match what really happens (universal public perception of a change in sound when the cables were swapped out) what do you do? Obviously, you deny reality! (Because your philosophy/scientific dogma simply can't be wrong... so reality must be.)
For everyone getting upset about the cable topic, I'm guessing the culprit here was the power delivered to the DAC via the cheap USB cable, not the actual digital audio transmission.
Why? Digital signal transmission over USB has cyclic redundancy checks built-in which ensure data/signals leaving one port arrive exactly the same on the other end (this ensures data integrity).
I'm a firm believer that good cables - meaning not your low-end generic china-made product, but instead something one or two price brackets above that from a reputable brand (no need to go into the astronomical price bracket here i.m.o) - really do make a difference for *power delivery* and *analog* audio signal transport.
But if we're solely talking about a cable's effect on *digital* audio transmission, no other signals and/or power transported over the cable, I do not believe they make a difference and have never heard a difference myself.
Zeros and Ones will always be Zeros and Ones, the same is not true for:
a.) an *analog* audio signal => measured in infinitesimally small voltage differences and hence susceptible to interference or
b.) *power* being delivered over cable => which needs to be clean and stable.
So, if you have a USB cable in your system that does anything else than *digital* audio signal transmission, do yourself and your ears a favor and invest in a decent-quality cable. It's a shame to risk the sound of a four- or even five-digit audio system just to save $30-$100 on a cable.
@Paul, would love your opinion on this!
Better USB cable reduce the ammount of jitter that comes into the DAC. It makes the life of that DAC a lot easier.
@My Name Ok. So long as it's a wire, then it's good enough. That's what you are saying?
@My Name Streams that goes through an USB cable are not created equal. Some of the stream formats can be lossy which may make the sound have jitter in the final output. Even if you have a cable that follows the USB 2.0 standard.
@@digogalvaos Not every audio transmission is lossless. Read yourself up buddy. In normal networking you don't lose data, but you might have variable speed transmission. And there is error correction. But when playing back video and audio over hdmi or audio over usb, you don't have time to wait for lost packages. It's completely another way.
@@digogalvaos Didn't you watch the video and listen to what Paul from PS audio just said? I don't think so.
@@digogalvaos Yes, but it's easy to test out for yourself. Take a standard USB cable. Listen . Swap the cable out with a high end shielded cable. Listen. Did you hear a difference? You can record both and compare waveforms. Are they completely equal?
Qobuz/Audirvana 🤙🏻
I use foobar 2000 and the asio 4 oll extension sound very good
Install foo-dsd-asio into fubar. Install VB-audio ASIO bridge if you want to use players besides Foobar2000. Use foo-dsd-asio to convert your 44.1k 24 bit stream into dsd and feed your DAC DSD.... This will give you the best version of any source you use, be it Tidal, Foobar2000, JRiver, PLEX, Qobar.... DSD capable DAC (headphone amp) is required, so is some work getting it all to work happily.
@bvocal: You have no clue what you are talking about, and DSD has been an obsolete format for over 2 decades.
I’m wanting Paul to review MQA and give us the low down on it
I like my iPad. Cd players are not good for me as i like listen to so many different artists at the same time
@PS Audio Paul, I love your videos, but USB cables carry a digital signal. Nothing but zeros and ones. A more expensive cable is not going to make those zeros and ones any different, as in bigger or smaller. As long as you have a decent, shielded cable and your stream is uninterrupted, you're good. You might convince me that one RCA cable or speaker cable is better than another at carrying an analog signal, but that is a different matter all together.
@My Name Do and quick search of Google Images for the term "usb cable shielding" and you can see plenty of them with foil or braid shielding. Some even have iron cores near the ends.
@My Name Of course all USB cables should theoretically "sound" the same. However, some standards need to be met. If a cable has low-resistance and can pass the current required (for a powered DAC), is shielded (just in case), and has ferrite beads (just in case as well) it will be the best-sounding cable you've ever heard. I'll take the cheapest cable I can find that meets those requirements. The trouble is, many of the cheap (and not-so-cheap) products do not. I have been known to buy two cables, one to cut up and the other to use if it proves of good enough quality!
My Name if additional time is needed for resending data, it is possible that a time shift will occur, which can be heard. other than that I agree.
My Name agreed, there would need to be something seriously wrong with the cable, interface, or some sort of system bottleneck.
@My Name Care to dish the dirt on which cable that was? :-)
Best source would be live music. Next would be a direct feed from the mixing board. Third best would be a direct to disc LP cut from the mixing board. Then after that maybe a good digital recording from the mixing board. My direct to disc LPs are stunningly good.
I am Audirvana.
I'd like to see proof that an expensive USB cable makes a difference. I study embedded systems and I (highly) doubt a digital signal will be affected by the "quality" of the cable unless by quality you mean which USB standard it supports.
Of course, I'd like to be proven wrong and learn something from this.
You'd have to try it.
@@chipsnmydip.... I won't buy a €100+ USB cable until I see proof it matters. Cannot imagine that the integrity of the data is affected by a better cable. Power delivery, yes probably, but then mainly for longer cables.
@My Name when would we be interested? I'd say when they show a frequency response graph for two different cables. And maybe do this a couple times
Can you borrow one?
@@chipsnmydip sadly I don't know anyone that would pay so much for a USB cable. I think everyone in my friend group would consider it a waste of money and I also don't have speakers, dac, amp and measurement equipment
best source ? the Beatles. oh, someone brought up cables... IF a standard ' old style' 75 ohm single wire plug can handle multi audio chan., high def video and cables' 100 channels, WHY is it necessary to take that single wire signal and use mini pin ( expensive) HDMI cables ?
Beatles? The original boy band. The fab four. She loves you yeah yeah yeah yeahhhh.
My phone does a better job than my 2008 laptop.
Daniel Stefanov I think that has to do with the output stage of the DAC (or lack of), as well as the headphone amp built into both devices that makes this happen. I’m sure that if the Phone was connected via USB to a good DAC and amp that that would be miles better than the line out of the phone or the iPod. iPods are great though! They were built for line out, most phones are built for Bluetooth headphones lol.
I’m getting to point where I can’t stand talking audio. “CD is perfect”. Me: “Than why has it been remastered five times, and sounds better every time?”. “Because now its better than perfect”. I literally just listen to UA-cam and spend my money on MoFi vinyl.