oscroft
Prominent Member
I was drawn to a YT video the other day, comparing an expensive iFi USB cable to a decent quality computer USB cable. I'd normally dismiss any claimed outcomes, but the guy reckoned he got a big improvement that he could identify 100% in 16 blind tests. I can't do blind testing, because I don't have anyone daft enough to waste their time humoring me. And A/B testing is problematic when you have to wait for cables to be swapped. But this YT person reckoned his CD player sounded a lot better than the same music streamed via standard USB to his DAC - and that with the iFi USB cable, streaming sounded better. So is it worth doing A/B tests between my CD and streaming using one cable, then repeat with another cable?
I connected my Audiolab 8000CD via coax spdif to my M-DAC. My Mac Mini is already connected to the same DAC via USB. I made a FLAC rip of a good CD, got the sound levels the same, and I could swap sources quickly on the DAC. I tried three USB cables... I have a cheap one that had previously been giving me occasional dropouts (which sounded like clicks), a better made computer one (with ferrite rings), and an Oyaide "digital audio" one that retails for ~£40 (I got it for £15 on eBay, and thought that was a price worth paying just to be able to compare).
The differences? None whatsoever. Switching between CD/spdif and computer/USB, it sounded identical - and the same with each of the three cables.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone is interested, but I just thought I'd share my lockdown boredom.
I connected my Audiolab 8000CD via coax spdif to my M-DAC. My Mac Mini is already connected to the same DAC via USB. I made a FLAC rip of a good CD, got the sound levels the same, and I could swap sources quickly on the DAC. I tried three USB cables... I have a cheap one that had previously been giving me occasional dropouts (which sounded like clicks), a better made computer one (with ferrite rings), and an Oyaide "digital audio" one that retails for ~£40 (I got it for £15 on eBay, and thought that was a price worth paying just to be able to compare).
The differences? None whatsoever. Switching between CD/spdif and computer/USB, it sounded identical - and the same with each of the three cables.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone is interested, but I just thought I'd share my lockdown boredom.
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