@devinplombier ha ha ha!
Longer is better?
No “the Office” jokes here! Ok literally had a retailer tell me I should want a longer digital cable (USB to be specific) vs a shorter one. That even if you had to coil the cable it would provide better sound. A shorter cable worsens the sound, per this guy. So . . . Never heard anything close to this anywhere. Goes against any understanding of physics or general audiophile learning I’ve accumulated. What say you? Is this guy a sleezball salesman (because we all know longer cables cost more!) or am I missing some sort of mystic voodoo?
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@mitch2 is correct on all counts. The dude was confused. His knowledge was referring to S/PDIF and he incorrectly protected it into all digital cables. |
Both AI, @mitch2, and those who agree with them are correct. Anyone who remains skeptical or chooses not to believe this can conduct the experiments themselves. Below is my actual experience. I had an SMSL SU-1 DAC, which accepts digital input via USB, Toslink, and RCA (coaxial S/PDIF). When I used a non-75-ohm RCA cable, the sound became distorted, paused intermittently, and suffered from dropouts. After switching to a true 75-ohm RCA cable, even one as short as 3 feet, the sound was completely stable—on par with USB. This demonstrates that the primary issue is impedance mismatch, to which the SMSL SU-1 is particularly sensitive. When the cable and connectors are properly impedance-matched, signal reflections do not appear to be an issue even with varying cable lengths. I then tested a couple of USB (Type-A to Type-C) cables ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet. In all cases, the sound remained stable, and the sound quality did not vary with cable length. |
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