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USB cable recommendations

I recently purchased the Bricasti M3 for my system & am looking to upgrade my A-B USB cable. I currently have 2 USB cables that I used with my prior DAC (Qutest), a Cardas Clear that I preferred with my Qutest & an XLO ultra plus that I far prefer with my M3. It is OCC copper & actually sounds very good, but wondering if I can do better. 
My target price is around $500 used, certainly willing to do less & willing to do more for the ’right’ cable. I am looking for a cable that is absolutely neutral.
I actually tried to buy an AQ diamond used yesterday, but was 2 hours late. Not sure if it was the right choice, but it was a great price & could resell if not right.

My virtual system is available, but my digital side is: Aurender N150 > XLO ultra+ > Bricasti M3 > Zavfino Arcadia > PSAudio BHK w/tele medical NOS tubes > Zavfino Fusion mk2 > SimAudio Moon 330A > Transparent + gen 5 > KEF Reference 3’s.

Please let me know your thoughts and/or recommendations. Thanks!

signaforce
danmar123's avatar
danmar123
627 posts
 

I took delivery of an Front row USB Thursday & XLRs today. Immediately the USB was a good change over the Excalibur Supra, so I let it burn in over night & enjoyed a full day tweaking my Wiim Ultra & my Altec 311/60s.(Attenuator) About an hour after delivery the XLRs went into the system as they settled in, the base became cleaner & more prominent. The mids now jump out at me & are more focused. I let them play for another 4 hrs & had to leave. I need another set @ 1.5M to reach my pre-amp. So I'll pull the trigger maybe tomorrow.

I'm HAPPY with the Wiim, so I decided to spend the funds on cables instead of a hard to find (used) aurender N200. Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll take delivery of the missing link.

foggyus91's avatar
foggyus91
612 posts
 

@danmar123 Not real hard to upgrade from the Supra Excalibur. 

danmar123's avatar
danmar123
627 posts
 

@foggyus91 The Excalibur isn’t a bad cable. Even the designer of my DAC said they were a good cable. Not in the same league as Audience tho. 

foggyus91's avatar
foggyus91
612 posts
 

@danmar123 Well there you have it....pray tell who's the DAC mfr ? Every Supra cable I have tried has been sold, sent back or used for my garage system. 

fire_water's avatar
fire_water
238 posts
 

@danmar123 it's all system dependent and subjective at the same time,  but cables do make a difference.  The Audience FrontRow USB didn't gell with my Innuos Pulsar and Accuphase DC-37 so after 200 hrs I decided to return it.  The Audience XLR'S do look nice,  especially the FrontRow Reserve but I'm hesitant to experiment with Audience now. I much prefer the sound of Anzus's signature.  

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