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!
Thank you. I won't take delivery until the 26th. The Shunyata is over what I'd like to spend, but I'm sure it's a fantastic cable. I already downloaded the Sense app to get familiar with it, but have to wait to the Pulsar arrives. @signaforce sorry for hijacking your thread, but it did start with my Audience F/R USB. |
@danmar123 No problem whatsoever. Glad it was able for help others also! |
@signaforce I also want to apologize for taking a bit of a detour away from your questions about USB cables. So getting back on task, I have a few comments about USB options. Several years ago, I did a shoot-out by borrowing several USB cables from the Cable Company lending library. I was surprised at the extent to which each cable sounded different. I listened to cables from Audience, Cardas, Shunyata, Stealth, and a few others. I thought the Cardas USB was very smooth and pleasant, but it hid important detail and softened the sound too much for me. My favorite cables boiled down to Audience, Stealth, and Shunyata. I ended up buying the Shunyata Alpha (model prior to the current Alpha-X) because it had some of the smoothness of the Cardas while retaining detail without sibilance or harshness. You may want to see if you can find a used Shunyata Alpha USB (the original version). The current Alpha-X would probably be too expensive, even used, |
@axeis1 on what component? |
