Can USB Cables Really Change the Sound of PC Audio!? Part 2

【Audio USB Cable Comparison】
1｜3｜4｜WireWorld Chroma｜ELECOM｜6 Models｜SUPRA

The following are listed in order of my personal sound quality rating.

(1) Arvel (iBuffalo) AU2-SF10BK 1m

Among the seven USB cables, this is the one with a clearly different tonal balance — it is the only cable that produces a bass-heavy character. On the other hand, sharpness of attack, brightness in the upper frequencies, and a sense of expansive resonance are not particularly noticeable. Stereo imaging is good. The perceived S/N is excellent, with no sense of noise whatsoever. It has a proper, honest way of presenting sound, and depth of image is also present. The timbre carries a soft, yielding nuance reminiscent of rubber-type Hi-Fi insulators such as Hanenite, and the overall tone is on the dark side. Colouration is on the stronger end. It is a quiet, unassuming sound, but objectively speaking it may well be the highest-quality performer among all eight cables in this test. Possibly because the treble does not spread out, the volume seems ever so slightly lower compared to the other cables.

(2) ELECOM USB2-X03BK 30cm

The contents look like this. There were some discussions online suggesting that thinner and more flexible USB cables are preferable, so I picked this one up to try — effectively free, exchanged for a coupon from Yamada Denki’s extended warranty scheme. At 30cm, it is the shortest cable in this test. I would have preferred white, but only black was available in stock. The connectors are gold-plated and, despite the slim profile, it has double shielding. Sound quality is crisp and refreshing, centred on the upper midrange, with an elegant character — like the effervescence of sparkling wine. This is the cable with the least colouration of the lot. Bass weight is not particularly abundant, but noise is low across the full range and it can genuinely be called high quality. That said, when it comes to ultra-slim USB cables, the best-sounding one is apparently not the ELECOM USB2 but the Arvel USB Slim Cable AUS05WH/AUS05BK, so I plan to try that at a later date. The successor model to the ELECOM is the U2C-AP-BX.

(3) Trends Audio UD-10.1 Bundled Cable 1m

The bundled cable that came with the Trends Audio DAC/D-A converter. With bundled accessories, it is generally assumed that the manufacturer cuts costs and throws in the cheapest option available — yet this one is printed with the word “Trends“, for what that is worth. Whether that means the sound quality has actually been considered is another matter entirely. Among all seven cables, this one has the tightest, most dense image with a strong sense of presence. It is a little rough around the edges and slightly blunt, but it is a clear and easy-to-understand sound. At this level of performance, I think it is fair to say it does not spoil the UD-10.1’s sound too badly.

(4) Semi-Transparent Blue USB Cable 50cm

Manufacturer unknown. Most likely purchased at LAOX around 1999–2000, and probably a product from a Japanese supplier. It may even be a USB 1.1-era item rather than USB 2.0. It is semi-transparent, and you can see the braided shield through the outer jacket. The printing reads something like “AWM” followed by text too small to make out. Contrary to what its cheap appearance and blue sheath would suggest, the sound is bright and coloured in a way that calls to mind silver conductor cables, and music comes through with a lively, expressive character. The treble resonance and sense of spaciousness are its defining traits, yet any sense of harsh distortion is, curiously, entirely absent. In terms of sound quality, transparency is a step behind the ELECOM USB2, and compared to the Arvel AU2-SF10BK the bass is weaker and the image a touch limp — which could be seen as a weakness… though depending on one’s preferences, that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

(5) Light Blue PC USB Cable 50cm

This one is also most likely from a domestic supplier, purchased at a consumer electronics retailer — though I can no longer remember which shop. It is printed with: AWM E101344 STYLE 20276 VE-1 80℃ 30V SPACE SHUTTLE. The sound quality is quite close to the see-through blue cable above, but this one has tighter imaging and greater transparency in the soundstage. On the other hand, there is a slightly distorted quality that is not present in (4), which is a drawback.

These first five cables were all perfectly usable USB cables from a sound quality standpoint.

(6) SUPERPRO DAC707 Bundled USB Cable 1m

The bundled cable from a rather obscure Chinese-made DAC called the SUPERPRO DAC707. That said, it was a USB DAC made in the early days of the technology, so it was quite an expensive purchase at the time (I imported it personally from a US audio shop). The bundled USB cable is also Chinese-made and see-through, so the innards are visible. It is quite thick. The shielding is most likely tin-plated, though it looks for all the world like a silver-plated braided shield — flashy appearance notwithstanding, the sound is quite dreadful: noisy somehow, confused, and impossible to follow. Transparency was so poor and the overall impression so unpleasant that I removed it almost immediately.

(7) The USB Cable I Had Been Using for No Particular Reason 50cm

This is also most likely from a Japanese supplier. The connector is marked “HONDA”, though it does not appear to have any connection to the car manufacturer. The sound quality is not particularly good. I had been using it for PC audio without giving it a second thought, which was rather foolish of me. Not only does the image float upward, the sound is noisy, gritty, and feels muddy. It seems this cable was one of the contributing factors behind the lingering sense that my PC audio setup was never quite sounding its best.

(8) HP Photosmart C4175 Bundled USB Cable 2m

The bundled cable from the Hewlett-Packard printer HP Photosmart C4175. The connectors carry the HP logo. The conductor sheath is on the slender side. Sound quality is the worst of this test — simply put, it is distorted throughout. The 2m length may be having a detrimental effect, but this cable is really not something one could use for audio. I realise that writing such things is rather unfair on Hewlett-Packard, who never designed it for audio use in the first place. Note: for what it is worth, I have been a long-time user of HP printers, and as of 2017 I am on my third generation — the HP ENVY 4500.

～ Summary ～ 

Above I have listed the cables in order of perceived sound quality. The results are, as ever, thoroughly subjective. Reading through the impressions, it may seem as though the differences are enormous — but these are, in the end, only subtle differences in nuance. The differences are not as clear-cut as those produced by speaker cables or RCA cables carrying analogue signals, though they are perhaps just about impossible to ignore for the dedicated enthusiast. In a confined listening environment such as a desktop PC audio setup, accessory-driven changes in sound quality are simply not as critical as they would be in a full-scale pure audio system aimed at life-size acoustics. Beyond that, the digital data itself never changes with a USB cable, so if there is any sonic difference, then — as with HDMI cables — the causes must lie elsewhere: perhaps vibration travelling through the conductor and making its way, however faintly, to the speakers; or perhaps the influence of jitter and ground noise transmitted from the PC alongside the signal… and so on. In truth, I cannot give a definitive answer at this point, so please bear with me as always.

The Arvel AU2SF10B with its bass-forward, composed, and richly coloured sound; the ELECOM USB2 with its crisp, refreshing character and minimal colouration; and the see-through blue cable, a step behind the USB2 yet musically expressive and engaging — I found myself torn between these three, but in the end the ELECOM USB2 and the iBUFFALO AU2SF10-BK pull just slightly ahead. For those who prioritise treble, I would personally recommend the ELECOM Ultra-Slim USB Cable A-B 0.3m Black USB2-X03BK; for those who prioritise bass, the Arvel (iBuffalo) AU2-SF10. That said, audio cables tend to be better both sonically and aesthetically when kept short — and on that note, the sheer practicality of running a clean 30cm connection through the air between a DAC and a laptop is rather appealing. In the end, I settled on the ELECOM ultra-slim USB2 as my final choice for now. That said, depending on how the tonal balance develops going forward, I may well switch to the Arvel (iBuffalo) AU2-SF10BK — that part is entirely down to mood.

For reference, comparing stiffness by feel: Stiff: 5 > 6 > 4 > 3 > 1 > 7 > 8 : Flexible. Conductor sheath diameter: Thick: 5 & 7 & 8 > 2 & 4 & 6 > 1 > 8 > 2 : Thin. Interestingly, there does not appear to be much correlation with the sound quality impressions, though ultra-slim types do seem to offer some sort of advantage. I plan to test the Arvel (iBuffalo) USB Slim Cable — said to outperform the ELECOM USB2 — once I get hold of one. As for the BELKIN U133-06-GLD, which enjoys the highest praise in the enthusiast community, I am not yet sure what to do about that.

Another well-known USB cable with high-quality audio in mind is the EDIROL CUSB-M1. The interesting thing is that it is manufactured and sold not by an audio company but by Roland, a musical instrument maker. It looks entirely unremarkable as a USB cable goes, but it appears to incorporate sound-quality measures that rival those of the Belkin cable.

The Edirol High Quality Cable Series consists of USB and FireWire cables used to connect audio interfaces and MIDI interfaces. These cables deliver the high reliability demanded in music production environments, including enhanced audio quality and stable MIDI data transfer.

■Reliable Double-Shield / Twisted-Pair Construction

Every cable in the High Quality Cable Series features a thoroughly high-fidelity design. A double-shield construction is employed, with an aluminium shield applied inside a high-density copper braided shield. This minimises sound quality degradation caused by transmission errors resulting from both low-frequency and high-frequency noise.
Furthermore, the twisted-pair construction, in which two conductors are twisted together, causes magnetic flux to cancel out and reduces external noise.

■99.996% Purity OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) Conductors for Reduced Transmission Loss

The conductors use 99.996% purity OFC (Oxygen Free Copper), which also possesses excellent characteristics for digital signal transmission. This suppresses the generation of signal distortion and makes it possible to reduce transmission loss to an absolute minimum.

■Low-Resistance 24-Carat Gold-Plated Pins

The connectors employ 24-carat gold-plated pins, which resist corrosion and keep contact resistance low. The use of gold-plated pins — as found in high-end audio cables — enables high-speed data transfer to be carried out with greater fidelity.

■Pb & Cd-Free Safe Insulation

In order to reduce environmental impact, the cable uses insulation free of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). Furthermore, lead-free eco-solder is used throughout, making this a cable that can be used with complete peace of mind, containing none of the environmentally harmful substances lead or cadmium.

As you can see, the EDIROL CUSB-M1 has specifications broadly similar to those of the Belkin. The OFC (high-purity oxygen-free copper) conductor is the kind of detail that will appeal to the audiophile instinct. Even so, it is priced a touch on the high side for a USB cable, which makes it a slightly difficult decision.

【Audio USB Cable Comparison】
1｜3｜4｜WireWorld Chroma｜ELECOM｜6 Models｜SUPRA