2. digital
  3. 184276-1294

Can This Really Matter?

I hear it again and again, everything matters in the digital chain. So I recently unboxed my new Bryston BDP 3 renderer and it’s connected to my Ayre QB9 Twenty USB DAC. I have a SSD inside a generic enclosure (with a fan) that will power up via bus. I have a twenty cent USB cable running from the SSD to the Bryston. So here’s the question, does the enclosure matter and does the cheap USB running between between the SSD and into the Bryston really matter? If so, it wouldn’t seem practical to spend much money on upgrading these accessories. And if so, what do you suggest?

goofyfoot

Showing 2 responses by sagur80

sagur80
25 posts
 

Cables matter more than one would ever expect or in many cases, hope, as a means to save on unnecessary expenditure. When in reality, a well designed cable tested with good rapport results with other components in the chain , can in fact make a appreciable jump in sound quality.

For me it was the Synergistic Research Atmosphere SX USB cable. Going from a Better Cables Blue Truth to the SR Atmos SX proved to be a genuine night and day difference in sound. Of course the price difference between the $200 Blue Truth and the $1k SR Atmos is substantial. Yet, worth every penny in my opinion given the immediate and appreciable increase in all aspects of SQ. I had demoed this cable with the WW Plat 8 & the SR Atmos just seems leagues ahead.

sagur80
25 posts
 

@goofyfoot Alas, the good ole fashioned way of usb port on pc straight to dac. Now, when using the cheaper Better Cables Blue Truth, all of the existing arguments about the limitations of the usb port did seem accurate. Then , after introducing the SR Atmos SX usb cable, it seemed like the musical performers were quite literally playing live within the speakers & not a rendered performance like before. Along with that in mind, in the initial stages of owning the SR Atmos SX usb cable, there was a habit of checking volume levels to ensure they had not changed. When in actual fact they had not & the same resolution familiar at higher volume was now present at lower levels. Suffice to say late night listening sessions take on a whole different meaning , becoming almost magical, with the addition of this usb cable. 

Btw, I demoed several usb cables from the Cable Company through their rental program. The SR Atmos SX was unavailable, so the Foundation Series X usb cable took it's place. This $600 usb cable was my pick vs the $1k + Kimber Cu , the $1195 Audience Studio One, $800 WW Plat 8 & $700 Cardus usb cable.. The SR Foundation X usb won the day. While sharing the same company sound print, the Atmos SX seems to bring better detail , separation, realism and event/location ambiance more into play than it's sibling. 

Clearly for me, the usb cable has leapfrogged to the very top in audio cable hierarchy.

 

More to discover