What USB cable to get?

calvinandhobbes, have had the same Pangea for years now and just received a DH Labs Mirage USB cable. Didn't really know what to expect with a digital cable upgrade (just ones and zeros and all that). The difference is startling and it does make the Pangea sound harsh. This is between my N100h and a Qutest. Got it on sale for $150 this week. Just wow, don't understand how, but it sounds much better.

I think I'm finally starting to understand what real analog sounds like. 

@treynolds155

Congratulations. Yes, makes liitle sense, but it can make a big difference. My first huge cable difference between transport and DAC some 35 years ago. I was convinced it could not possibly make a difference. It was as if someone took the components out and replaced them with ones twice as good. My jaw dropped. Usually changes are more subtle… but huge differences can occur.

Probably also helpful you knew the sound of your system really well… instead of a new component. That is why it is best to upgrade and break in your components and learn what they sound like before embarking on interconnects and cables.

@ghdprentice 

I think we have similar setups: Wifi router > wireless bridge > Aurender. But you have an ethernet regenerator in place before the Aurender? I was assuming that the conversion (regeneration) to wifi would be adequate. I'll also assume you see an improvement if it's in place, can you please elaborate?

Thanks...Tim 

@treynolds155

Yes, my system is WiFi router —> by WiFi —> wall wart extender —> Ethernet cable —> EtherRegen —> via Ethernet cable —> Aurender (W20SE). This is embarrassing.

I asked my audio guy to let me try one… he brought it over when he was delivering some really expensive piece of audio gear… I just said… yeah, throw in the EtherReg… I mean it cost nothing in comparison with the tax on a component. I had done a lot of research on the EtherRegen and some much more sophisticated devices, in all cases they produced a benefit.

So, what did I hear? Well, maybe a small improvement… maybe nothing. But I had just swapped out amps… a BIG difference.

My take is this: The quality of the streamer largely determines the quality of the sound. It makes up for all sorts of deficiencies in networking. So if you have a low end streamer, then an EtherRegen can make a big difference… if you have a high end streamer it will make a really small difference. The streamer does the job for you. This is a theory… unsubstantiated by detailed data that I collected (I was a scientist for 10 years). I have been enjoying my system so much for the last year and a half that I have been too lazy to go unplug it… try my streamer without it… then plug it back in. Maybe this will motivate me to try it. Maybe not.

I guess I should. There are lots of folks on the forum that have taken one of two ways of achieving great quality of streaming: 1) screw around with the network… high end routers… clockers… etc. and 2) get a high end streamer. As an aside I have been in IT for the last 35 years mostly a Director of IT in global high tech companies… so I am not ignorant on networking. On the other hand… I am retired, I do not want to waste my time playing with networking. My feeling is that get a high end streamer… maybe a EtherRegen… and don’t play around with the network… unless that makes you happy. Personally after 70 - 80 hours of technical stuff for 45 years, I like just plugging something in and hearing incredibly beautiful music.

@ghdprentice 

I appreciate you sharing your insights. I too am a long time IT guy, and the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is mess around with my home network which I'm confident is pretty strong. I do however enjoy playing around with my system, learning and trying new things. 

I'll premise my comments by saying, just because I don't understand something, doesn't mean it's not real.

I'm in the same camp as you, in that I feel a quality streamer is most important. While streaming Qobuz, I unplugged the ethernet cable on my Aurender and it continued playing for almost a minute so clearly it's caching. Also, hi-res files that reside on it's internal hard drive, sound no different than when I live stream them. That's enough for me to move on and ignore the networking side of things, at least for now.

My recent experience with a new usb cable got me looking into other tweaks for the digital chain.....and down the rabbit hole I went lol. Reclockers, DC blockers, LPS, fiber and coax media converters, everyone claiming to help fix inherent deficiencies in USB. So besides having the potential of higher bandwidth (which most folks don't need), why the heck is USB so prevalent? Does a quality streamer and Dac make this a mute issue? 

So I'm going to try something odd, I found a great deal on an Aurender UT100 which is a USB to Toslink converter that mounts directly on the back of my N100h. I've got an Audioquest Cinnamon Toslink cable I'll use to connect. Reasons for this experiment:

1. I'm an audiophile so I'm nuts.
2. I've read that my Qutest dac performs best with S/PDIF inputs.
3. Toslink will afford all the benefits of electrical, RFI/EMI isolation.
4. Many solutions on both the networking and digital chain side, point to fiber as being the ultimate solution for cleanup. So why not try that as the actual medium between the streamer and dac?
5. Repeat number 1.