100$ usb cables recommendations? worth to pay more? suggestions!

hi everyone
Im looking for a good usb cable around 100$

any suggestions?

thanks

 

@atomicbob did a nice little review of some cables. I'd probably start there.

 

I've been using a DH Labs for the greater part of a decade and would recommend them. Feels like quality craftsmanship and has held together over the years. Rather nice to look at.

Moved to this from a 25" printer cable, accomplished what I wanted it to in fixing the dropouts I was having. As per the sound it's on the level of placebo. I think it was better but I'd say switching to a less busy USB port(bus) on your PC is a larger improvement. In my current situation I have a cheapie motherboard/DAC and the cable lacks any and all EMI removing wizardry. Any improvement it might make would be dependent on having well powered/filtered equipment on both sides of the cable.

 

Is there any specific reason you want to spend 100 on a USB cable?

I build cables for myself and friends; Not that doing so qualifies me more than anyone else.

So far, I have yet to find any reasons to pay for expensive cables outside what you might want from any product: functionality, quality and style. If the cable fit your needs and is well made, I find that to be a much better product than anything that makes specific claims.

I would make some specific recommendations but you never mentioned what your needs are.
Things like length, flexibility, preference on outer sleeving material and style, need for shielding and warranty are all potential points to address for better feed back.

 

Why not buy a nice cable for $25 and then use the remaining 75$ to buy 10lbs of bulk vegetable soup mix? https://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-So...ds=ramen+bulk&refinements=p_36:698507011&th=1

 

I think 75 bucks for 10 pounds of vegetable soup mix is excessive. I would rather buy a couple of bricks of green pu-ehr and be willing to wait

 

@murphythecat

Been down that road. My advice, since you asked, is to kill off everything attached to USB in your computer except dac. Then get a nice 24 awg Monoprice cable. No ferrites.

Sounds as good if not better than my $150 power leg less usb bespoke cable, $150 plus fancy Wireworld and a few other fancy cables, even ones built by digital designer who will be nameless.

And better than using any of the usb cable/signal fixer uppers like Regen, AQ jitterbug, and even nicely different sounding USB to spdif converters. That being said, most $100 and up cables may sound pleasingly different, may not meet strict usb impedance specs etc. and may be quite enjoyable.

I'd rather invest that $100 in some room treatments or something like a number of nice Cabernets to assist with relaxing listening. Good luck with the search.

 

I do like the belking gols USB. Very good
Belkin Gold Series 10-Foot Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00062UKIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apu_y9SlBbZWQ7RVW

Others:
Pangea premier usb
Audioquest carbon

 

Anyone have a link to this? I'm using an AudioQuest Forest between an iMac and a Yggdrasil right now.

 

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...hield-resistance-technical-measurements.5662/

 

I had read your comment about the belkin gold, but ive contacted everyone in canada that seemed to previously offer the belkin gold and it seems its unavailable in canada

if someone would be kind enough to buy one and send it to me, that would be crazy cool.

EDIT: Marv, is this it? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Belkin-6-G...260351?hash=item2cd68f0d7f:g:nTYAAOSwUPZbLogJ

I wonder why the belking gold usb seem to vary dramatically in price...

or not, ill just get a curious usb cable.

 

It's not all that great. I sold mine for like $9. Whatever you do, shorter is better.

 

so you prefer the monoprice 28 ag?
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5438

 

that is the one. I use a 6 footer on my main speaker setup and a 1.5 foot on my headphone setup. And even though they are dirt cheap they seem to be made well. I have yet to have a bad one, and I think I have about a dozen with micro usb mini, and standard B ends, both with and without ferrites for all of my forays into portable dacs and phones.

I also graduated from $10 a foot speaker cable to Canare 4s8 at about .92 a foot. Not everything in this hobby has to be $$. Problem is it took me 4 decades to get it all sorted, hahaha.

 

Agree with the shorter the better for USB cables. I won't reccomend Monoprice anything since I've been burned twice by 2 different RCA cables of theirs, but I do think that USB audio cables are very length sensitive.

 

Well said, I suppose. They do make some real crap. I have a 1/8th inch analog stereo cable made with high quality STEEL effin wire. Sounds like garbage. As does their craptastic Toslink cable.

EDIT:

oh, since I am trashing some of their stuff. Add to it the cheap giganto giant slug shell sized iems that got hyped to the moon years ago. Just awful sounding IMHO.

At least the digital cables, USB and HDMI which I have purchased have specs they have to meet unlike analog.

 

well
I have to decide between phasure lush, curious usb and possibly sablon elite.
maybe by any luck anyone here have experience with those, doubt it though lol

 

I use the Schiit PYST and Belkin. $25-$30. Measure well according to @atomicbob and sound is very good. My 2 cents.

 

Ok now you're going considerably over $100 with those options I believe. You do realize that you may recieve some significant ire and scorn from many on here??

I have had 2 Curious cables- the .8m and the short "Regen Link". I got them used for a very very good deal, which is the only reason I would ever own them. I liked both, but preferred the Regen Link - again, I think shorter is better. Luckily it was all I needed for length at the time, so I was able to resell the longer one for more than I paid for both cables.

I would say they have a stereotypical silver cable sound - fast, lean, detailed, punchy. Actually a really nice sounding cable. The Lush I have not heard, but have read they are basically the polar opposite of the Curious - smooth, full, liquid. So likely depends where you're looking for your sound to 'lean'. I'd never heard of the Sablon until now, so no opinion here.

I needed a longer cable recently, and just decided to go with Audioquest Carbon, 0.75m - was the shortest length I could find that wouldn't break the bank. I like it - not as detailed, quick and lean sounding as the Curious, but pretty close, with maybe a bit more smoothness. Im satisfied with it and don't plan to look for another USB cable at this point - have moved past that nervosa for now at least.