Will a quality USB cable make a difference....

I have a standard commercial USB cable, a Belden Gold and a Nordost Blue Heaven (on loan). While I believe the Belden Gold is an improvement over the commercial cable I haven't heard a difference between the Belden and Nordost USB cables. I have a high end headphone system as follows:

Computer > lossless > iTunes > USB > Belden/Nordost > Cary Xciter DAC > Nordost Blue Heaven RCA/Blue Jeans RCA/DIY RCA > three channel beta22 amp with sigma22 power supply/Woo WA6SE > Senn HD800

I'm also using a Nordost power cord on the amps and Jellyfish PC on the DAC. I have found better results with the PCs and ICs than I have found using a pricier USB above the level of the Belden Gold.

Only difference I found was the conector's firm fit on the computer side. No other disernable difference to my ear. Not sorry that I spent $100 for the cable for that reason though.

I had a top audio guy in the industry tell me something interesting when I asked him this very question. He told me to use a Belkin Pro or Gold series USB cable; that's what's being used in the studios when the music is recorded, engineered etc. I can't say that I've experimented with USB cables myself, but it's certainly an interesting perspective.

I don't see where the audio industry guy's position is relative. We're concerned with playback, not recording. They use many devices and techniques in the studio that don't apply to home listening. For instance; some argue that balanced gear is a must for optimum performance because that's what studios use when the truth is a studio is a very different beast due to to the sheer amount of equipment, the electrical noise, the extremely low level signals from the microphones, and the interconnections between all of the gear.

In fact, most recording engineers and artists don't own audiophile systems and are therefore the last people I would seek advice from about setting up my system.

Going back to my original comments; by my count we have 6 that say no difference and 4 that say it does matter. Like every other post about any kind of cable it always ends up like this and the bottom line always ends up that you have try it for yourself.

A thousand more people could post with their findings but you still wouldn't know until you tried it.
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I'd like to quote Herman because I agree entirely:

>>...the bottom line always ends up that you have try it for yourself.

A thousand more people could post with their findings but you still wouldn't know until you tried it.<<

I agree. Give different cables a try. The tuition is not that expensive! And the point is you will educate your ears when you do try these things out.

And realize that USB and firewire cables do need time to break-in and settle-in (but that's a whole new can of worms!).

And don't forget to restart your computer every once in awhile to reset. Makes a difference in playback.

:) listening,

Ed