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

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.
.

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

This is like asking "will a different S/PDIF cable make a difference"

Like with all audio gear, the answer is: It depends.

It depends on the USB interface you are using.

It depends on the rest of your system - is it resolving and low-noise enough to hear the difference?

Everyone believes that they have a super-resolving, low noise system, but IME it simply isnt the case. These types of systems are extremely rare. It takes decades of dedication, tweaking and modding, as well as deep pockets to achieve such a system, and one must have a good ear and patience to avoid going down the garden path along the way. Cables, tubes or the wrong preamp can easily cause one to go down the garden path, regardless of price. Even designers go down the garden path ocassionally.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio