The statement attributed to Mr. Aud does not reflect how a USB interface operates. First of all USB communicates data via a differential pair of signals, which greatly enhances noise immunity. The receiving circuitry just has to determine which of the two signals in the differential pair is at a higher voltage and which is at a lower voltage than the other, during each bit interval. And noise that is present on both signals (i.e., common mode noise) will be ignored under any reasonable circumstances, when that determination is made. Secondly, 1s and 0s are not distinguished from each other based even on that determination. They are distinguished based on whether or not there is a **change** in which signal is higher and which signal is lower, relative to what that relation was during the previous bit interval. There are other differences as well.
I don’t doubt that USB cables can make a difference in many applications, mainly as a result of coupling or radiation of noise into D/A converter circuitry or even analog circuitry further downstream, as alluded to by Kijanki and Williewonka. However, that does not mean that a $500 cable necessarily has any particular likelihood of outperforming a $50 cable or even a $10 cable in a given application. Also, I would disagree with any attribution of specific tonal or other sonic characteristics, such as warmth, to a particular USB cable. While making such attributions may often be appropriate in the context of analog cables, the sonic effects of electrical noise in a digital application will depend on the designs of the specific circuits that it may couple into, on the degree to which that coupling occurs at various circuit points, and on the specific spectral and other technical characteristics of the noise itself. Therefore any such effects can be expected to have little or no predictability, and little or no consistency from system to system.
Regards,
-- Al