Furutechfan Posted July 3, 2015 Posted July 3, 2015 Took Mike's curious usb cable out of the box to replace the Elijah audio cable which I loved. Straight up, as Mike described the Curious sounded more analog. It was like a lot of digital glare in the music just fell away. The Elijah audio cable are stupendous for the money but the Curious cables are at another level altogether. I could now follow complex passages in the music much better....again the best way to describe the effect is like a lot of digital sheen just falls of so you get quieter background and greater separation. I am sure it will get better post burn in. So far I am very happy. 1
Galactic Soap Posted July 3, 2015 Posted July 3, 2015 Would be good to run it against the Totaldac USB Cable. 1
Furutechfan Posted July 3, 2015 Author Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) I always believed that there a lot of room to improve things on the digital frontier in terms of jitter reduction and other electro magnetic interference which I know very little about. That was the reason I was willing to give the curious USB a go feeding my off ramp usb converter. I find it really quite strange that a USB cable can reduce so called digital glare and distortion so significantly compared to an already accomplished USB cable. I was using arnesen's Magnificat again as a reference song to compare between the 2 cables. With the curious cables, piano notes seemed less strident and had a little bit more solidity and weight. I also had a much better sense of choir singing and the orchestra playing in the large cathedral. Overall, the music presentation seem less strident, more relaxing with greater palpability. Subjectively I would say a very solid 10 percent improvement easily. Edited July 4, 2015 by lyndonlim
Furutechfan Posted July 3, 2015 Author Posted July 3, 2015 What's interesting is that the USB cable comes with a separately connected power cable which is gold in color. I suspect the power cable is separated from the signal cables to reduce interference. For people who don't need usb cable I wonder whether we can just cut that power cable off.
Furutechfan Posted July 3, 2015 Author Posted July 3, 2015 I am not sure if usb cables benefit from burnt in.
New Sensations Posted July 3, 2015 Posted July 3, 2015 Yes, a cable's ability to mitigate emi/rfi is one (strong) contributor to its SQ. And probably why some cables sound better than others. But what if you could achieve a comparable result with a USB filter that sits before the USB cable? What if a $120 Schiit Wyrd 'USB decrapifier' + $50 USB cable can sound as good as a $500 USB cable? Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk 2
Assisi Posted July 3, 2015 Posted July 3, 2015 What's interesting is that the USB cable comes with a separately connected power cable which is gold in color. I suspect the power cable is separated from the signal cables to reduce interference. For people who don't need usb cable I wonder whether we can just cut that power cable off. Whilst the power may not be needed it may not be a wise decision to cut or disconnect the lead. Read post number 67 from this link http://www.psaudio.com/forum/directstream-all-about-it/yale-beta-test/page-3/ I am not sure if usb cables benefit from burnt in. I have been using a Curious cable for over a week. I consider that there has been a small benefit improvement over that time. It is definitely a high performance cable regardless of whether there is burn in or not John 1
Furutechfan Posted July 4, 2015 Author Posted July 4, 2015 Yes, a cable's ability to mitigate emi/rfi is one (strong) contributor to its SQ. And probably why some cables sound better than others. But what if you could achieve a comparable result with a USB filter that sits before the USB cable? What if a $120 Schiit Wyrd 'USB decrapifier' + $50 USB cable can sound as good as a $500 USB cable? Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk That is a very good point. There are many ways to skin a cat so to speak. I am not sure if anyone has ever made that comparison.
New Sensations Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 I'll be doing it 'soon' with the Wyrd but there's also the Purifier from iFi. Where things will really get spicy is when AudioQuest's JitterBug comes to market at $50. For me, it makes just as big an improvement as upgrading the USB cable from vanilla to something more deluxe. Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk 3
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Can one assume the Teredak is doing a similar thing to the Wyrd but you don't need a 2nd USB cable? Sent from my HTC_0PFJ50 using Tapatalk
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Can one assume the Teredak is doing a similar thing to the Wyrd but you don't need a 2nd USB cable? Sent from my HTC_0PFJ50 using Tapatalk Apologies, I meant Totaldak USB. Too many posts!Sent from my HTC_0PFJ50 using Tapatalk
New Sensations Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Can one assume the Teredak is doing a similar thing to the Wyrd but you don't need a 2nd USB cable? Sent from my HTC_0PFJ50 using Tapatalk The Total DAC cable contains a passive filter, similar to the AQ JitterBug and iFI Purifier. The Wyrd is wall powered: Schiit describe it as a audiophile grade USB hub.Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk 1
realysm42 Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 (edited) I've always wondered if there's a definition of the phrase 'Audio/phile grade'. I don't doubt the efficacy of Totaldac's equipment however. John, have you tried internal solutions (PPA, SOtM) vs the external boxes that say Ifi and Schiit sell? Any experience/preferences on either? I'm excited as today I'm picking up an SOtM card to replace my Ifi usb filter (that had its own custom built linear psu). I chose this route as it seems like a neater solution. PS does anyone ave a link to the Curious website/product page, I did a Googlay and couldn't find it. Edited July 4, 2015 by realysm42
Assisi Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 PS does anyone ave a link to the Curious website/product page, I did a Googlay and couldn't find it. Contact Mike Lenehan 2
~Spyne~ Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Are there still significant (subjective, I know) improvements to be heard going from generic to exotic/custom USB cables if you don't need power supplied over the cable - ie my SBT runs from an external LPSU and my DAC also has it's own external power supply pack? And what actually happens through the cable in these situations, does power still run the length of the cable and is just not 'used' at the DAC end or....?
eman Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Contact Mike Lenehan So this is all 'word of mouth', no link, Curious Jitterbug stuff is it ?
New Sensations Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Are there still significant (subjective, I know) improvements to be heard going from generic to exotic/custom USB cables if you don't need power supplied over the cable - ie my SBT runs from an external LPSU and my DAC also has it's own external power supply pack? And what actually happens through the cable in these situations, does power still run the length of the cable and is just not 'used' at the DAC end or....? You might be running the SBT from a linear supply but that doesn't mean it's not spilling noise over USB into your DAC, not least because of the switching regulators that run *inside* the SBT. You can try severing the power line but will the SBT then still 'see' the DAC? I'm not so sure. 1
Ancientflatulence Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 @realysm42 http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/forum/91-lenehan-audio/
Assisi Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 Ta - does he post on here under that name? My apologies for the lack of detail To people like me he is famous. Look at the post 19 above and http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/84581-curious-usb-cable/ So this is all 'word of mouth', no link, Curious Jitterbug stuff is it ? My understanding is that the cable has just been developed and the person responsible is waiting for comments back from people like Mike. It will be worth waiting for. @~Spyne~ You will be able to try the Curious tomorrow at my place John
Jventer Posted July 4, 2015 Posted July 4, 2015 PS does anyone ave a link to the Curious website/product page, I did a Googlay and couldn't find it. http://www.lenehanaudio.com.au/ You can phone him on the telephone numbers there. He is also a commercial member here on the forum. I spoke to him yesterday and ordered one. He does not make them, he buys them in. He told me that the guy making them cannot keep up with demand. My suggestion would be to phone and order.
Furutechfan Posted July 5, 2015 Author Posted July 5, 2015 Yes, a cable's ability to mitigate emi/rfi is one (strong) contributor to its SQ. And probably why some cables sound better than others. But what if you could achieve a comparable result with a USB filter that sits before the USB cable? What if a $120 Schiit Wyrd 'USB decrapifier' + $50 USB cable can sound as good as a $500 USB cable? Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk John, I would really be interested in your findings here as I do believe many audiophile usb cables are overpriced in my opinion. If someone can make a cheaper product to achieve the same results then so be it. I think when it comes to cables, it's more science then art so in theory it should be achievable.
mattjtaylor2809 Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 Anyone heard of or had experience with the following? http://uptoneaudio.com/products/usb-regen This has been suggested to me over on the Computer Audiophile forum as the "biggest" step forward in improving SQ compared to either SSD or LPSU? Cheers Matthew
Abee_V Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 Hi Mathew, Saw your post on CA. I've got a Regen on order. All being well it should be here before month end. If it helps I can post some impressions once I've given it a play. Ta, Albert 1
Recommended Posts