mantis

I have never tried that but you have me curious now. I run a older 2008 late model Unibody Macbook pro 2.4g dual core , 4g memory. I replaced the Hard Drive with a faster 7200rpm. I run Pure Music behind Itunes as the interface. I don't fully care for this setup as I recently downloaded Media center 18 which I like a lot so far. I find my sound quality currently to be fantastic and simply outperforms my Cambridge audio cd player playing 44.1 16 bit CD's vs a rip from the CD with Pure music or Media Center( No sound quality difference at all) I'm not sure how adding more memory will make a sound improvement but I am going to turn off everything and listen both ways.

Honestly to me it's frustrating. I want the Carbon to be a superior sounding cable but honestly it's not so far. I have been running it in for a week now waiting for it to be fully broken in or run in depending on your view. I think the problem is the fact that the Forest is built right. The conductors are placed correctly , good quality materials , proper termination and shorter then max length (1.5m , max is 5m ). The Cardas Clear is also very well built and uses good quality materials. Cardas is a perfectionist company like Audioquest so you can rely on any cable made by either of them. The Carbon just takes it to another level with the 5% silver plus the silver plated connectors. Now in the digital world at 1.5m , it doesn't seem to make any differences. It's also the most expensive cable I have. After a fully test this cable , keep the others broken in by using them in a rotation , Im gonna conduct my shootout one more time then I'm done. Side note , years ago I tested the hell out of optical vs Coax for digital and I have found they sound exactly the same as well. I have tested on some extremely high end systems with Dynaudio Speakers , Krell and even at those levels didn't hear anything different using the same DAC's and source. I have heard differences in using cables not built very well in coax and optical.

I have been conducting USB shootouts for months now. I have had plenty and have one more to throw in the mix before I throw in the towel. I gonna assume my system isn't revealing enough to hear the small details that the USB cables are making. I honestly only heard one major difference in my shootout , the rest I've been struggling to hear any. My system is Pioneer Elite SC-68 with a built in USB DAC , unique and first of it's kind. It's amazing how good it sounds compared to many other DAC's including Benchmark , Peachtree , Audioquest , Audioengine and the Dac Magic and Plus I have had. Speakers are Definitive Technology Mythos ST which IMO are an incredible value for both Home theater and 2 channel listening. I currently use many different speaker cables but right now I'm using Cardas Crosslinks as I love the way they perform. Macbook Pro for computer music running Pure music with iTunes for high rez. I'll spare the rest of the system as it pertains to HT with the exception of my Cambridge Audio 650BD player which I use for SACD and DVD audio and the occasional CD before it gets ripped Lossless. USB cables. Audioquest Forest Audioquest Carbon Audioquest Cinnamon Cardas Clear Custom built with voltage removed in pure silver and copper Belkin high speed USB2.0 I also have a Rotel 1070 Integrated I use when I'm testing external DACs which is fun and nice sounding. The Pioneer really stands up for a receiver for 2 channel and has very nice power and dynamics. I have heard a difference with all these cables in the custom built one that had to be rebuilt due to a flaw when building by the guy who built it. I knew right away something didn't sound quite right when I listened to that cable. I didn't know before hand he had to fix the cable but when he did , it must have changed the conductor as it sounds like it's missing info. The Forest , Clear and Carbon all sound exactly the same. I have tried and tried to hear a difference and they are not in the same price classes as most of you already know. The clear winner here IMO is the Forest being only 35 bucks and performs as good so far as the Carbon and Clear. Amazing as I have been testing cables for decades and always heard differences huge or small in the analog world. I'm having a much tuffer time with USB. I also think as I can't swap out and get music playing fast enough and maybe due to a little audio memory loss. I'm not sure but analog IC's or speaker cables I can hear right away. I'm also thinking the Forest might be the sonic perfection my level of system is matched to. Impressions? Comments? I can go into more detail if you wish.

You are correct ,I should have stated in detail about the given cables and construction istead of making a blanket statement about Silver.

I picked up the Cardas Clear and compared it to my Audioquest Forest. I want to get a Carbon but they are back ordered so as soon as they come in , I'm getting one along with a cinnamon . I only have a few hours on the Cardas but I hear basically what you heard. The cardas seems to be very neutral and balanced. I don't think it's doing anything wrong like adding or losing anything to the sound. The Forest seems basically the same way. It's very detailed and clear. I have about 6 USB cables now that I have been rotating in and out of my system. I have 2 that where DIY from a friend that has no power conductors. Just the 2 signal and 1 ground. One of them sounds as good as the Forest and the other seems like something is wrong with it. Things seem to come up missing from time to time. I don't like that cable at all as even my cheap Belkin 2.0 high speed sounds more right then it. I don't test that cable no more. I'm very pleased with the Cardas Clear and as I felt about all other cables , once you get it right , there is nothing more you can do to improve the sound quality. I'm starting to fully believe that both the Audioquest Forest and Cardas Clear are properly built , are passing the entire signal as it is and not picking up or losing anything along the way. Once the Audioquest Carbon comes in and I run that cable in , if it sounds like the Clear and Forest , I'm gonna stop testing USB cables. That sound be enough of different cables to tell me that the job is getting done to perfection. The Carbon is interesting as it has Silver conductors and silver plated connections. This is something I really want to give a full test drive. The Cinnamon only has silver conductors but still uses the same connector the Forest uses in gold plated. I'm not sure how much of a difference that cable will make , I'm gonna test it as well as I hope they come in at the same time so I can run them all in over a solid weekend of testing.

I would say the B&W N801's where close to being a perfect speaker. They get used in recording studios , that speaks volumes IMO.

Integra .3 and .4 series , you have to update them in order to restore HDMI , Pioneer Elite 5 series , all of them , they work out of the box then fail over time. Samsung Tv's , HDMI failure on HDMI 1 , you then have to move to HDMI2 and get picture for awhile before complete total failure plus bad power supplies , Just about every Blu ray player under $300.00 but also the Elite BDP-53fd which I believe is made by sharp now instead of Pioneer. All these companies where once great companies before HDMI , now they all struggle with it as I feel it's a very flawed format. I'd like to see the Industry move away from HDMI and come up with a better connection.

Hi Kal, I have seen so many HDMI failures it's not even funny. From Blu ray players to receivers to Preamps to TV's inputs to HDMI switchers. Nothing in our industry has had such a high failure rate. Just think about Balun's and piles of defective products you will find. Side note: I'm a Custom In Home Audio Video Installer / Programmer.

I would love for HDMI to be the only connection for everything IF it DIDN"T have such a HIGH FAILURE RATE! The idea of being able to send audio and or video is awesome since HDMI can send high bit high quality audio and video. But for some reason many even huge companies like Denon , Onkyo , Pioneer , Marantz , etc all have HDMI issues. Integra which is Onkyo's Elite line has HDMI failures and you have to firmware update these preamps and AVR's in order to restore HDMI. It's like a internal clock say's "ok it's time to fail , turn off all HDMI until we receive a firmware update. Nutty but very true. USB works great for High end audio transfer to a DAC, I don't hear any issues with it at all. You do have choices in SPDIF in Digital Coax and Optical connections.

APC S-15 or S20 depending on your circuit if it's 15 or 20 amps. This unit has Pure Sine wave power which the Mac likes. Brown outs are killer for todays micro processors and can destroy a hard drive. All the work you will put into your Mac why risk it? Not to mention this unit also has Voltage Stabilization and conditioning. It has 12 outlets on the back so you can connect all your gear to it. APC AV 1.5kVA S Type Power Conditioner with Battery Backup 120V I have a dedicated 20 amp circuit to my gear and have a PS Audio Power port premier . PS AUDIO POWER PORT PREMIER at Music Direct

I have tried out many DAC's including both the DAC Magic and Dac Magic Plus. Both where very nice sounding but I found something in my quest I liked even better. I picked up the Brand new Pioneer Elite SC-68 which has a built in 32 bit 192k Asynchronous DAC. On the rear of the AVR is a B style USB port. I gotta be honest here , this is one amazing sounding AVR. It outperforms my SC-07 with a Cambridge DAC Magic plus or my Rotel RX1050 with the same DAC. I'm currently driving a full Definitive Technology Mythos ST / 10 speaker package. For 2 channel I use the Mythos ST's. I am however considering changing to Klipsch RF-7's with the rest of the surround package or going with the B&W Cm9 surround setup. I do however fully enjoy the Def Tech's , they are remarkable for a powered tower.

Mega Buck? I paid 29.99 for my Audioquest Forest cable.

Thank you for that info , it's actually one of the best replies here. What I find strange is why do people find the need to either bash or defend cables? I find that mental either way. A cable no matter what needs to be a part of any system. It's not a option , if you want to send the info from one place to another , you need the proper cable to do so. My question here was not to debate this , I was curious what you guys use in your system and why. I currently have 3 USB cables and many more on the way. I even have some with no power leads. This is so there is no possible interference internally with the 5v leads. I have no idea if it makes any difference , or if USB cables are designed in a way that having the 5v in a pair of conductors inside the cable are shielded well enough not to add any noise to the signal. I'm trying to learn about USB cables , why they are used so much on todays DAC's. I also just learned that it's not the preferred way of transmitting audio , SPDIF is supposed to be a better option or Fiber. 3.0 spec USB is something that might be or have already been added to todays DAC's. So can we talk about USB , cables , transmission , and everything that has to do with sending our high rez file to our DAC's?

Thanks for all the links , getting my read on.

Whats up everyone? I'm curious what USB cables you guys are using? What made you decide on the cable you are using? Has going with a higher end cable made any noticeable differences? I got 3 USB cables right now and I'm planning on a few more to demo. I have a clear high speed 2.0 A B , a Black High Speed 2.0 A B and a Audioquest Forest A B . All cables are around 6 ft in length. I'm planning on a Cardas Clear and a Audioquest Carbon.