Do USB Cables Make an Audible Difference (Kimber Kable Review)?

Do USB cables make a measurable or audible difference in the output of audio DACs? Let's test a number of them from generic ones to fancier Kimber Kable B-BUS cable.

Text reviews at:
KIMBER KABLE: Do High-end USB Cables Make A Difference?

Do USB Audio Cables Make A Difference?

[alanross]

Thanks for your videos. I spent 20 years tweaking my audio/video system. I finally came to the conclusion that wires never really mattered as long as the connections were solid and ground loops were eliminated. The room and the speakers make the real difference. Once I realized that I just sit back and enjoy my system.

[ATommy-lzjd]

I got attacked by headfi guys for saying I couldn't hear any improvement with the audioquest usb cable against the one that came free. The usual argument came in : "dude upgrade that headphone or upgrade that dac. It isn't transparent enough"

[philbarone]

I’ve been making saxophone mouthpieces for forty years and used to make them out of different materials. I’d do blindfold tests with players who said they could tell the difference between them but never could when blindfolded. When we took the blindfold off and they saw that they got it wrong, they’d always say “but I still think it matters”.

[ChristianGoergen]

I‘m sure you don‘t believe in any of those high end myths, but out there are a plentitude of folks who have no money to burn and no clue of measurement techniques. These kind of videos are of highest value and will increase the number of subscribers faster than a series of presentation of underestimated dacs ever can. Great work.

[ianhaylock]

Chris - "I can't recommend this cable enough."

Amir - "I can't recommend this cable."

Damn, Chris, you were so close!

[kevonmanuel]

For those who are complaining about the channel and reviews like this one, saying they are repetitive, take a look at the channel subscription growth.
This channel has been in existence for 2 weeks and has over 6000 subs. It takes years for some channels to even break 500 subs.
People want this.
The folks who buy into and the manufacturers who peddle the snake oil stuff will hate this channel.

[daeejon]

Thanks for all your informative videos. I have over 20k on audioquest cables after watching your videos I got very disappointed with what the dealers made me buy where I could use cheap decent cables and get the same results. Just ordered a pair of mcintosh mc901 and again pushing me to buy 5k ea power cables but I said I'm using whatever power cord comes with the amps and I balmed you for it 😆. But thank you so much for honest advices which are coming from your honesty and educations and tests and not coming from someone who thinks about his commission. Thank you and can't wait to watch your other videos

[messingwithelectronics]

Great to see you've joined YouTube, the ASR website/forum is an amazing resource but YT should expand the audience considerably.

[_han.soso_]

This drives the biggest controversy in audiophile history to the home. : DDD
Appreciate that you are not avoiding controversies and repercussions. respect! 🙌🙌🙌

[compsourcegoogle]

omg I love this series... finally someone to enlighten the sheep :) Whenever I get a notification I have a smile on me face:)

[joshgray]

This is like teasing a cat with a piece of string but never letting them catch it, eventually they'll lose interest. We need an occasional "well, whatdayaknow, it actually does make a difference" video to maintain the suspense

[mike.thomas]

I have definitely heard a difference in USB cables: Between one cheap cable that was clearly garbage and was causing obvious and audible noise, and another cheap cable that did not 😸. I agree, re the Amazon Basics USB cables. I use those, and also some relatively inexpensive, but still overpriced, Pangea ones (because they look and feel nice, not because I think they have any impact on sound).

[cothealiv]

Only time a usb cable made a difference for me was replacing a faulty one lol.

[patrikhejnar]

I am glad you find time to make videos so often :)

[isobutylquinoline]

I once compared a Curious Evolved USB Cable to a stock cable that came with my printer, to a DIY USB cable that I made using $3 solder, and a few thin necklaces that my grandmother had in her jewelry box. I made sure that the necklaces didn't touch each other and I carefully plugged them into my DAC. I'm SURE the measurements would be different between these cables, but they sounded EXACTLY THE SAME! Then I went to my trusty Home Depot 12 AWG wire, and although it was very difficult to solder using my $10 soldering iron I tried really hard not to have any shorts. I tested everything to make sure it was fine before plugging it into my DAC. Once again, IT SOUNDED 100% EXACTLY THE SAME AS EVERYTHING ELSE! The lesson is simple. Use the cheapest printer cable that you can possibly find and spend no more than $5 on it. If you can find it in the bargain bid at Best Buy then even better. Plug that into your Mola Mola Tambaqui and laugh at the fools who are using 'so called' audiophile USB cable. They are only hearing SNAKE OIL!

[TofumanFCS]

“So anyways, I took a Schiit...”







“...Modi 2 DAC.”

[rndm]

Amazon Basics...the new audiophile reference.

[electricsnut]

Im so grateful to find a channel finally who doesn’t buy into the audiophool snakeoil bs…

[DjRjSolarStar]

I have an Audioquest Forest 1m usb cable going b/t my desktop and FiiO X7 mk2 mp3 player while in USB mode. That in turn is hooked up to an Aune X7s, balanced OCC silver litz headphone cables, and Empire Ears Cerberus 3's. It's more resolving than any stereo system I've heard at any price; essentially my personal reference system. When I changed the no name USB cable I was using to the Forest cable, I honestly did not hear a difference. Regardless, I don't regret buying it b/c it was only $40, looks nice, is well built, and has taken on a lot of abuse from me accidentally kicking my desktop and jamming the USB cable at a 90 degree angle between the back of my desk. Didn't even flinch. But $40 is the most I'll ever pay for a UBS. What DID make a difference, was going from having 3 really cheap and skinny 10 foot USB cables all wired in series going from my desktop to home theater setup on the other side of the room. With that setup, I had random dropouts of sound every 20 seconds or so, and complete disconnects which required restarting my device to amend. I went to a single 30 foot shielded thick USB cable from a reputable audio company for $25. It reduced the problems by 3x, but didn't completely prevent them. So I bought a Schiit Wyrd. I know. But wait - it actually helped. Upon using the Wyrd, with its onboard USB power supply which throws away the 5v power coming from your USB source, and it reclocking feature, sound dropouts and disconnects of my FiiO X7 were reduced to once every 2 - 3 hours of continuous listening. It really did work and made my long range USB setup usable. However, I did not notice a sound improvement using the Wyrd at point blank range with a 1m USB cable. So, it seems that the longer your USB run, the higher quality the cable should be (thicker gauge, purer copper, better dialectric material, better shielding, better twist geometry, etc...), and the more hardware you will need, such as reclockers and 'decrapifiers' . But at close range, anything UL certified will likely be just fine.

[chethammer]

People on here have cracked on Zeos before, but he's said in multiple videos to save your money on expensive cables. Coincidentally, he had linked an Amazon Basics USB-A to USB 3 cable (which is the one that powers and sends data to my DAC) and said that if you spend more than $10 on them you're crazy. I then stumbled on your channel that gave me the numbers to prove it. Kizmet!