[nature boy]

Hey AC fans,

I am getting an aftermarket car audio system installed in a few weeks.  The head unit, a Pioneer DEH-80prs has two rear USB inputs.  I plan to run one cable for portable HD (with FLAC music files) and one cable for Apple iPod/iPhone to my center console storage area.

I know there has been a lot of discussion on this and other forums about degredation of SQ of some USB cables.  Any suggestions from folks that have done some A-B cable comparisons?  I'll be running two 6' lengths and was thinking Belden or Monoprice would suffice (it is a car system afterall).

Here is my set-up: Pioneer DEH-80prs head unit, JL Audio HD 900/5 amp, and Hybrid Audio Technology Imagine 6.5" component speakers.  Sound deadening material will be installed in the doors and other problem areas. I'll be installing a shallow subwoofer at a later date, because I'm getting a custom sub box build for the rear storage area in my Subaru Outback.

Thanks for the suggestions.

NB

[*Scotty*]

nature boy,Your Pioneer DEH-80 says it will playback WAV files, it might be able to directly access and playback WAV files from a 32g USB flashdrive loaded up with your favorite albums. If you buy a USB extension cable with male A to female A connectors, you then have an extension of the USB port on the back of the receiver and you could jack the flashdrive straight into the receiver. The product information on Pioneer's website says you can playback directly from USB compatible hard drives which is what a USB flashdrive usually looks like to computers it is plugged into. I playback my WAV files from flashdrives plugged into my Linux based computer and this is tantamount to playing back from a solidstate hard drive which is supposed to sound the best. This approach definitely sounds better than playing back WAV files from one of my Seagate FreeAgent Go USB hard drives. Flashdrives are less than a dollar a gig on Amazon right now. Here is a link to a good USB extension cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-USB-Extension-Cable-feet/dp/B00000J1U8/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1348117110&sr=1-3&keywords=Belkin+USB+Extension+Cable++%283-Feet%29
If you cryo treat Belkin's basic High Speed USB cable it is a very good sounding cable for not much money.
Scotty

[Alan UK]

Belkin make very good quality, no-nonsense products IME, and for a car installation their rugged construction ought to do the job nicely. I have heard USB cables sound different on occasion, but this seems very hardware dependant. I dont know how affected the gear you are using will be, but it strikes me that in an ICE system such low level differences may not be so critical.

Have fun!

[nature boy]

Thanks for the information.  A 32 GB flashdrive may the the way to go especially in the car.  A USB male A to female B would then make sense.  Definitely leaning toward a Belkin product which seem better constructed then some of the other products. 

NB

[Ern Dog]

I have the same Pioneer HU and it has truly stunning sound quality.  The unit comes with a rugged Pioneer extension USB cable that I used and it works perfect.  If you wanted to bump that up a notch or two, then I would read the latest issue of The Absolute Sound.  They do a shoot out of 8 different USB cables all at varying price points.  The reviewer had been using a Belkin Gold Series USB cable ($10 or less) as his reference for the past 2 years with excellent results.  Of course after doing the shoot out he upgraded to the winning cable:  WireWorld Platinum Starlight ($599/1 meter)

Besides the superb sound, my next favorite feature is that the HU bypasses my iphone's DAC and uses it's three 24 bit Burr Brown DAC's instead!  It is amazing how good my iphone sounds now.  I'm still just blown away every time I listen to my new Pioneer.