Which would be a better option?

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Mike B.

Which would be a better option?
« on: 27 Dec 2016, 10:09 pm »
14 foot USB cable or 14 foot Coaxial cable? For transmission of music files to DAC.

undertow

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Re: Which would be a better option?
« Reply #1 on: 27 Dec 2016, 10:13 pm »
I will throw it out there as a coax is still an analog cable. USB probably has little to zero loss in this case. But even a well shielded coax probably has very little difference from 1 ft to about 20 ft anyway, but I am sure resistance is a bit higher. Again because its an analog cable. USB is a data cable.

Just remember 75 ohm coax is used hundreds of feet at a time via your cable, direct tv, broadband system etc... with pretty high grade signal and low loss.

From a logical and technical standpoint it would seem USB would be a better choice, but that does not mean it will sound better. I would borrow or buy both from a local best buy or something to do a sound test, and return the loser in this case.

srb

Re: Which would be a better option?
« Reply #2 on: 27 Dec 2016, 10:19 pm »
I will throw it out there as a coax is still an analog cable.  Again because its an analog cable. USB is a data cable.
A 75Ω coaxial cable is an analog cable if it's used to transmit analog audio or video.  It's a digital cable when used to transmit S/PDIF digital data.

undertow

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Re: Which would be a better option?
« Reply #3 on: 27 Dec 2016, 10:23 pm »
Again depending on your equipment I would do a test to actually see if one seems to perform better from an audio standpoint. It's nearly impossible to tell in a scenario like this for most consumer gear how good either interface is.

"Limitations

The receiver does not control the data rate, so it must avoid bit slip by synchronizing its reception with the source clock. Many S/PDIF implementations cannot fully decouple the final signal from influence of the source or the interconnect. Specifically the process of clock recovery used to synchronize reception may produce jitter.[7][8][9] If the DAC does not have a stable clock reference then noise will be introduced into the resulting analog signal. However, receivers can implement various strategies that limit this influence.[9][10]

TOSLINK optical fiber, unlike coaxial cables, are immune to ground loops and RF interference.[11] The fiber core of TOSLINK, however, may suffer permanent damage if tightly bent.

S/PDIF is unidirectional, so it lacks flow control and retransmission facilities. This limits its utility in data communications."

JLM

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Re: Which would be a better option?
« Reply #4 on: 27 Dec 2016, 11:04 pm »
Last year I auditioned (9) 6 - 15 foot long USB cables (see review circle, only six worked).  I heard no apparent differences that I could attribute to length between the cables that worked.  BTW the 15 footer was a $3.50 Blue Jean Cable. 

So I use a 35 foot, $6 Monoprice optical cable and a 10 foot, (ended up being free) Straightwire USB cable in my $7000 MSRP system (too old school to heavily invest in any cable).  Neither length is recommended and the optical isn't supposed to work, but haven't had one cable related problem. 

Mike B.

Re: Which would be a better option?
« Reply #5 on: 27 Dec 2016, 11:29 pm »
I guess I need to add more info. I am coming out of the computer with a very short USB cable to a USB to Coaxial converter. I assume the signal remains digital? It then runs to the coaxial input on the DAC. I did some tests on USB cables about 5 or 6 years ago. Took two identical monoprice 10' USB cables. Had one cryogenic treated at Jena Labs/Tech in the PDX area. They do a deep immersion process that takes them lower than normal vapor cryo chambers. Their runs are usually four days. I could hear a definite improvement. 

Vincent Kars

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Re: Which would be a better option?
« Reply #6 on: 8 Jan 2017, 03:12 pm »
It is a USB to SPDIF converter.
Hence it translate one digital protocol (usb audio) into another (legacy) digital protocol (SPDIF).
USB is limited to 5 m.
SPDIF is limited to 10 m but often longer runs will work as well.
Of course one can experiment with different length for USB and SPDIF but I would be surprised if this will yield any audible difference (in a blind test of course).