Does USB cable quality matter?

[Folderol]

I've often wondered what results you'd get if you bunged USB down a cat5 cable.

[ef37a]

I've often wondered what results you'd get if you bunged USB down a cat5 cable.

http://cpc.farnell.com/_/usb-busboost/usb-extender/dp/CS1423...

Might give a pair a do one day. I have had good results with sound and video over their CAT5 adaptors.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

Hmm, just noticed, mention is made of extending keyboards, webcams and other low thruput devices. I doubt they would work well for AIs? At least not at the full suggested 60mtrs. Still, even a third of that could be very useful?

Dave.

[The Boogiemen]

Yup, it is all hogwashh.

I had a "problem" with two usb cables but mainly of my own making.

I wanted a run of 5mtrs twixt two computers and an NI KA6. I bought two cables, one about £3.00 and one about £7.00. I found the interface would refuse to lock in (usb light dropping out) on one cable into a 3G P4 running XP but either cable was fine into a 2core 2.7G W7/64 PC. The AI was fine on both machines with the supplied 3mtr lead or indeed even the crappiest one I could find 3mtrs or shorter.

So it would seem, based on a very tiny sample, that if you pay more than about £1.00/mtr you are fireproof even up the maximum allowed length?

Dave.

The only variable I can think of is if the USB device was receiving power over the USB cable, in which case it's likely the older P4 computer was sending less power (or was USB 1.1) (?). Are you 100% sure only one of the cables failed on the P4? That would indeed be strange.

[ef37a]

Yup, it is all hogwashh.

I had a "problem" with two usb cables but mainly of my own making.

I wanted a run of 5mtrs twixt two computers and an NI KA6. I bought two cables, one about £3.00 and one about £7.00. I found the interface would refuse to lock in (usb light dropping out) on one cable into a 3G P4 running XP but either cable was fine into a 2core 2.7G W7/64 PC. The AI was fine on both machines with the supplied 3mtr lead or indeed even the crappiest one I could find 3mtrs or shorter.

So it would seem, based on a very tiny sample, that if you pay more than about £1.00/mtr you are fireproof even up the maximum allowed length?

Dave.

The only variable I can think of is if the USB device was receiving power over the USB cable, in which case it's likely the older P4 computer was sending less power (or was USB 1.1) (?). Are you 100% sure only one of the cables failed on the P4? That would indeed be strange.

Pretty sure about this. I could repeat the exercise when the household is back to "normal". Can't be a power issue or a 1.1 port since the AI works fine on the P4 with shorter cables or indeed one of the longer ones.
I have to say this was a rather rushed setup and I WAS more interested in getting things working than in diagnosing a weirdness! But if I have the time I shall give it another do.

Dave.

[Kounoupi]

This covers the all USB cable details with diagrams and photos:
http://ww3.microtek.com.tw/tw/uploads/f ... cable3.pdf

[Martin Walker]

I certainly agree that there's no difference in audio quality after a signal has traveled from one end of a USB cable to the other

However, USB 2 cables handle a much wider-bandwidth signal than their USB 1.1 counterparts (480Mbps, mega-bits per second, instead of 12Mbps), and are therefore generally of higher quality than many cheap USB 1.1 cables.

Sadly, some sub-standard cables were churned out by certain companies at low prices in the early days of USB, and this is why a new breed of 'USB 2 certified' cables appeared. Some helpfully have USB 2 printed somewhere on the cable insulation or on a tag, but others don't. So if you're buying a USB 2 audio peripheral and a high-quality cable is bundled with it, do make sure you keep the two together, particularly if the cable is not clearly marked.

Martin

[The_BPP]

It's really not going to be a problem unless you use an utterly rubbish cable or you're working in a very unusual environment. Anyone charging more than a tenner is simply ripping people off.

http://www.audioquest.com/usb-digital-audio/diamond

£500. Oh dear.

A fool and his money are soon parted...

Lots of fools with money. It's almost becoming synonymous! [You could argue chasing the dollar/wealth is a foolish reason for existence]

I like the reviews at the bottom of the page... "significantly improved clarity" says one. Brilliant!

I have an expensive USB memory stick. The quality of the stored Word documents is far greater than when I held them on a cheap memory stick. Bigger words, nicer font. After all, you get what you pay for.

[ef37a]

I have just remembered that in the network industry they fight a losing battle against very cheap imported patch cables for the very good reason that for 99% of users the cheap stuff works fine.

I know from when I was "in the game" that to keep cables up to absolute top specc' took constant testing. The fact was that a CAT5e patch lead was almost never called upon to deliver its ultimate performance because very few people had systems that could run the transfer rates.

Audio via USB is different as I understand things? Even a quite low end AI might call upon almost all the bandwidth of the system, however briefly and if said system cannot deliver..Crash.

Dave.

[The_BPP]

Audio via USB is different as I understand things? Even a quite low end AI might call upon almost all the bandwidth of the system, however briefly and if said system cannot deliver..Crash.

That's the thrust of this thread. The cable will either deliver or not, there will not be the slight loss of quality one associates with cheap analogue cables.

[Pete Kaine]

I have an expensive USB memory stick. The quality of the stored Word documents is far greater than when I held them on a cheap memory stick. Bigger words, nicer font. After all, you get what you pay for.

I'm using this one on the shop floor.