Hi
Having heard what a difference my QED XLR cable made to my new system, I decided to try and see what difference a quality USB cable would make.
As a reference, I was using a Squeezebox Touch with the enhanced USB output providing 192Khz into a Cambridge Audio 851N streamer with an inline AudioQuest Jitterbug, then a Cambridge Audio 851W power amplifier. The Squeezbox is a great device and playing streamed music is a doddle, whereas the 851N is a bit clunky and unintuitive; hence my intention to keep using the Squeezebox.
The system is connected using HIFi power cables & connectors, inline mains filtering plus and ifi digital mains filter. All the spare ports are blanked off using prorietary blanking plugs, and yes it all makes difference and improves the sound quality!
As an aside, I tried bypassing my Cat6 ethernet with Cat8 and this made such a difference I changed it all to Cat8, and all for less than the cost of a medium priced USB cable!
I used the existing eBay cable and powered hub because of a legacy issue with my previous Rotel RA-1592 amplifier.
I found no difference when using an eBay cable connected directly without the powered hub.
I did find an improvement when using the Jitterbug.
Following online reviews I opted for a Audioquest Cinnamon cable which I burned in over 48 hours by running a signal through it without the power amp being on.
I was disappointed with the presentation. The soundstage was marginally wider, with a marginal improvement in detail but the overall sound was fatiguing and lacked 'musicality'. I certainly would not be happy listening to the presentation over a few hours. A handful of sample tracks was enough to convince me that this cable was not for me. The jitterbug didn't seem to make any difference to this cable's sound. If you listen to Bjork's Big Time Sensuality, the cymbal was brittle and sounded artificial when compared to the true ring from the eBay cable. Similarly, ACDC's Givin' The Dog A Bone seem to contain more of the strings being struck but again with a brittle and artificial presentation.
Undeterred, I decided to try other options, and attempted to order a selection from Futureshop before returning this cable to them. They refused to send me my selection from several manufacturers up to a £150 price range (the most I would be willing to pay). This is what they told me:
"Many of the cables on your list are made from very similar materials and construction and in our experience working with these cables over the past 15 years the sonic performance is very similar. This is why we offer advice and guidance and in your case, we can potentially narrow the list down to around three based on the fact that they are made from different materials."
So, it would appear that despite the many options and claims from manufacturers', the difference is down to materials. You should bear in mind that in mind when a £900 usb cable is made from similar materials to a £50 one, and in their opinion will not sound any different.
I will continue to look around and see if I can improve the USB sound, but first I think I will try streaming directly from my PC using some apps that claim to improve the sound and see what the price comparison is.