Locus Polestar USB Cable
Posted by: kent on 09 March 2010
I have recently auditioned a few dacs and compared USB/firewire options. Having decided to stick with USB for the next few years, I decided to explore USB cables to see what are the fuss are about.
The Locus Polestar USB cable has replaced a Belkin Pro gold ($15), both 14~15 ft in length. Manufacturer claimed 100-150 hours of usage before reaching its full potential.
With just 24 hours of usage, I really like what I hear. Not day and night improvement but definitely easily noticable and meaningful. The improvement is not as dramatic as adding a XPS to Naim Dac, but comes pretty close at a small fraction of the cost.
I am interested in your experiences if you have tried and compared USB cable. Please feel free to keep the technical theories why USB cables should sound the same to yourself
The Locus Polestar USB cable has replaced a Belkin Pro gold ($15), both 14~15 ft in length. Manufacturer claimed 100-150 hours of usage before reaching its full potential.
With just 24 hours of usage, I really like what I hear. Not day and night improvement but definitely easily noticable and meaningful. The improvement is not as dramatic as adding a XPS to Naim Dac, but comes pretty close at a small fraction of the cost.
I am interested in your experiences if you have tried and compared USB cable. Please feel free to keep the technical theories why USB cables should sound the same to yourself
Garyi,
now you are just being obtuse. Will suspending your PCBs in your PC or Mac have the same affect as doing it in the 552?
If not, does that undermine the affects happening in the preamp?
Will putting all of your PC or Mac components into a top notch, machined, dampened Zalman case affect your SQ the same way Naim's boxes benefit from the extruded cases and forged fascias?
If not, does that detract from the benefits of the Naim cases?
I am outraged, as you are, at a $1K USB. But that said, how is it really different from other cables like hilines or Naim digi BNC-RCAs?
Certainly there is a steep law of diminishing returns, which this USB cable must surely answer to. But are you saying there is NO WAY you can degrade the quality of a USB cable to the point of it being audible? I can imagine it.
It cannot be as simple as "either the 0s and 1s are there, or they aren't." Otherwise the same DAC chips and transports would result in the same sound and degree of fineness.
I am all for bit-perfection, in order to take that out of the equation. But you KNOW there is more in play. These are definitely subtle differences.
Is it such a leap to a $1K cable of any kind, when coming from the land of: sonic benefits of the alloy that fraim balls are made of (stainless dont sound good
) and burndys not touching walls.
All i know is, if a Burndy touching the wall can affect SQ, a USB lead doing the same is not impossible.
-p
now you are just being obtuse. Will suspending your PCBs in your PC or Mac have the same affect as doing it in the 552?
If not, does that undermine the affects happening in the preamp?
Will putting all of your PC or Mac components into a top notch, machined, dampened Zalman case affect your SQ the same way Naim's boxes benefit from the extruded cases and forged fascias?
If not, does that detract from the benefits of the Naim cases?
I am outraged, as you are, at a $1K USB. But that said, how is it really different from other cables like hilines or Naim digi BNC-RCAs?
Certainly there is a steep law of diminishing returns, which this USB cable must surely answer to. But are you saying there is NO WAY you can degrade the quality of a USB cable to the point of it being audible? I can imagine it.
It cannot be as simple as "either the 0s and 1s are there, or they aren't." Otherwise the same DAC chips and transports would result in the same sound and degree of fineness.
I am all for bit-perfection, in order to take that out of the equation. But you KNOW there is more in play. These are definitely subtle differences.
Is it such a leap to a $1K cable of any kind, when coming from the land of: sonic benefits of the alloy that fraim balls are made of (stainless dont sound good
) and burndys not touching walls.All i know is, if a Burndy touching the wall can affect SQ, a USB lead doing the same is not impossible.
-p
Hope the Lacie cable does good things for you as improvements are always welcome. I couldn't do much more to indicate jest than to put aquote:Originally posted by GFFJ:quote:Originally posted by js:
It was clearly a joke and the implication of the previous post was that the decision wasn't market driven but a conscious decision of avoidance. USB DACs may well become the preferred way as standards change. Who knows? I just don't think that one company or another making a product or not means much. Therefore my nonsensical response. It was genuinely said in jest.
Dear John,
It is hard to tell what is a joke sometimes. In my experience direct USB [off vatious computers] simply sounds better than SPIDF, either through optical or co-axial. The proviso is that I am working at a significantly lower budget level than Lavry, Weiss, or Naim DAC, but the results I am getting pleased the owner of a 552, new SNAXO [~ Supercap], two by 300s onto SL2s enough for him to keep my DAC, and I got another. Yes, for him it is a secondary source, but not a bad one in any way. He does after all have an LP12, and a Michel Orbe as TTs [with Akiva and Rua cartridges plus others at more and less money], and two NAT 01s as well as a pair of CDS3 on two dfferent sets [the other has a 32.5/Hi-capCD NAP 250 so nice of itself]. So for the little DAC I have to have been tollerable is high praise indeed. I was delighted that the little machine did not fall over, and will soon get back ino SBL based loudspeaker replay as a direct result of this test in extremis!
Sorry to have replied too seriously.
ATB from George
and jk(joke) after. I guess the abbreviation isn't always understood. Be well.quote:Originally posted by pcstockton:
Garyi,
now you are just being obtuse. Will suspending your PCBs in your PC or Mac have the same affect as doing it in the 552?
If not, does that undermine the affects happening in the preamp?
Will putting all of your PC or Mac components into a top notch, machined, dampened Zalman case affect your SQ the same way Naim's boxes benefit from the extruded cases and forged fascias?
If not, does that detract from the benefits of the Naim cases?
I am outraged, as you are, at a $1K USB. But that said, how is it really different from other cables like hilines or Naim digi BNC-RCAs?
Certainly there is a steep law of diminishing returns, which this USB cable must surely answer to. But are you saying there is NO WAY you can degrade the quality of a USB cable to the point of it being audible? I can imagine it.
It cannot be as simple as "either the 0s and 1s are there, or they aren't." Otherwise the same DAC chips and transports would result in the same sound and degree of fineness.
I am all for bit-perfection, in order to take that out of the equation. But you KNOW there is more in play. These are definitely subtle differences.
Is it such a leap to a $1K cable of any kind, when coming from the land of: sonic benefits of the alloy that fraim balls are made of (stainless dont sound good
All i know is, if a Burndy touching the wall can affect SQ, a USB lead doing the same is not impossible.
-p
I couldn't have said it any better. So Garyi, whatever he said!
I use a Wireworld USB cable mostly because it wasn't very expensive ($45) and it looks good because it's purple and is a flat cable rather than round. 