Out of curiosity how did you get around to ditching USB? I recently rebuilt my computer rig just so I could get optical and coax digital out. Before that I was using the Topping D10 to convert USB to digital out but it’s a feature they took out of the E30. (sad smiley goes here)
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I am using aes3 now for my desk dac setup, if you check my profile you can see how I go about doing it. I do actually use USB, but it’s now to a USB to aes with a distribution amp, but it’s a bit more complicated than that
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WOW. It’s often said that genius straddles the line of insanity. I printed it out just to study it more closely.
Admittedly it’s moreso well into insanity at this point
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I only “upgrade” for feel or aesthetics. Sometimes if I like a headphone enough and the stock cable isn’t great, I reward the headphone with a nice cable. Outside of that, or if a cable is actually broken, I’m not really interested in micro improvements.
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If you get a focal, this is the first thing you think about lol, one of the worst stock cables to come with higher end headphones
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I’ve considered Elex at some point, but have too many new headphones to consider it rn. However, this depends heavily on wether or not I want to reward the headphones haha.
It took my 4xx a year and a half to earn their cable. 
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thank you man
After reading through this thread, the the one posting peoples custom cables, I’m reminded of some advice I was once given…
“They’re all crazy…might as well be pretty”
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I love Schiit:
USB PYST. This is the complete redefinition of USB cables. It actually, physically transports you* into an alternate universe where superbly-mastered, 24/192 music streams 24/7, free of charge to all listeners, for all genres. Supermodels in this alternate world are all deeply into high-end audio, and will beg to go out with you. Butterflies swirl in fantastic colors over clean-lined porcelain cityscapes, everyone is a millionaire, and flying cars run on air. It’s a beautiful place to be!
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the most depressingly real description of what people getting into this hobby might believe will happen
The exact opposite is also true. I mean, KZ cables suck. Really suck. Literally, they suck the midrange out of the IEMs. They’re also for sale for ONE DOLLAR everywhere on eBay. They’re not worth that. KZ are just shooting themselves in the foot selling their IEMs with this shitty cable.
I thought all KZ IEMs were V-shaped until I bought a decent 10$ cable. Lol.
I’ve put my reply here so as not to clog up the ‘What did you buy today’ thread…
I totally agree with @SpeleoFool and also @LeDechaine
I’ve heard high end $100k systems not mine of course lol so never had a chance to switch cables etc but systems like that are so resolving that micro nuances maybe audible to a trained ear?
With most iem’s being of such low impedance cable swops can be more audible imho…however this my well be down volume levels not being exactly matched 
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Cables…yes they can sound different. A cable that changes the sound is nothing more than a fixed frequency equalizer. I’m not just saying that - physics explains this very simply with resistance, capacitance and, inductance of a cable. Not surprisingly, an equalizer uses guess what to augment each band? Resistors, capacitors, inductors. Spending money over and over to find that one cable that happens to do exactly what you’re looking for is kind of…ehem…dumb. An actual equalizer will work on every system and every component every time. Buy a good EQ and be done with it. Forever.
What do you all think of this?
I question the efficacy of analogue audio cables, but digital data is either transferred or it is not transferred. So besides (I hope) being made of better more durable materials… a USB cable will either transfer data fast enough or it won’t.
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Sooo… Do cables matter? I think we have been through enough exercises to come to the healthy conclusion that yes, yes they do. But then there is this stupid shit!
I laughed for a good few minutes while watching this! Nothing against Jay here, I think overall he was as fair and objective as he could be. And I’m sure there is something to the science behind it. But come on, look at these stupid things. To me it’s just funny! I won’t even mention the price. Oh well, to each their own I guess. But for me, hard pass, regardless of bank account status. Happy Monday, folks! Why not start the week with a laugh and some controversy!
I actually got some of those cables a few months ago after a friend pushed me toward them, nice stuff, I most like their speaker and power cables for my system, but found that their interconnects didn’t really suit my setup well, so still using my audience stuff for that (and some audience power mixed in as well since I can’t really afford to recable the entire thing lol). Worth the price in my current system, but definitely wasn’t where I’d put my money for past systems I’ve had
Yes, I have looked at the audience stuff before. My humble system definitely doesn’t warrant those but if I had a system that was worthy I would consider them for sure. I draw the line there, however! 
No, for my setup, World’s Best does quite nicely. I guess things change pretty dramatically when you start moving into the “Biff and Muffy” side of the audio spectrum…
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