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DIY USB Cable Final Verdict

Posted by bcowen (A) on October 28, 2017 at 08:10:50

First attempt at a DIY USB cable is finally complete. As my setup does not require the 5v power normally carried through the USB cable, I was most interested to see the effect of eliminating the 5v wire and the potential noise or interference it may add to the mix. So this cable consists of only 3 wires (+/- signal and ground) instead of the 4 that are standard in a USB 2.0 configuration.

First I'll say that I greatly appreciate DrN and Duster's advice to get some cheap connectors to practice with, as soldering these connectors is an outright bitch . The connectors I bought for the finished cable were $10 for the pair, and as I didn't want to take a chance on destroying them, I got some cheap ones from Amazon first. Ended up killing several of them until I got my technique right. The finished cable came out quite nicely, but sure wouldn't have without the practice runs beforehand.

On to the sonics. After 72 hours cooking on the Audiodharma, this cable sounds better than anything out there costing (probably) less than $5 grand. Yeah, right. Wish I could say that. :) In reality, my point of reference (or the cable this needed to beat) is the recently acquired Oyaide Neo D-Plus Class S cable that I've been very pleased with. On the plus side, the DIY cable does, in fact, have a lower noise floor, especially during quiet(er) passages with the volume cranked up. This is not night and day or what I'd call substantial, but is noticeable. The DIY cable is also a little warmer in overall character, which would be a good thing for a system that needs some of that, but my system doesn't. The Oyaide is more dynamic (both micro and macro), and is more detailed, especially in the treble. I could go on and on with the differences, but overall the Oyaide outperforms the DIY attempt. And if you look at the money involved, the Oyaide cost less than the sum total of the parts in the DIY build, not even considering labor. So I guess I'm bummed that this effort didn't ascend greater heights, but at the same time I'm encouraged by a couple things it does well, and am gonna think up some ideas to try it again with a few different approaches.

22 gauge Neotech solid core PCOCC copper, twisted + / - signal wires

Signal wires wrapped with metallized polyester tape (shield 1)

Ground wire added, wrapped separately with metallized polyester tape

Not pictured: added drain wire, and then shrink tube around all of it to keep the signal pair from "untwisting" and keep the drain wire in intimate contact with the metallized polyester tape for the full length

Tinned copper braided shield added (shield 2)

"B" connector added

Finished!

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Parts Connexion

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