I. Why Do USB Decoding Data Cables Affect Sound Quality?
For front-end audio decoding devices, especially the USB dongles / decoding amplifiers without batteries, there is a power-on sequence for the operation of USB identification, audio bridge chips as well as the DAC, which involves different voltages and currents.
If the output from the mobile phone end is extremely stable and abundant, it could be assumed that USB cables would have little impact on the subsequent devices. However, this is not possible. Not to mention that the OTG output judgment voltages of different brands of mobile phones are different. Even different models of mobile phones with different main control chips from the same brand will have variations, or the situation may change suddenly after a firmware upgrade.
It is precisely because the USB dongle often encounter instability during operation that a USB cable with high material purity, good electrical conductivity, and complete signal shielding is needed to reduce more instability.
What is meant here is to reduce the probability of instability when reaching the standard working state, rather than achieving an improvement above the designed theoretical value.
II. Differences among the Three USB Cables of ddHiFi
The TC series decoding cables, TC05 M2, TC07, and TC09, have different positioning indicated by their numbers. So, what are the differences in sound quality?
Recommendations for Matching Devices:
1. For those who use some music players as USB decoding devices or use some power-consuming dongles connected to mobile phones and hope to improve the connection stability, it is recommended to choose the TC05 M2 series (please pay attention to the direction when using it).
2. For those who need to enhance the sense of speed of the whole system and improve the resolution of low and high frequencies, the TC07 series is recommended.
3. For those who hope to improve the overall stability, balance, and sound thickness, especially for desktop devices, the TC09 series is recommended.
The above are references for the differences in sound quality and listening experience. Due to the differences in everyone’s devices, headphones, mobile phones, and personal listening preferences, there may also be variations. All these aspects are worth further exploration. This article only hopes to help some audiophiles understand USB cables.
PS: Some devices have an insertion detection function. For example, the dongle products of Questyle have a headphone detection function. They will not work when only the USB cable is inserted and the headphone is not inserted. Please pay attention when using them.
