Excellent review and it looks like the Curious cable is well regarded by yourself and audiophiles across the world I was already close to giving this cable a try - now I feel confident it is worth the investment. Pleasing to see you don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money for great digital sound..
A very good video, thank you. About an hour ago I bought a Cuirous yellow usb used for 150 dollars here in Sweden. Have tried Vertere, Nordost etc. So I'm anxiously waiting for this one to come home so I can try it, after watching your video with such a good review on that cable. Keep making reviews, because you're doing well.
Thanks for a great USB cable review. I've been looking at the Curious USB and have decided to try it based on your and other reviews. I'm also going to check out some of the female jazz artists you mentioned as well. Cheers
Great Video I have the Curious beyond. Great bass but mids and highs a little rolled. I do want to try the Audience Front row and the Final Touch Audio Callisto. I am using a Lampizator Baltic preamp/Dac top Mola Mola Kaluga's and YG Acoustics Carmel 2's. My streamer is a little Project Streampbox S2 Ultra I will eventually get an Aurender.
I auditioning a zensati Razmataz linking bricasti M5 to Lessloss echo's end, source roon, core on mac mini. I do notice difference but hesitant about high price
Very good review! I would love to hear your opinion on a direct comparison between the FTA and the Curious Evolved cables. If you make such a video, I will be grateful!
Nice video, I don't think you are in the minority thinking cables make a difference. Just by looking at the audio youtubers alone, at least half are in the same camp as you. Looking in the forums, a lot of people share similar experiences.
Cables cannot make any difference on the digital side of the chain - as long as voltage phase are not being flipped (which rarely happens in half decent cables). Your dac takes only the data, discards the incoming voltage and using its clock regenerates an analog signal for your upstream equipments. While a poorly designed DAC can have noise bleeds from its USB inputs, it's rare. And even if this happens, a cheap USB re-clocker with a decent buffer can easily rectify this issue via a coax or an i2s output. A/B/X blind tests is the only way to prove otherwise. Having said this, I'm a personally a fence sitter when it comes to Analog cables.. I want to believe that materials make sonic difference but then I have no scientific reasoning to back me up. It would be great if you could organize a relaxed AB test video to make it interesting. I love your videos!
@@tonyyao2004 my god i wrote this 2 years ago... 🤦I did AB testing myself. My opinion has completely flipped! Not only USB cables but even LAN cables makes a difference!! The reasons are getting obvious, power in USB & LAN cables are affecting phases inside the DAC. To my surprise, a LAN cable connected to a humble raspberry pi even shows stark differences. Since my old post I have been spending on cables. Also cheaper or lower quality cables may also create a tasteful difference. Turns out being a computer engineer isn't sufficient enough to explain all of digital electronics. So yes, Thomas is right. And I love him even more now 😊
@@Thoughtflux oh! that's nice to hear! I'm both happy and sad for you, I'm happy for u cuz u can tell the difference and can enjoy ur music better, and I'm sad for u cuz apparently, u have to spend more money on cables😂. I’ve done some research myself. Initially, I believed that USB cables would only affect phase, soundstage, imaging, resolution, and so on, without altering the original timbre. But I found out I was wrong. I purchased the AudioQuest Pearl USB cable, and the sound became noticeably brighter, with improvements in resolution and other aspects. This left me confused because the materials I found didn’t specifically explain how digital cables could affect timbre. Then I also bought the Jitterbug FMJ, and wow, it's incredibly effective-totally worth it! The improvements in spatial depth, separation, and soundstage are significant. I highly recommend it to you! You have to give it a try!
@@tonyyao2004 so i'll give you a secret. Try using a fiber optic cable. You will have to use 2 transceiver. They are super cheap. You will be blown by the results I promise. The transceiver before the streamer must be fed by an ultra low noise power supply. Also do try cheap Chinese cables. They are good and cheaper too. Badly made cables do make things brighter and sometimes add Soundstage. Timber change too. I like them sounding that way at times. This hobby is crazy. And so few people know about it.
Have tried various USB cables... from Mac to my DAC. Price range £4 to £45. You definitely can hear a difference. My fav is one from EBAY @ £3.59 from seller - juicebitz a Heavy Duty 4mm OD + 20AWG USB A to Micro B Fast Charger Data Cable Lead - Not sharp sounding, very clean, great resolution and dynamics. In fact the only one out of the six that I have that I can live with! I did blind listening tests to prove it wasn't just placebo effect.
@@rawnanle I am not a bot! I assure you... Why not give another USB cable a try? it'll only cost you less than £4 - it's a no brainer! I have 4 cables now... the worst sounds sharp and thin, withe best above full and very responsive. Definitely not snake oil! IMO.
All the music mentioned is typical audiophile preferred. That is simple music with a few instruments. Nothing demanding or complex. Even a budget system can easily reproduce music like that. Have you heard an ultra high end system play thrash metal? You will be surprised how midfi kit struggles with that! Cables do very little, it's the kit!
The computer world wouldn´t be the same if the cable of a digital connection would make any difference. Every bit needs to be received as it was send. There isn´t any chance that a cable change the sound of digital audio. There have been hundreds of audiophile comparisons of USB cables. No differences could be found, neither by measurement nor by blind hearing tests. A $ 5 Amazon cable did just as well as a multi-thousand $ cable. The result is not surprising: with USB, faulty bits are recognized by checksums and the transmission of the faulty data is repeated. Due to the short cable length and the high signal level, interference signals from outside are also irrelevant. If they nevertheless lead to errors, the transmission is repeated automatically.
I understand why you would say that, but 99% of the people doing these tests don't want there to be differences, and their "tests" are set up in a way that allows them to get the results they want. There are test out there that show not only sonic differences, but measurable ones as well.
@@solarfall2728 Paste one with those measurable differences or/and explain how the h** digital signal can be affected here. There are zeros and ones, there is nothing like better ones and worse zeros. If you hear any difference that means a cable did change particular bit from zero to one or vice versa. Additional question, if u pull your music from streaming services (Tidal) then are you going to upgrade all digital cables across the whole Internet into audiophile cables? If not then would it still make sense to spend thousands of $ for only one last meter of cable (USB or Eth) which is plugged at very end of the whole path? Think :)
@@ukaszdubiel7584 Here's the problem I have with people like you. Your mind is already made up, so no matter how good the information is that I give you, it will be dismissed. So for me, its a waste of time. I already know what your are going to say. There's enough out on this subject that if you really wanted the truth, you could have already gotten it. Here's what I'll do. I'm giving you a link to a video. This is just a regular guy who hears differences in USB cables, and set up a method of null testing to confirm his observations. It goes without saying you'll dismiss his results, but he also gives you enough information so that you can conduct the same test for yourself. ruclips.net/video/zncAhs44sp8/видео.html
yes USB cables, powercables, headphone cables all make difference, for nonbelievers try some unexpensive supra cables and u will be blown away by the difference to the generic usb or power cable, if u are afraid u can still return it. Iam writing this cause there is a lot of theoretists (people that didnt even try something else) who makes claims that cables dont do a difference without trying.
So the power traveling through miles and miles of regular industrial grade wire all the way to your socket suddenly becomes better by 2 meters of hifi power cable? (which feeds into your dac which anyways converts the AC into DC before using it)
@@Thoughtflux man check it by ur own ears, I can not help you more. What do you mean by ,,suddenly,, ? Logic says that the most ipmortant thing is what is on the end of the chain. 😀
@@Thoughtflux wtf :D so if u hear something but can not explain it, does it mean that it doesnt exist??? Use your brain please. Dont tell me about science u are not a scientist. I have my 2x PhD. Again those differences are substantional, it is not about cable price but cable design, there can be also garbage expensive cables as well as cheap cables, u have to know what to buy, what will make a difference. Dont be stupid and try it first and then talk. Blind test is not a good method for this, cause by the time u will be changing ur setup u will forget everything, especially if u are not trained and u dont even know what to look for, what that difference should look like. And that is the biggest problem of nonbelievers, they are untrained and don't know what they should hear.
You have very hi-end gears and did a nice review! You deserve more sub man! I have Curious Evolved and would love to hear your though against the original Curious. The Evolved has mellower tonality which may not be to your liking though.
Cables cannot make any difference on the digital side of the chain - as long as voltage phase are not being flipped (which rarely happens in half decent cables). Your dac takes only the data, discards the incoming voltage and using its clock regenerates an analog signal for your upstream equipments (in external powered DACs). While a poorly designed DAC can have noise bleeds from its USB inputs, it's rare. And even if this happens, a cheap USB re-clocker with a decent buffer can easily rectify this issue via a coax or an i2s output. A/B/X blind tests is the only way to prove otherwise. Having said this, I'm a personally a fence sitter when it comes to Analog cables.. I want to believe that materials make sonic difference but then I have no scientific reasoning to back me up.
You clearly dont know what you are talking about. Why dont you just try it instead of writing miles and miles of letters?🤦 Actually u have some scientific reasoning behind this, and also if u wouldnt have u have still ur own pair of ears. So what about to try it and know for once? The difference actually is realy clear. U cant miss it. It is not that simple as u described it.
Excellent review and it looks like the Curious cable is well regarded by yourself and audiophiles across the world
I was already close to giving this cable a try - now I feel confident it is worth the investment.
Pleasing to see you don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money for great digital sound..
Great video. I just got back into hifi. I ordered the original curious 350 cable. Great enjoyable hobby. My wife of 41 years puts up with me!
A very good video, thank you. About an hour ago I bought a Cuirous yellow usb used for 150 dollars here in Sweden. Have tried Vertere, Nordost etc. So I'm anxiously waiting for this one to come home so I can try it, after watching your video with such a good review on that cable. Keep making reviews, because you're doing well.
Thanks for your comments. And definitely give it some break-in time before you critically evaluate it!
How was your experience with the Curious cable so far?
@@carloscgr713 loving it so far. It’s my daily driver now.
Thanks for a great USB cable review. I've been looking at the Curious USB and have decided to try it based on your and other reviews. I'm also going to check out some of the female jazz artists you mentioned as well. Cheers
Now I know .... you are a desi just like I am :)) Nice video and very nice music system BTW!
Great Video I have the Curious beyond. Great bass but mids and highs a little rolled. I do want to try the Audience Front row and the Final Touch Audio Callisto. I am using a Lampizator Baltic preamp/Dac top Mola Mola Kaluga's and YG Acoustics Carmel 2's. My streamer is a little Project Streampbox S2 Ultra I will eventually get an Aurender.
I auditioning a zensati Razmataz linking bricasti M5 to Lessloss echo's end, source roon, core on mac mini. I do notice difference but hesitant about high price
You are very knowledgeable, Amazing system congrats 👏
shoutiness usually tames after break in. maybe check with the manufacturer about burn in?
Very good review! I would love to hear your opinion on a direct comparison between the FTA and the Curious Evolved cables. If you make such a video, I will be grateful!
Good one! Keep going
Hi, does FTA make a type A to C USB cable?
Nice video, I don't think you are in the minority thinking cables make a difference. Just by looking at the audio youtubers alone, at least half are in the same camp as you. Looking in the forums, a lot of people share similar experiences.
Cables cannot make any difference on the digital side of the chain - as long as voltage phase are not being flipped (which rarely happens in half decent cables). Your dac takes only the data, discards the incoming voltage and using its clock regenerates an analog signal for your upstream equipments. While a poorly designed DAC can have noise bleeds from its USB inputs, it's rare. And even if this happens, a cheap USB re-clocker with a decent buffer can easily rectify this issue via a coax or an i2s output. A/B/X blind tests is the only way to prove otherwise.
Having said this, I'm a personally a fence sitter when it comes to Analog cables.. I want to believe that materials make sonic difference but then I have no scientific reasoning to back me up.
It would be great if you could organize a relaxed AB test video to make it interesting. I love your videos!
@@Thoughtfluxit definitely makes difference, very easy to tell, my friend helped me to do an abx test on power cable and usb cable, i got 15/15.
@@tonyyao2004 my god i wrote this 2 years ago... 🤦I did AB testing myself. My opinion has completely flipped!
Not only USB cables but even LAN cables makes a difference!!
The reasons are getting obvious, power in USB & LAN cables are affecting phases inside the DAC. To my surprise, a LAN cable connected to a humble raspberry pi even shows stark differences. Since my old post I have been spending on cables. Also cheaper or lower quality cables may also create a tasteful difference. Turns out being a computer engineer isn't sufficient enough to explain all of digital electronics.
So yes, Thomas is right. And I love him even more now 😊
@@Thoughtflux oh! that's nice to hear! I'm both happy and sad for you, I'm happy for u cuz u can tell the difference and can enjoy ur music better, and I'm sad for u cuz apparently, u have to spend more money on cables😂. I’ve done some research myself. Initially, I believed that USB cables would only affect phase, soundstage, imaging, resolution, and so on, without altering the original timbre. But I found out I was wrong. I purchased the AudioQuest Pearl USB cable, and the sound became noticeably brighter, with improvements in resolution and other aspects. This left me confused because the materials I found didn’t specifically explain how digital cables could affect timbre. Then I also bought the Jitterbug FMJ, and wow, it's incredibly effective-totally worth it! The improvements in spatial depth, separation, and soundstage are significant. I highly recommend it to you! You have to give it a try!
@@tonyyao2004 so i'll give you a secret. Try using a fiber optic cable. You will have to use 2 transceiver. They are super cheap. You will be blown by the results I promise. The transceiver before the streamer must be fed by an ultra low noise power supply. Also do try cheap Chinese cables. They are good and cheaper too. Badly made cables do make things brighter and sometimes add Soundstage. Timber change too. I like them sounding that way at times. This hobby is crazy. And so few people know about it.
I wonder if the shoutiness of the FTA Callisto was an impedance issue.
Good job Meyy! Nice video. How are we going to get all this equipment on the bikes? I look forward to the next video.
Great video. // owner of Supra USB & Curious Evolved USB
Then what do you think about your cable difference?
Hello, Iwould like to know what are the speakers and interconnects cables you use. Thanks
Speakers are gershman acoustics grand avant- grade and my interconnects are Von Gaylord ICs
@@MrPerfusionist Thanks. I talk about speakers câbles.
@@eugeneleroy15 yes the speakers cables are also manufactured by Von Gaylord. Mine are “ROTL 7000s”
Have tried various USB cables... from Mac to my DAC. Price range £4 to £45. You definitely can hear a difference. My fav is one from EBAY @ £3.59 from seller - juicebitz a Heavy Duty 4mm OD + 20AWG USB A to Micro B Fast Charger Data Cable Lead - Not sharp sounding, very clean, great resolution and dynamics. In fact the only one out of the six that I have that I can live with! I did blind listening tests to prove it wasn't just placebo effect.
This is a bot. I've seen this comment on almost each video about USB cable for audio
@@rawnanle I am not a bot! I assure you... Why not give another USB cable a try? it'll only cost you less than £4 - it's a no brainer! I have 4 cables now... the worst sounds sharp and thin, withe best above full and very responsive. Definitely not snake oil! IMO.
All the music mentioned is typical audiophile preferred. That is simple music with a few instruments. Nothing demanding or complex. Even a budget system can easily reproduce music like that. Have you heard an ultra high end system play thrash metal? You will be surprised how midfi kit struggles with that! Cables do very little, it's the kit!
Great review !!
The computer world wouldn´t be the same if the cable of a digital connection would make any difference. Every bit needs to be received as it was send. There isn´t any chance that a cable change the sound of digital audio. There have been hundreds of audiophile comparisons of USB cables. No differences could be found, neither by measurement nor by blind hearing tests. A $ 5 Amazon cable did just as well as a multi-thousand $ cable. The result is not surprising: with USB, faulty bits are recognized by checksums and the transmission of the faulty data is repeated. Due to the short cable length and the high signal level, interference signals from outside are also irrelevant. If they nevertheless lead to errors, the transmission is repeated automatically.
I understand why you would say that, but 99% of the people doing these tests don't want there to be differences, and their "tests" are set up in a way that allows them to get the results they want. There are test out there that show not only sonic differences, but measurable ones as well.
@@solarfall2728 Paste one with those measurable differences or/and explain how the h** digital signal can be affected here. There are zeros and ones, there is nothing like better ones and worse zeros. If you hear any difference that means a cable did change particular bit from zero to one or vice versa.
Additional question, if u pull your music from streaming services (Tidal) then are you going to upgrade all digital cables across the whole Internet into audiophile cables? If not then would it still make sense to spend thousands of $ for only one last meter of cable (USB or Eth) which is plugged at very end of the whole path? Think :)
@@ukaszdubiel7584 Here's the problem I have with people like you. Your mind is already made up, so no matter how good the information is that I give you, it will be dismissed. So for me, its a waste of time. I already know what your are going to say. There's enough out on this subject that if you really wanted the truth, you could have already gotten it.
Here's what I'll do. I'm giving you a link to a video. This is just a regular guy who hears differences in USB cables, and set up a method of null testing to confirm his observations. It goes without saying you'll dismiss his results, but he also gives you enough information so that you can conduct the same test for yourself.
ruclips.net/video/zncAhs44sp8/видео.html
yes USB cables, powercables, headphone cables all make difference, for nonbelievers try some unexpensive supra cables and u will be blown away by the difference to the generic usb or power cable, if u are afraid u can still return it. Iam writing this cause there is a lot of theoretists (people that didnt even try something else) who makes claims that cables dont do a difference without trying.
So the power traveling through miles and miles of regular industrial grade wire all the way to your socket suddenly becomes better by 2 meters of hifi power cable? (which feeds into your dac which anyways converts the AC into DC before using it)
@@Thoughtflux man check it by ur own ears, I can not help you more. What do you mean by ,,suddenly,, ? Logic says that the most ipmortant thing is what is on the end of the chain. 😀
@@matusjurcik6974 bro that's not scientific. Power cables cannot make any difference to your AC power. Look it up.
@@Thoughtflux wtf :D so if u hear something but can not explain it, does it mean that it doesnt exist??? Use your brain please. Dont tell me about science u are not a scientist. I have my 2x PhD. Again those differences are substantional, it is not about cable price but cable design, there can be also garbage expensive cables as well as cheap cables, u have to know what to buy, what will make a difference. Dont be stupid and try it first and then talk. Blind test is not a good method for this, cause by the time u will be changing ur setup u will forget everything, especially if u are not trained and u dont even know what to look for, what that difference should look like. And that is the biggest problem of nonbelievers, they are untrained and don't know what they should hear.
You have very hi-end gears and did a nice review! You deserve more sub man!
I have Curious Evolved and would love to hear your though against the original Curious. The Evolved has mellower tonality which may not be to your liking though.
Thank you :) Believe it or not, I came to the same exact conclusion! My evolved is up for sale now. I am sticking with the original.
Were these cables broken in?
Yes sir!
LUSH v2 .. LoL .. i may have had a hand in that .. So many New Toys Meyy
Digital cables have no effect on the signal. It’s digital not analog. You’ve been sold snake oil.
Cables cannot make any difference on the digital side of the chain - as long as voltage phase are not being flipped (which rarely happens in half decent cables). Your dac takes only the data, discards the incoming voltage and using its clock regenerates an analog signal for your upstream equipments (in external powered DACs). While a poorly designed DAC can have noise bleeds from its USB inputs, it's rare. And even if this happens, a cheap USB re-clocker with a decent buffer can easily rectify this issue via a coax or an i2s output. A/B/X blind tests is the only way to prove otherwise.
Having said this, I'm a personally a fence sitter when it comes to Analog cables.. I want to believe that materials make sonic difference but then I have no scientific reasoning to back me up.
You clearly dont know what you are talking about. Why dont you just try it instead of writing miles and miles of letters?🤦 Actually u have some scientific reasoning behind this, and also if u wouldnt have u have still ur own pair of ears. So what about to try it and know for once? The difference actually is realy clear. U cant miss it. It is not that simple as u described it.