Also being a computer guy, I had the same questions. I found a few articles on the subject, but this one was easiest for me to understand:
The quotes in that articles all come from people selling high priced USB cables, so I didn’t necessarily take this as anything more than a marketing exercise, but some of the responses seemed aligned with more independently-sourced articles. Also, there were a few things that seemed to make sense to me (again, I don’t have any understanding of electronics):
1. Music signals do not use the same error correction as files sent to a hard drive or printer
When sending a document to print, there’s a code that tells the printer how big the packet was. The printer can check that code against the file received, and can ask the PC to resend the file until it confirms that the file is completely correct. Streamed music signals do not benefit from this resend function and therefore DAC error correction systems cannot replace missing or corrupted data.
2. USB cables do not pass binary data - they pass voltage signals which are interpreted as 1s and 0ss
Voltage below a certain level is interpreted as a 0 and voltage above a certain level is interpreted as a 1. Anything that interferes with the voltage signal can cause the data to be misinterpreted.
3. Most USB cables do not isolate the power conductor from the signal conductors
Noise from the power conductors can interfere with the signal unless suitable shielding is used.
That third point resonated with me, which was why I was looking for USB cables that isolate the power conductor. The Curious Cable seems to get the most accolades, and that physically separates the power conductor. I couldn’t find a used Curious Cable, so I got the Black Cat instead, since that shielded the signal conductors from the power conductor.
This was an interesting experiment. I proved to myself that there can be audible differences between USB cables. But different doesn’t necessarily mean better or worse, so I don’t want to make any claims on which one is more musical. And those cables are very expensive, so I don’t think they deliver value for money, unless you’re happy with what you have and don’t mind spending money to get an incremental benefit (or worse case no benefit).
When the world is in better shape, if anyone is planning on driving through the Chicago Western suburbs, just PM me, and I’d be happy for you to try the experiment for free. 