Supra Excalibur USB Audio Cable Review

[@phototristan]

Generic USB cables can usually work fine for audio and audiophile cables are usually no different. The main thing I like about the Supra USB is they publish adherence to the USB audio specific spec. of 90 Ohms impedance and have a better built quality with more RFI/EMI rejection features. Not having an impedance mismatch for USB audio can be an improvement and you don’t have to guess.

[@djhmax09]

I have both and I think they're both great. I hate the gaudy touch of gold they put on the excalibur though. I found the regular cable to generally have relaxed highs, a bit intimate, and a bit of a mid-bass boost. Warm and fatigue-free overall. The excalibur I found to be generally a bit brighter but with a delicate touch. Nice stage, detail, and a slight sub-bass boost. Had them go through a Holo Spring 3 DAC and an RME.

[@phototristan]

Cool. They're both great USB cables.

[@AQUPAS]

I just ordered one and will be pairing with my RME ADI-2 PRO Amp / DAC.

[@ThePalle44]

A friend and me where testing 2 usb Cables if there's any difference. Supra usb (not excalibur) And Audioquest Carbon. We used to different Streamers. Ifi stand alone streamer And my Raspberry pi 4 with Ifi Power X and ifi Usb Purifier 3. My setup is : Musical Fidelity M6si Topping D90 MQA Bushardt s300mk ll The test track we used was Leonard Cohen - I want it Darker. First out supra, he's voice stands out with great presence and sounds just great and engaging. Then we tried same setup but with Audioquest Carbon. We just looked at each other 😮 He's voice went back and didn't sound that engaging att all, but the sound was abit whider and we heard some midbase in the music that wasn't present realy with the supra. We tried the cables back and forth between the streamers. With the same result. Supra was the winner in my system. The carbon sounds abit dull.. Or to correct? But now I'm curious about the Supra Excalibur. 😁 Try the Choen Track, and switch between cables. And please come back to me 🙏😍

[@ThePalle44]

I bought Excalibur and keeping it,the old supra was loudness got more detailed sound and tighter base with excalibur

[@HiFiInsider]

it looks great

[@davidp140]

How flexible is the Excalibur USB cable compared to their standard USB?

[@phototristan]

The standard one is a bit more flexible.

[@christianreyes409]

The curious usb gives you a warmer less dynamic sound almost optical cable like not that it’s bad it’s just like you said , i love my Excalibur it replaced my curious evolved as my references but I feel the curious cable provides a true replication of the track. I think it has something to do with the power cable being applied outside the cable where there is no noise tu interfere the data circuitry

[@matusjurcik6974]

I can confirm the supra would 2.0 would upgrade the sound

[@frankjust9570]

90 Ohms impedance tolerance with 4% +/- is real for good sound RFI/EMI rejection is good To avoid power losses used 4 wire summary, with silver layer, high frequencies sounds better, regular supra usbcabel, maybe not much, but if we take the whole with summary 5 to 10% better it gives something regular supra usbcabel sounds really good Supra Excalibur sound a little better that is it can competition with with expensive usbcables the difference is not big on usb cables with sound

[@olimphus26]

Looks great.

[@mungbang]

Ok just found out the price. Not too bad for $140. I've seen usb cables going for like $15,000. Phew! Lucky these are affordable.

[@frankjust9570]

I would like to see a test nordost usbcabel Valhalla 2 price USD $ 3500.00 and Supra Excalibur how big will the difference be

[@N02tradamus]

This video has some pops and clicks in the recording. Most noticeable around 1:50. I thought my Dave was toast ... LOL

[@phototristan]

Indeed. Sorry about that. I think it's actually my lav mic cable hitting against something. Or it could have been something with the audio recorder, I don't remember.

[@N02tradamus]

@@phototristan Thank you for the review. Just went and got the Excalibur, 1 M to replace my OG Super Speed 3 M cable ...

[@phototristan]

@@N02tradamus Nice. Let us know how you like it.

[@MAELOB]

Thanks for the review

[@jimmyrustle6725]

Definitely hear a difference in my measly Gumby A2 Unison/Mjolnir 2 combo using Clear MG Pro with the Supra. I'll definitely be getting the Excalibur! If you remember my previous post on the Supra. You opened my eyes with usb cables! Lol. I hope they make matching XLR cables!

[@balazshorvath4188]

The XLR cable is called Supra Sword IXLR, and it's awesome, too! Did a comparison with double priced Cardas cables and Supra was the winner.

[@Reeeepicheep]

Did this sound slightly better than Pearl?

[@phototristan]

I didn't compare since I only run the Pearl on my mobile set up, with the Chord Mojo mostly.

[@frankjust9570]

Supra Excalibur , lets play on 80 hour, and hear, you can hear difference , very good sound in my system

[@mungbang]

Nice cables. How much are these?

[@phototristan]

About $140 for 2M one.

[@GoldenEagle0007]

u should of tested if its 90 ohm on the dot

[@phototristan]

No need to. The test spec. sheet is published by the manufacturer.

[@GoldenEagle0007]

@@phototristan manufacturers are as trustworthy as politicians

[@Reeeepicheep]

i bought 2 audio quest coffee usb cables. you don’t wanna know how much those cost me

[@frankjust9570]

between regular supra usbcabel and Supra Excalibur there is more space in the music and microdetail on Supra Excalibur I hear it on my studio monitor neumann 310a so good improvement over ordinary supracable

[@woopygoman]

I belong in the listening camp but I think if Amir from ASR measured this cable it would be interesting.

[@phototristan]

FWIW He does have an article on his site on digital reflections here audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/technical-article-digital-audio-cable-reflections-and-dacs.7159/ however when he tested USB cables himself he’s never tested 90 ohm ones for some reason. Yet, he has stated a 90 ohm would improve things so I question his methodology totally.

[@rorygallagher-redslug]

"Thanks to the current symmetry". "explosive dynamics". Please look into the claims on the back of that box a bit deeper. You will see that you and others are being scammed with these cables. You cannot improve audio quality with cables like these. There is no difference in audio between this and the cheapest usb cable you will find. If you disagree, I'd implore you research this. Try an A/B test or do some objective measurements.

[@phototristan]

Wrong.The signal that moves along a USB cable isn’t digital - it most definitely is NOT ones and zeroes - but an electrical-pulse representation of those ones and zeroes. This analogue signal is therefore prone to disturbance from EMI emanating from the host computer and electrical noise arrive over the air, otherwise known as RFI. Greater vulnerability to noise can degrade a cable’s ability to do its job: transfer data from computer to DAC. Also generic USB cables are not the correct impedance for USB audio which is spec’ed to 90Ohms so you can use them, but you get an impedance mismatch and worse audio. Also see kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3yzYoF3ptupgJY and darko.audio/2016/05/gordon-rankin-on-why-usb-audio-quality-varies/

[@rorygallagher-redslug]

@@phototristan I agree that the job of transferring data can be degraded but when it does it results in audio dropouts and obvious glitches. Even extremely cheap USB cables are more than capable of transferring audio without dropouts. The character of the sound will not change at all. The marketing material on the back of that box is nonsense. Could you explain how that particular cable can have "explosive dynamics" versus a "basic" cable, for example?

[@phototristan]

@@rorygallagher-redslug Research reflections in digital cables, then you’ll know.

[@rorygallagher-redslug]

@@phototristan I understand that reflections can cause errors in the signal. Those errors can usually be corrected, and when they can't, it results in obvious, non-subtle dropouts. The actual fidelity of the sound is absolutely unaffected, and again, cheap cables perform just fine. It's basically a non-issue with these shorter cable lengths. With those "explosive dynamics", I can only assume they are referring to dynamic range. In that regard it will not be different to any other cable.

[@phototristan]

@@rorygallagher-redslug Wrong, again. It's not just an on or off thing. Reflections can lead to digital glare with more of a noise floor and overall thinner sound. Whether you notice it or not depends on your ears and system.