Computer Audio Design (CAD) was one of the first companies to see USB as the best solution for streaming hi-res audio, and company founder Scott Berry is still at the leading edge of the technology, developing ground-breaking ways to tackle unwanted noise and optimize audio performance. Jason Kennedy puts his latest duo of inventions to the test.

“Scott Berry looks like something of a prophet in the digital audio world,” writes Kennedy in hi-fi webzine The Ear. Long before USB became the de facto connection for streaming audio, CAD’s 1543 DAC had only a USB input “at a time when few DAC manufacturers had even got round to putting this connection on theirs”.

Kennedy used CAD’s first USB cable as his main digital cable for many years and found it “unusual for being relaxed and warm by contrast with the forward, even edgy sound of many alternatives at the time”. While the rest of the cable world caught up, CAD moved on: Berry created a USB II version, which has now been further upgraded to the new USB II-R cable “that ups the game once more”.

The new USB II-R “is distinguished by the presence of a separate 5V lead and a filter at the send end”. The filter (which is also available as a standalone device for use with other USB cables) contains “a secret sauce network” designed to reduce high frequency noise on the signal, ground and 5V lines.

“Given that this type of noise is the reason why digital has a reputation for sounding cold and hard, it makes sense to eliminate as much of it as possible,” notes Kennedy.

Want to cut to the chase? “I made a number of comparisons with reference cables and came to the conclusion that CAD’s USB II-R is one of the most natural and effortless digital connections available to the streaming enthusiast.”

More detail? Read the full review online at https://the-ear.net/review-hardware/cad-drops-the-noise-with-usb-ii-r/

Find out more and track down your nearest UK dealer at www.computeraudiodesign.com