Cardas Audio Clear High Speed Serial Buss USB Cable - 3.0 Meter

Clear High Speed Serial Buss Is Cardas's Two-Cable USB

Cardas Audio's Clear High Speed Serial Buss takes the Clear USB cable and adds a second, high-performance data cable with silver-plated conductors. Each conductor pair in both cables is shielded on its own, and each cable carries its own double shield. It is the top of the Cardas USB range.

Two Cables, Eight Conductors, Silver on the Data Lines

Cardas calls the layout a dual asymmetrical star-quad with eight conductors. The data conductors are solid-core copper plated with silver, a departure for a company that usually stays with copper. The power and remaining signal conductors keep the Kevlar-core Litz build of the Clear line.

Golden Ratio Litz Conductors in PTFE

Each Litz conductor has a Kevlar core wound with ultra-fine Grade 1 copper, 99.9999% pure, every strand sealed in clear SPN enamel. Strand gauges step in Golden Ratio proportions. Cardas insulates them in ultra-thin extruded PTFE and binds power and signal with PFA tape.

Each signal pair rides in its own shield. Over each cable sits a final shield of aluminum-mylar foil, tin-plated copper and magnet wire, then a TPR jacket. hi-fi+ notes the cable is high-speed USB 2.0 and not USB 3.0.

The USB-A and USB-B Plugs, Explained

Clear High Speed Serial Buss ends in a flat USB-A plug for the computer end and a square USB-B plug for the DAC end. USB-A is the flat plug on a computer or streamer; USB-B is the square plug on most desktop DACs. Cardas does not name the plug maker or its plating, so we do not claim it.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Alan Sircom reviewed it for hi-fi+ on August 3, 2021. Against the standard Clear USB the mid-bass was "faster and just as impactful," and "the big difference is in the quality and solidity of that soundstage."

He kept the gain in proportion. It is "a very clear sounding cable; not significantly more so than the entry-level cable," he wrote, and "it doesn't shout, either about itself or the equipment to which it is connected."

Who Is This USB Cable Best For?

• You want the top of the Cardas USB range — the second data cable and silver-plated data conductors are the only upgrade Cardas offers over Clear USB, so this is the end of the line
• You listen for soundstage — hi-fi+ heard the biggest gain in the solidity of the soundstage, so images gain weight
• Your computer sits near power supplies — every conductor pair has its own shield and each cable has a double shield, so noise stays out of the DAC
• You already own Clear USB — hi-fi+ found the step modest in clarity, so weigh the soundstage gain against the price before you move
• You need USB-C or USB 3 speeds — this is a USB 2.0 cable with USB-A and USB-B plugs, and its twin-cable build is bulkier than most. If your gear has only USB-C, call us

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Plug the USB-A end of Clear High Speed Serial Buss into your computer, streamer or server and the USB-B end into your DAC. Then choose the DAC as the output device in your player or system sound settings. Cardas says the cable sounds the same at any usable length.

Then listen. Other and longer lengths available. Call for prices.

Pairs Well With

A USB cable is one link in a digital chain. It usually joins these categories.

• Digital-to-Analog Converters — the usual receiving end
• Music Streamers — streamer or server to DAC
• Headphone Amplifiers — a DAC and amp on the desk
• Power Cables — clean power at both ends

Frequently Asked Questions

Why two cables?

Cardas splits the link into two shielded cables so the extra data conductors get their own path and their own shields. It says the result adds depth, realism and imaging over Clear USB.

Why silver-plate the data conductors?

Cardas usually stays with copper. On this cable it plates the solid-core data conductors with silver, which suits the very high frequencies a USB signal carries.

What is Matched Propagation?

Cardas's conductor design. It winds the strand layers so the signal in the copper and the charge in the insulation travel at matched speeds, which Cardas says stops the smearing of low-level detail.

Is it USB 3.0?

It is high-speed USB 2.0, as hi-fi+ notes. Audio DACs use USB 2.0, so nothing is lost. A USB 3.0 drive would fall back to 2.0 speed.

What warranty does Cardas give?

A lifetime warranty. Cardas seals every Litz strand in enamel so the copper does not oxidize, and says that is why its cables last.

Is there a step up?

Not in the Cardas USB range. Clear High Speed Serial Buss is the top of that ladder. If you want to go further, call us and we will talk through the whole chain.

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