I am getting ready to upgrade to a better USB cable between my Roon NUC and my McIntosh MHA150. I want to keep the cable short as possible without the NUC noise having a negative influence on my other audio equipment.
Just a length please. Don’t get too technical or my brain will explode.
You asked for just the length not any explanation.
It’s a question that doesn’t have a single answer. It will have as many answers as there are people with opinions.
Anyway more information would be needed to give any form of opinion. The only way to know is to test it yourself. Buy a couple of different lengths and see.
Then you can ask the next unanswerable question “does the sort of USB cable I use make any difference?”
And on ad infinitum.
I’m not knowledgable about this topic, but if there is noise, would a longer cable do anything to reduce or eliminate the noise? I would put the components where I want them and purchase the proper length for that setup. If there was a problem, then try something different.
It does not really matter how far apart they are. A lot of people go with fanless cases, which eliminates the possibility of fan noise from the NUC. When going this route, there really is no need to isolate the NUC from the DAC. The main reason to put the NUC in a different room is so that you don’t hear the noise from the fan when it kicks on. If you are not worried about that, then put the NUC where you want it, and get the shortest USB cable that will reach it but it does not have to be exact. As for USB cables, I like the Wireworld USB cables the best. Even when ignoring the possibility that USB cables can affect your system’s sound, the Wireworld USB cables are well built with nice connectors and they are very easy to manipulate because they are flat, thin and very flexible.
Well, to take any guess work out of this and do a proper upgrade, I went ahead and ordered an Akasa passive chassis and a .8 meter audiophile USB. So no worries now about fan noise, electrical interference or sketchy signal loss of a long USB. I will now look for a decent linear power supply.