It is simply impossible the USB cable have an impact on the sound quality.
It will not transfer any analog audio information, but pure bits - 0 and 1 - via a serial protocol.
Here these bits are transmitted in data packets, which are provided with a CRC error correction and so safeguards that may arrive error-free data.
Should only be a single, minimal error of only one wrong bit in a packet, it is sent again from scratch.
Even with the theoretical worst, dirtiest cable in the world, the USB controller will correct inaccurate data immediately.
This means the data will transmit the same from any USB cable exactly and 100%. Since there is no room for interpretation.
Now you will surely say: Aha! But if the controller must continually re-send at a bad cable packages, it has determined that an influence on the audio quality. Has not it. First, there are transmit and receive buffers, this means there are always more data already there, are required as to date and secondly to fix them so incredibly fast that it is impossible that it can be heard anyway. Especially because so no audio signals are transmitted, but the data are subsequently converted to audio signals. A USB digital-to-analog converter always gets just a current to 100% exact same data and then converts them into sounds. Thus, the DAC, in the converting and output to make a difference, but never the cable.
But only time for fun: Theoretically could be a USB Verbdinung be so bad that the controller does not come with the error correction afterwards, but then it would come in our example music playback to complete misfires, therefore no data and ergo: no Music. The music when it is played but then is transferred 100% perfect. Because of the error correction.
And then there is also so that no cable can be so bad that this happened. The whole is a purely theoretical thought experiment: D
Your USB devices do, however, very well make a difference.
Eg if you have connected a bad amplifier via USB, the sound is just ... bad. This is however only to the components of the amplifier. Whether you are using a 2 Euro or 60 Euro super duper Gold cable thereby makes no difference. Nada. Niente. Zero. Zero.
Here is an excerpt from a test to the site Computer Audiophile, unfortunately only in English:
Testing
But, skeptics will say, in isochronous mode is no CRC correction. No, that's right. In theory, data loss is possible. To find out how much we did a test.
The Following software tool shows the data over a USB connection: [...]. And it shows if packets arrive, CRC checks are correct, etc.
US 300 euro 5 euro
We purchased a AudioQuest Coffee USB cable, sized 1, 5 meters (about 300 euros). Yes: we too were Convinced of the usefulness of a high-end USB cable. The AudioQuest Entered the fight with a standard cable of 5 euros. This of course meets the USB 2.0 standard.
We played a complete song by Massive Attack, twice. Once over the AudioQuest Coffee and once over the budget cable.
In Both cases, error free data is Transferred. A song of more than 5 minutes, more than 300,000 milliseconds ... error free in Both cases.
Logical
And that is very logical When You consider thatthere is no other information going from A to B then data and synchronization data. There are packets of data going through the cable, with supplemented to ID token Which indicates where the packet belongs. The receiver chip in the DAC Creates spdif.There it can go wrong: not with the USB transfer.
Conclusion
Do not be fooled by expensive USB cables. It's a waste of money. We have Believed, but are now Convinced of the nonsense. with a thorough digital protocol it is simply impossible to ruin the data transfer. The cable is broken or simply does not meet the standard.