sure, have a good night
I already have the Rossini Clock - purchased together with my pre APEX ROSSINI. I would not have considered the Rossini without
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I don’t want to derail this thread any more than it has already been, but twice you’ve made this assertion, so I decided to give it a try myself. Now, I don’t have a Tellurium USB cable available, but I do have a couple of AQ fancier USB cables (Diamond & Cinnamon). So I took a run at ripping CDs from two different drives on two different computers (a MacBook Pro 14 (Apple Silicon 2021) and an iMac Pro (Intel 2019). I used only dbPowerAmp, set at its strictest error-checking. I used one CD (Black Dub by Black Dub), and I ripped it with the drives connected to each of the two computers through each of the three cables, a generic USB cable and the two AQ cables. This gave me twelve folders each containing 11 ripped tracks. In a result that should surprise no one, each of those tracks and folders were identical across all twelve. [I recently reported that ripping SACDs from two different SACD disk spinners using two different pieces of software produced files of varying sizes, also not surprising.]
I confess I did not listen to all 132 tracks. I selected a couple of tracks I felt I knew well, listened to them repeatedly, looking for differences, and then set them up in a folder where I could shuffle them and see if I noticed any differences. I did not.
I think we all hear what we hear. Each of us has unique systems and unique ear-brain combos. But with identical files generated in my little homebrew experiment, I could observe no reason to expect files to sound different. Nor did they to me. I don’t think digital music is just 1s and 0s. But I think in order to take the claim seriously that the USB cable we use to rip the file can produce a sonic difference, someone should be able to articulate a cogent hypothesis for the effect. Even if we can’t measure it (yet), what objective reason other than expectation bias might be responsible for such a result?
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What an absolute STONE COLD CLASSIC
How amazing was Trixie Whitley’s singing on this album!
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Spot effin’ on! An amazing album.
There are things in digital hifi that really drive one mind nuts, right? One can not explain it but it’s there 
(And boy I wish it was not that way…spent too much money for DACs, cables, NAS, switches, powersupplies, etc). Or the discussion what’s better wav vs flac?
I used dbPowerAmp, XLD, itunes and some other ripping SW as well, then I tried Mac’s internal drive and Samsung Blueray/CD ripper etc (and before that I had even a Naim HDX for ripping, ah- Windows system in tests as well!). At the end I bought this Melco CD ripper beast.
Believe it or not- the differences are huge! Can I measure it? Problably not - but the differences are there. Melco ripping directly to the NAS system is fantastic.
Same thing with the cables- in the demo, the dealer used standard USB cable vs Cardas USB. I bought later a Tellurium Q that I used for DAC connection and now for ripping purpose.
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I wonder if people realise that the USB protocols involved in the two scenarios - USB streamer connected to a DAC, versus USB connecting a CD ripper to PC - are actually quite different.
The former is Asynchronous USB which is built on-top of USB’s isochronous transfer mode which Is real-time and non-error corrected. Coupled with USB’s notorious power and grounding noise “issues”, the USB cable has the potential to affect sound quality of whatever DAC it’s connected to it - hence why USB interface is a poor choice for high-end audio IMHO (and people appear willing to spend $20K on things like Taiko Servers to “fix” USB 
).
Whereas the latter uses USB bulk transfer mode where the data derived from the ripped CDs are transferred as error-corrected packets to the PC, and (similar to Ethernet/TCP) it’s technically not possible for the interconnecting USB Cable to affect rips. If this were not the case, millions of people would be having all sort of problems every day copying files on USB flash and drives (in the same way that people don’t have problems on the Internet with standard Ethernet Switches/Routers and Ethernet Cables).
That said, CD rips can vary, but that’s due to the C2/CU errors from reading Redbook discs (not from USB cables), which is why the AccurateRip database exist to validate Redbook CD rips (and why a good CD Transport Mech is important).
Wikipedia’s USB entry is a good reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB
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PM send- Ralf
Ages ago I ripped many CDs from an old MacBook with integrated CD-ROM. Even with Error correction on, I found out many years later there were errors in a small number of rips 
I now use XLD on MacOS in paranoia mode. It connects to the AccurateRip database @Anupc mentioned above. It also spits out a log file summarizing the accuracy of each track. Very useful.
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Ralf, as I said, we each hear what we hear. But because each of our systems and our hearing apparatus are unique, in order to find common ground for assessment and even experimentation, it helps to understand the why of what we say we are hearing. Let’s say I love Speaker A, but you report that when you heard it, you couldn’t stand to listen for more than 5 minutes. We could ask each other all sorts of questions about what might produce such different outcomes. And there would likely be many possible objective and subjective answers.
You say you hear a difference between two rips of the same track ripped on the same equipment but with a different cable. How is this possible other than the power of suggestion? I am not saying it is impossible. I am asking what would explain that. As Anup notes, the technology at work suggests it shouldn’t be happening electromechanically. So, what would explain it? Your equipment and ears are very different from mine, but even if we had the same equipment in the same type of room, our ears and brains would remain quite different. So, how to explain this possible difference? Some people may not need an explanation other than “this crazy hobby.” 
But that’s not very convincing. I wrote this in the previous comment:
But I think in order to take the claim seriously that the USB cable we use to rip the file can produce a sonic difference, someone should be able to articulate a cogent hypothesis for the effect.
You describe these differences as “huge.” But plenty of audiophiles with likely better ears than mine suggest they are “zero.” So, I hear a huge difference in my system when I simply depressurize my ears, or smile, or simply cup my ears. And those differences are objectively easy to explain and replicate. I hear non-trivial but still subtle differences with clocking my Vivaldi. I hear differences between my Vivaldi system and my MSB system. And naturally I hear differences between a cold amp and a warmed up one. These are differences I can hear away from the siren song of someone trying to sell me something. And they are differences that make sense in our real world. They are testable and subject to falsification.
I enjoy the craftsmanship of a well-made cable or a beautiful fascia, even if those characteristics don’t affect the SQ outcome. It’s a hobby and it’s my money; same goes for you—you can spend yours any way you like. But if you’re going to claim that a USB cable makes a difference in SQ between two otherwise identical files, it think it’s fair for me to ask “explain how that could be.” You may not have the answer, but someone should at least have a hypothesis other than “I happened to see your wallet there.”
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Greg, I don’t have the answer for that. On the other thread here in the forum is a discussion about clock cables for Vivaldi One and that they make a difference.
Indeed. There are differences between clock cables that could contribute to differences in performance, especially among the non-spec-compliant ones. While I am skeptical about what any of us is able to hear, I do believe we as humans are very sensitive to timing “shortcomings” (for want of a better term) in the digital reproduction of recorded music, and not all in the same way. There is a reason that companies like dCS, MSB, Esoteric and others have invested some much effort toward the improvement of timing. In theory, a compliant clock cable should be able to transport the proper signal accurately, without harmful reflection, and if it does, that’s all that should matter. But there are plenty of expensive cables that are not compliant with the very straightforward specs. Perhaps those cables produce euphonics some find pleasing?
But that’s a very different kettle of fish from saying that there are sonic differences between two identical files based on the cable used to generate the files.
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They say timing is everything and I’d agree!
I agree that (at least to my mind) two bit-identical files should sound the same (ignoring any potential electrical noise from the disc drive and, for the moment, what happens after they are read from the disc), regardless of how those bits got there.
Once you start streaming these bits, then things definitely change due to inaccuracies in the clock and the transmission of the clock signal.
That said, I’m keeping an open mind… I try never rule out something I can’t disprove.
What “definitely” changes between two identical files streamed over Ethernet?
During my journey in digital land I learned that almost everything and every detail matters. Never thought that Stillpoints under my DAC make a difference, or that a switch makes a difference too. Sure does a clock cable makes a difference- I replaced mine with Oyaide clock cables. I‘m pretty sure that a switch from Melco or Innuos will transport a file bitperfect so one shouldn‘t hear a difference. I tested 4 switches - they all sounded different.
Or let‘s say Taiko Extreme transports for 25000$ bitperfect exactly like a 100$ NAS-streamer gear. There shouldn’t be a difference. I don’t trust measurements no longer because we may measure wrong things! (Other example 20 W ss amp vs 20 W tube amp - both have 20 W ) And I can hear clearly a difference in USB cables and I‘m 100 Ok if one doesn‘t hear it 
Add on: English is not my mother language- so I don’t want to sound offensive or aggressive because I choose the wrong wording (if it sounds like this- sorry!)
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Anup, would you kindly stop clouding the issue by introducing logic and technical facts?
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I’m sure vendors like Melco would be happy to provide an example rip file, which can then be diff’ed against (say) BitPerfect ripping etc. If the numbers in the file are the same, then…
In fact, you’d expect these vendors who are claiming a difference in the quality of their ripping to have such files on their sites. Maybe of something they had recorded themselves, so no 3rd party IP issues.
But… oh… no they dont.
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I don’t have any financial relations with Melco But they’re showing their new system at the Hfif Show in Bristol - have a chat and demo!
I will pop in. But Alan and I dont get along