EMI/RFI Filtering USB C Plug board for DIY USB Cables

i actually could place a CC pad on the backside, so if one desires can remove R2, tho the current ferrite bead is only rated for 1,9A, which makes this a bit problematic

Edit: well i might just include it like this
Screenshot from 2025-01-30 00-31-27.png
 
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CLC filter on Vbus needs serious verification that it does not ring and does not do more harm than good. When looking at the whole thing in use, there is actually a CLCLCLC filter on Vbus, the outer Cs are on the host and device and the outer Ls are the cable (or extensions etc), and the inner CLC is what you add. If you short the central ferrite, it is still CLCLC.
 
@Ghoostknight : The datasheet for a USB-C male connector https://www.tme.eu/Document/33f47f021aa23f1431a5aebac3049b3b/USB4151.pdf says:

View attachment 1414817

IIUC it means the connector itself has the shield connected to A1/A12/B1/B12 internally, which is what @bohrok2610 is saying, IIUC.
well i was hoping i could spare the one shield latch because it ruins the layout quite a bit but will see what i can do, tho im 100% sure it would work, just not "on spec"

im using this one: https://www.molex.com/content/dam/m.../salesdrawingpdf/105/105444/1054440011_sd.pdf

CLC filter on Vbus needs serious verification that it does not ring and does not do more harm than good. When looking at the whole thing in use, there is actually a CLCLCLC filter on Vbus, the outer Cs are on the host and device and the outer Ls are the cable (or extensions etc), and the inner CLC is what you add. If you short the central ferrite, it is still CLCLC.
would there be an alternative? i mean, if oscillation could happen doesnt it come down to both devices and the cable combination, so swapping any of the 3 options the resonancefrequency would change?

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i actually also have to also add a 10k pullup resistor on CC on the device end as i just found out, so either make room for solderbridges to choose or make 2 pcbs
this CC stuff seems pretty dumb tho... if i understand correctly and you have a "dumb" usb port (or some adapter also utilizing pullup resistors without further circuitry) you can actually short out two power supplies.... also the cable becomes directional, i can place some "audiophile markers" then 😀

but its the only option if i dont wanna run a CC line....
 
would there be an alternative? i mean, if oscillation could happen doesnt it come down to both devices and the cable combination, so swapping any of the 3 options the resonancefrequency would change?
The point is to make sure the ferrite is already dominantly resistive at the frequencies where the capacitors short so that the RF energy is converted to heat rather than reflected.
Sometimes it makes sense to parallel a (low-capacitance) resistor to the ferrite to make it resistive at lower frequencies.
Simulation of the scenario helps, looking into the source impedance the Vbus end consumer sees.
 
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  • removed the rc on shield (only one solderbridge for shield -> GND connection)
  • added seperate pullup/pulldown resistors (3A) choosable via solderpads for "source" and "device" plug, it makes it a directional cable but really the only option if you dont wanna put a CC line
  • added solderpad for CC line if your cable supports it, tho i imagine there are basicly non 2.0 data cables with cc line
  • connected both shield pads

what i might experiment with is not putting shield on the board at all on the device end (or dont connect GND)
 
Any more thoughts on this?

i checked cost.... 30 pieces would cost 130 at jlcpcb
which comes out around 4-5 euro per piece

probably cheaper if you take 50+ but i dont wanna commit that much without having heared it in action, just fairly certain that the last revision should work out just fine
 
Most decent DAC will filter USB properly.
cant really argue about the effectiveness till i heared it...
well, i have heared CMC's on the data line already and it was an improvement so im fairly optimistic here

very few dacs under 1-2k use usb isolation inside the dac and even then, theoretically this should also reduce radiation from the cable, not just what is going into the dac (how much you weight this as a pro is up to you tho)

pretty much any dac i heared with standard xmos/amanero implementation suffers from audible degredation because of USB and its tweakable with isolator/filters/cables
 
cant really argue about the effectiveness till i heared it...
well, i have heared CMC's on the data line already and it was an improvement so im fairly optimistic here

very few dacs under 1-2k use usb isolation inside the dac and even then, theoretically this should also reduce radiation from the cable, not just what is going into the dac (how much you weight this as a pro is up to you tho)

pretty much any dac i heared with standard xmos/amanero implementation suffers from audible degredation because of USB and its tweakable with isolator/filters/cables

Have you made any measurement that proved what you say , it will be interresting to see them and maybe talk about

.
 
Then avoid the true pc setup and USB.

Future proof? This year I run my audio from dedicated audio players for 25 years 😉
might work for music but not for movies/games/production, atleast non hasslefree solutions im aware of (DLNA too much latency for games for example)

the thing is i had an ian canada transport and ultimatively a tweaked usb source beat it while an untweaked straight wire usb source sounded worse

Have you made any measurement that proved what you say , it will be interresting to see them and maybe talk about
no, im pretty sure its measureable if you look "beyond" the 20-22.05khz audible output of a dac, but noone of the objective camp does for obvious reasons
 
Have you made any measurement that proved what you say...
How would you know what a measurement proved?

From what I have seen so far most people don't seem to know all that much about measuring noise in all its guises, and or know whether or not particular noise effects have been studied for audibility in particular dac topologies.
 
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Its probably a waste of time to look at USB cables in most cases. Either USB transports useable data or it doesn't. If it doesn't you will hear dropouts, etc. IOW, it will be quite obvious.

The real problem is what happens from the point you need to use a USB board for your diy dac. That's where USB noise incursion can cause problems. So that's where most of the problems need to be solved.

However, if you already have a commercial dac and you are concerned about USB noise problems, then about the only thing you can do is try different commercial isolators, different PCs, and or different dacs.
imo there are many off the shelf dacs (pretty much any sub 1k interface/dac) that could benefit from additional filtering between isolator and dac, listening tests have to confirm but they are alot of usb tweaks that seem to be beneficial, atleast in my expierence

if we talk higher end dacs with isolation build-in the picture might change a bit tho, i would still give a shot, specially if the prices for these cables are reasonable
 
imo there are many off the shelf dacs (pretty much any sub 1k interface/dac) that could benefit from additional filtering between isolator and dac...
That may very well be true, but dacs like that I have opened up and looked at appear to have multiple problems affecting SQ. USB noise incursion is only one of them. If the dac was designed right in the first place it wouldn't have any of those problems. But then it wouldn't sell because it would cost too much for the same SINAD numbers when measured by an AP. However the AP isn't measuring everything, such as susceptibility to USB noise incursion. So everybody will say its overpriced in terms of SINAD/$. That's how people end up with cheap dacs like that. Then they add on a few hundred more $$$ trying to fix it so it sounds good.
 
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