I’ve mostly done all recording on my QU-16 via the QU-drive and have some experience using it with a DAW (Logic), but now I need to run a USB cable long enough to have the DAW option reguarly without moving the computer. My questions are regarding cable length and connector type.
I need just over 20 ft, so that probably pushes me to a 25ft cable. I’ve seen cables of that length on Amazon that claim, along with some reviews, to work well for audio interfaces and such. My Mac has both A and C USB slots. So, is it really possible to use a cable that long, and would an A-to-B or C-to-B cable be better?
I think you will be fine with a 5 metre (over 15 ft) USB 2.0 cable from your Qu-16 to your computer using the USB A port. I have done this from my Qu-16 to a Windows 10 computer and it works fine. check following:
The maximum length for USB 2.0 cables is 5m (approx 16ft) - if you need to go further than this, you should extend using a USB extender, ideally from a reputable hardware manufacturer, and it needs to support all the USB data types (bulk, control, interrupt, and isochronous transfers)
If you hunt around you should be able to pick up some Extron Extender Plus series extenders on eBay for not a lot of money - anything suspiciously cheap on Amazon will likely not work, and in my experience, cables over 5m will not work either (even if they’re advertised to)
The Qu-16 requires a USB 2 connection, so we’d ideally recommend going from your Mac to a USB hub that forces USB 2 speed connections and then out to the device. If that isn’t possible, USB-A to USB-B is generally better (as it’s more likely to honour the USB 2 speed - we’ve seen issues where MacOS incorrectly identifies the device and tries to give it full USB 3 speeds)