There's a big problem with the marketing around cables. Actually, a lot of big
problems. Confusing branding, egregious pricing, direct to landfill build
quality, not to mention outright lying about performance and capabilities. But
most people don't have a $10,000 cable tester. So, they don't know. They just
get frustrated when their devices seem flaky. But, do you have any idea how
often it's actually the cable? So, we took matters into our own hands.
Introducing LTT true spec cables.
They're durable, they feel great, and most importantly, they are true to the
spec. If it says 20 Gbit per second, it
can do 20 Gbit per second. If it says 240 W, it can do that, too. And with
clear as day labeling on the connector, you never have to wonder if the cable
you're holding is the right one for the job. Now, a lot of people don't really
care about their cables, and I didn't used to either. I get it. But when a
whole production can be brought down by one bad connection, it is amazing how
quickly your perspective [music] changes. This is the story of how LT
Truepec cables came to life. [music] And look at that. It only took Oh, good
lord.
[music]
Hey, Kyle. Could we make an LTT cable in the next
couple of years?
That's great. Can't wait to have my own cables by 2023.
Yeah, it didn't work out that way.
>> I'm holding out for a cable till the end of [music] the night. It's got to be
long and it's got to be fast and it's got to be at the right price. [music]
Delta Hub. Protect your wrist with an LTD edition CarpioG.2 from Delta. A
magnetic strap and perforated pads make it great for those long gaming sessions
where comfort is key. Pick one up today at LMG.gg/deltahubltgaming.
Admittedly, part of the reason these took so long was that the first year was
pretty much spent on procrastination. Hey, in fairness, we were kind of busy
developing our two biggest products ever. But with those out of the way, for
the next year, we focused on finding the right partner to manufacture our custom
cables. And this process took months. We
reached out to over 30 different factories, [music] evaluated hundreds of
samples, and even after all of that, we couldn't find one that would
consistently pass the most fundamental of tests, signal integrity. I mean,
that's like one of the two things a cable does. And it really opened our
eyes to the pervasiveness of the problems that plague the cable industry.
Here's an example. Not going to name any names here, but this cable came from a
prominent seller on Amazon. We go ahead and plug it into our cable tester and
watch what happens. Yep, that's a fail.
And this happens a lot. But here's the [music] really tricky part. If you take
it out of the tester and throw it onto a computer, voila, it totally works.
What's the deal with that? Well, you see, USB [music] has built-in error
handling that monitors for any missed bits and will request that your device
resends that information, all without any user intervention, which is super
cool. But it also means that if you have a flaky cable, it could be slowing you
down without you realizing it. [music] Or it might only behave badly sometimes
or on some devices. The bottom line is that a cable like this [music] is kind
of like a dollar store toilet plunger. usually gets the job done, but it might
let you down at a very critical moment. Let's compare to our cable. What we're
looking for here is a distinct eye [music] shape, a hole in the middle that
indicates that our signal is clean. Finding a partner that could deliver
results like this across our various speeds and lengths was critical to
moving forward. And it wasn't easy. A typical sample order for us would
contain about 100 cables. And in those early months, not a single manufacturer
was able to send us an entire batch of cables that [music] didn't have a
failure. Now, no one's perfect. And a single bad cable out of a sample batch,
[music] that wouldn't be the end of the partnership. Except that we often found
that when one cable would fail, like say the 6 ft 20 Gbit per second type-c to
type C, all of the cables of that type
in the entire batch would fail. We started to become concerned that there
was simply no manufacturer that could meet our performance standards. But then
at the very end of the year, December, ladies and gentlemen, we got them.
[music] Every cable that these guys sent passed our signal integrity tests. And
on top of that, they were highly responsive for communication and even
seemed excited rather than intimidated by our desire to create something that
was better than what already exists, which uh [music] you'd be surprised how
few manufacturing partners are interested in that sort of thing. So, we
quickly aligned on our goal, the best spec we could reach at any given length.
And the next 3 years were spent bringing these [music] to
life. My perfect USB cable. The
connector housing features clear labeling so there is no ambiguity around
data speeds or charging. And we used a firm but fair strain relief along with a
soft silicone sheathing for [music] a whole bunch of reasons that I'll get
into a little bit later because first I kind of got to address the uh girthy
elephant in the room. >> She's a pretty chungous boy. But that's
because a high quality cable has a lot more to it than just some conductors
wrapped in some sheathing. This right here is the USBC connector spec
document. This is the USB 4 spec. And
this is the USB power delivery spec. This is
actually just all the paper we have in the building [music] and consists of only around 60% of the rules you need to
follow to make your own cable. [music] Together, they dictate what you can and
can't put inside of your cable. But with over 2,000 pages of rules, how do so
many bad cables exist? Well, as it turns out, many of these rules are more like
pirate code guidelines.
For example, we have a normal USBC cable and one of our cables. Let's take a look
inside. Taking a look at these, the first thing
you notice, our cable is a lot larger diameter, and that's for a bunch of
reasons. Starting off, we have our main power conductor right here. compared to
their other B cables. Here we have the shielding around the outside for ground
and return. We have our low-speed conductors [music] which are for the
most part similar to theirs, but it's the super speed lines where you see a
big difference. [music] And let's take a closer look at those.
Getting a closer [music] look at these, you can see the twisted pair combos
here. You have four of them in the normal cable. And here [music] we have
our coax conductors where two of these
are one signal path and we have eight on this cable. [music] If your cable has a
twisted pair, it can be fine. But if you have a twisted pair, go to the hospital.
The second reason is that unlike cheaper PVC sheathing found in most cables,
including underneath the braids of your braided cables, silicone is highly UV
resistant, which [music] means it won't turn brittle after sun exposure. The
third reason is that it's highly kinkresistant and doesn't have annoying
cable memory, making it a breeze to coil up and store. But coaxial isn't all
upside. They are generally quite a bit more expensive because you have to
shield each individual conductor. As well, they can be quite a bit larger and
they can be less flexible, which is part of the reason we went with the silicone
sheath. It helps you get closer to the flexibility you'd expect from a premium
cable. If you look really closely, you might notice that these cables aren't
perfectly round. While we were trying to balance thickness and flexibility, we
kind of ended up with a bit of a ribbed for your pleasure texture. And besides,
where durability really counts is at the ends of a cable. How many of you have
one of those white cables from a brand that shall remain nameless that [music]
looks like this? That's because they have objectively terrible strain relief.
We felt we could do better, but like everything else, doing better wasn't as
simple as we hoped. If your strain relief is too flexible, it's
ineffective. If it's too stiff, well, you're simply creating a new lever point
where the cable is ultimately going to break. So, we toyed around with ideas
like springs or using alternate materials to create a smooth, gradual
bend away from the connector until finally we settled on this design.
[music] It has some give, but not too
much. And unlike multi-piece designs, it's not going to come apart because
it's molded together with the outside [music] of the connector housing. Of
course, you can have the best strain relief in the world, and that's not going to help you if that force is
transmitted [music] to a fragile connector. Now, for the very end itself,
there's only so much we can do within the spec, but we did everything we could
to make our connector as durable as possible. We use a seamless metal
housing, copper tape, and a soldered connector, meaning it's unlikely to
break unless you really reef on it. It is worth noting that that's why our
connector housing is a little bit on the larger side. So, you may encounter
recessed female connectors where it just plain doesn't fit. Take it as a
compliment. Now, you might have noticed the complete lack of USB logos on our
cables and on our packaging. That is because they're I know, I know, not
certified. >> What? >> But does that matter? Not to us. You
don't need USB if certification in order to sell USB compatible devices. In fact,
as far as we can tell, the main benefit of it is to use their confusing
branding, which frankly we feel we're
better off without, especially when you factor in the cost. Certification is
both expensive and timeconuming, which is why even some very large brands
completely skip it. Apple, for instance, hasn't produced a USB if certified cable
in this millennium. If this list from the USB is [music] to be believed, it's
not that we didn't test our cables. Here's a list of the tests that every
one of our SKs went through. And then to be 100% certain, we also sent our
samples to a third party [music] tester who helped us out with USB4 validation
since uh our cable tester is not up to snuff for that. And then for good
measure, we blowched them. We don't actually recommend that, but the point
is they're really durable. They are tested. And if you get a bad cable, you
know we've got your back. lttstore.com/support.
[music] Which finally brings us to price. Now,
I'm just going to throw a QR code here for you guys to scan because pricing is
subject to change over time. But the bottom line is no, for such a well-built
cable, they aren't ridiculous, but also no, they are not cheap. And that might
seem at odds with my longtime campaign against overpriced cables. But here's
the thing, guys. I am not and never have
been against well-built, fairly priced, premium products. I'm just against snake
oil marketing. [music] So, you will never hear me claim that an LT cable
will make your display look crispier or
give your audio deck more pronounced and resolved demonstration. These are
digital cables. They either work or they don't. And these ones, these ones work.
Where have all the [music] good wires gone? And where are all the gods?
Where's the tech wise Hercules rising [music] to make you do
clearly lab perfect l
[music and singing] to see late at night I toss and I turn and I
dream of what I need I need a cable
I'm holding up for a cable [music] till the end of the night it's got to be long
and it's got to be fast and [music] it's got to at the right price. I need a
cable. [music] I'm holding out for a cable that will always connect.
It's got to look clean with a silicon sheet. And that cable is called True
[music] Spec. True spec
Delta Hub. Whether you're climbing the leaderboards or grinding through your 9
to5, your wrists deserve to be protected during every click or flick. With our
new collab product, the LTT edition Carpio G.2. 2, you'll have all your
boxes covered from extreme gaming sessions to even more extreme spread
sheeting. Its magnetic strap keeps it locked onto your wrists, keeping them in
an ergonomically correct position no matter where it might be on your desk.
And the perforated pads are there for extra ventilation cuz come on, we know
how sweaty the entering the cell values can make you. Plus, like the OG Carpio,
its PTFE feet let it glide smoothly with your hand movements. Also, this isn't
quite an advertised feature, but they make for some pretty darn good fidget
toys. So, pick up a Delta Hub Carpio G2.0 in our exclusive LT colorway today
using our link in the video description. If you guys enjoyed this video, why not
check out the one where we talked [music] through the three-year process that it was to bring to life our
legendary LT screwdriver.