Perhaps
external hard disk might have been a better example than scanner or printer. Nobody minds too much wasting a sheet of paper (even though it rarely happens) but data to/from a hdd
must be correct. Still, the same cable would do that. One could splash out on a brand name like Belkin, but even then, it's the name you're paying for, and its
probably not really worth it. It
should, though, guarantee that all the cable strands do actually have continuity from one end to the other, and that the connectors are well made, properly wired, and will fit properly. That's all you need.
Come to think of it, I've had less trouble with USB cables, over the years, than others I can think of. I've thrown away lots of Cat-5 ethernet patch cables.
A computer audiophile nutcase friend insists on me listening to USB cables from Locus Design. Too much for me to invest in a USB cable, but hey that's just me and who knows ymmv
Computers are very prosaic things. That doesn't go down well with certain kinds of audiophile, who want to invest them with the mystique of a valve amplifier. I resent that, perhaps because I have more PC than hifi in my background!
(There are probably
engineers to whom the valve amp, even, is a very prosaic thing!)
.
