[NakkiNyan]

I will hunt around but since most cables are measured in meters look for 3m, that is 9.8'.  I will let you know if I run across something soon, I will also put the word out to some people I know and see if I get a response.
 
Well, I got a fast response, One of my friends recommended this one amazon.com/dp/B00062UKIY it is a $40 cable but it is on sale for about $14.
 
I am a bit bias but I think I would choose the 10' Tripp Lite U022-010-R, you can get it on newegg for around $11 plus shipping but hunt around.  It specifies it is for "multimedia applications" and has "double-shielded cables with tinned copper braid and aluminum Mylar foil".

 

[subsonic1050]

I placed an order with monoprice today for some Toslink and RCA cables - threw this USB cable in there with the order since it was pretty cheap and I was already paying shipping. It is their best quality one (gold plated), but says nothing about shielding. Probably not good enough?
 
I did look up both that Belkin cable and the one on Newegg, both appear to have a thicker "cable" section - maybe that is indicative of shielding?
 
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030301&p_id=5439&seq=1&format=2

 

[NakkiNyan]

   It is their best quality one (gold plated), but says nothing about shielding. Probably not good enough?

It likely has almost no shielding (fine for printers and other non-streaming peripherals since it can verify and resend if necessary) at that thickness and price for 10' but it is not like you can't use it for something else for less than $2 and ya, they are using gold plated as a buzz word there, the contact in the B side in the image is raw copper while the outside edge (that could be plastic) has the plating.
 

 
I did look up both that Belkin cable and the one on Newegg, both appear to have a thicker "cable" section - maybe that is indicative of shielding?

It is usually a sign that it has better shielding simply because the extra foil and PVC coating takes up space.  I am already bias since I had good luck so far with Tripp Lite cables but I looked for the "double-shielded cables with tinned copper braid and aluminum Mylar foil", or similar, when hunting for a cable long enough.
 
Good luck either way and I honestly think you might be fine with the TOSLINK if you are using the DAC primarily for headphones or simple 2.0-5.1 speakers.

 

[subsonic1050]

Nakki - I ordered one of those Tripp Lite cables from Amazon - a seller had the 10' one on sale for $0.99! With shipping it was still less than four bucks. Certainly worth a try for that!

 

[NakkiNyan]

Wow, nice find. Again, Good luck and have fun with your new toys.

 

[subsonic1050]

In case anyone stumbles upon this thread and is curious, I have tried both USB and optical cables (my sound card does not have coax). To my ears, and with my current equipment (Emotiva DC-1 and HE-400 headphones), the quality was basically indistinguishable. I thought that possibly the optical cable sounded slightly clearer - but that could have been just in my head, or it could be because this Emotiva DC-1 is getting some ground noise while in USB mode. Still, if there was a difference it was so negligible as to be basically no different at all. That may change with my new heaphones and DAC/Amp.

 

[NakkiNyan]

A lot of what you think you hear is in your head, expectations cloud everything.  Your DAC could also be better decoding from one connection or another due to design or connection flaws, dirty USB pins or dust in the optical port for example.  The other sounds could also be in the music and the USB port has enough bandwidth to send them.  Ultimately it is hard to say which of the above happened.  Have fun with your new setup no matter which route you stick with.

 

[Dimitris]

Any recommendations on cable to use to connect my non USB DAC to my desktop. I have tried to use the SPDIF to SPDIF cable that I use with my squeezebox but the connection on my motherboard seems to be a mini connection. Are there any mini to SPDIF cables or should I go for TOS link one?
 
Thank!

 

[subsonic1050]

Dimitirs - I don't have much of a recommendation on what TYPE to use. However, if you decide to use Toslink, I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the premium optical cables from monoprice. Their cables are generally of decent quality, but these are absolutely amazing for under $5. I would have expected to pay $50 to $70 for the cable I got.
 
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022904&p_id=2764&seq=1&format=2

 

[Dimitris]

Thank you. I placed an order for one. Lets see how this plays with my DAC and amp. Cheers!

 

[NakkiNyan]

It sounded like your computer had the optical in the 3.5mm jack, I have these because mine is in the jack...
full cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002JFN10
converter for the old one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002J2MTQ There are straight ones too but this type did what I wanted

 

[Dimitris]

Yep seems like these would work too!

 

[painted klown]

This thread has a lot of good/useful info in it. Good stuff to know for people trying to decide the best route to go.

 
I don't have anything to add, I just wanted to say that I thought this was a great thread.

 

[nulk1]

-Deleted-

 

[DarthTater]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the USB wiring is differential, so it should have good noise rejection regardless of shielding (within reason, right?)