[stvn758]

So I'm rearranging my bedroom and I have a nice new rosewood rack that holds my three Sony 300 CD players and my MDAC and Little Dot Amp. Alas now my kit is going to at least be 3-5metres away from me.
 
Do I get a four metre headphone cable (already on the way actually)
 
Put my MDAC (and Amp) back beside my bed connected to my CD players with 5 metre digital toslink cables.
 
Put just my Amp beside my bed connected with a 5 metre set of phono cables to my MDAC. Got a remote for the MDAC to switch sources and do the volume and can use my little dot when the mood takes me.
 
 
Basically what I'm asking is what is the general consensus on cables when you can't have all your hi fi neatly beside you.  Long digital and short analogue or short digital and long analogue cables. Where am I going to take a hit in the sound quality, what's the weakest link in the chain - the toslink to the MDAC, the phono to the Little Dot or the headphone cable - which will cost me more the longer they are.   

 

[guitargonaut]

Don't know that there's really any kind of a consensus as far as digital/analog cable length although USB has its limitations.
 
I wouldn't expect to hear any difference in sound with the headphone cable extension.  All will be well.  Enjoy!

 

[stvn758]

Such a small bedroom yet so many wires, TV, Monitor, HI Fi, PC, 5.1 speakers. Silly lengths of cables I am having to buy just to be able to walk on the carpet without tripping over them - or sucking them up in the hoover, oh that awful sound. 
 
Think I prefer having my MDAC and Little Dot close at hand. Can change the volume and source a lot quicker and keep using my short but modestly posh silver/copper AKG cable and my Grado's when the mood takes me. It also means I won't have any more problems with the flushing buffer, that 5metre USB cable can go now, my PC will be right above my MDAC.
 
A very short cable between those two methinks.

 

[Tribbs]

Long digital (<5 to 10m) as long as your connectors are good quality, and short analogue.
If your anal like me then it must be a Silflex Glass toslink cable.

With a digital signal you will know when a cable is too long because the signal will completely cut out. It is either there 100% or it is not, 0%.

With a long analogue cable you likely won't realize the signal degradation (2%, 5%, 10%...) unless you A/B compare it to a short cable. Then their is the very real possibility of a long analogue cable acting as an antenna picking up all sorts of EMI/RFI noise. Toslink is immune to this.