[ABXG]

Hello, I recently purchased a FiiO E9 and I am noticing something a little disconcerting. With my headphones plugged directly into my D2X I can crank the volume on my system to max and not hear any static through my headphone. If I plug my Headphones into the E9 and do not attach the E9 to my D2X I can crank the volume on the E9 to max without hearing any static.
 
The problem comes when I actually have my system hooked up the way I have described in my signature (D2X -> E9 -> HD595). If I turn the volume up on the E9 much past 1/4 of max volume I can start to hear static through my headphones. This suggests to me that the cable I am using to connect my D2X to my E9 is crap. I guess I shouldn't really surprised by this considering I bought the 1m long cable for <$1. I unfortunately did not expect the cable to make much of a difference considering my system is far from high end.
 
I am wondering if anyone can suggest a decent 2m long 3.5mm m/m cable for my system. I am not exactly made of money (student) so I can't spend something crazy like $100 on a cable. I just want something that will improve my audio experience by (hopefully) eliminating the static.
 
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[cswann1]

You could make one from CAT5 network cable for really cheap if you already have a soldering iron.  Even if you don't, you can still get some CAT5 two 3.5mm jacks, an iron, solder and shrink wrap for way less than $100.
 
If you're not interesting in making one you can likely find a decent part at Radio Shack (make that your last stop), Fry's Electronics or even Wal-Mart.

 

[ABXG]

Quote:

You could make one from CAT5 network cable for really cheap if you already have a soldering iron.  Even if you don't, you can still get some CAT5 two 3.5mm jacks, an iron, solder and shrink wrap for way less than $100.
 
If you're not interesting in making one you can likely find a decent part at Radio Shack (make that your last stop), Fry's Electronics or even Wal-Mart.

I was thinking of something around $20 (ie ~$10/m) for the entire cable would be reasonable. Unfortunately I don't have access to any soldering supplies and when I went to the local mall the only cable they had was the same stuff I already have, just marked up to a higher price.

 

[Yoga Flame]

When you hear the static, is it like a uniform background noise? Or is it that the music starts to distort badly (i.e. clipping) when you crank the volume?
 
Make sure you're plugging the E9 into the sound card's line out jack, and not the headphone jack.
 
It is not unusual for computer sound cards to have some background noise. They can pick up interference from other parts of the computer like the power supply or video card. This noise may still be too soft to hear directly except with very sensitive IEMs. But when you connect an amp, it amplifies the music and the noise equally. If this is what's happening in your case, then a new cable probably won't change anything.
 
But if your present cable is very long, or if there are lots of electronics (especially wireless types) sitting around your desk, then there might also be interference getting into the cable and creating noise. In this case, a good shielded cable will help. Emphasis is more on the shield than the actual wire inside.
 

 

[ABXG]

It's a uniform static sound in the background, I don't have any issues with clipping or anything like that. As I stated in my OP the sound is only there when this cheap cable I have is connecting my soundcard to my amp.
 
The soundcard I have (Xonar D2X) is also about as high end as you can get for a consumer PC soundcard and it does have an EM shield. I have never had any issues with noise in the few years that I have owned it.
 
Thanks for the suggestion regarding the shielded cable, I will see if I can find something decent. If anyone has any recommendations for a decent cable I could order online that would be great. I am specifically looking for something ~2m in length at roughly $20 max.
 
EDIT: I did another test where I disconnected the audio cable from my soundcard, leaving it only connected to the amp. In this way the cable would act like an antenna. In this configuration there was still a lot of noise that can be heard.

 

[Yoga Flame]

All my own cables are DIY and many are made using Mogami 2893 star quad, which is very well shielded. There are probably some ready-made Mogami min-to-mini cables out there, but I don't know where exactly.
 
If you can't find them either, you can try the Redco custom cable service.
http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=653

 
tip: Try telling them to leaving the shield unconnected on side B and have it labelled. Use this side to plug into the amp. This will make sure any interference picked up on the shield gets sent back to the computer rather than to the amp. Redco may or may not actually comply, or they might charge extra. I have not tried using them before.
 

 

[ABXG]

Thanks a lot for that link. I went ahead and ordered a cable from them. At worst I will be out $15, which is how much a cable would have cost me at my local mall anyways. I really wish I had my own soldering supplies, there have been a couple projects that I would have liked to do that I can't because I lack the proper supplies. Perhaps I will look into a soldering kit for when I have a little more spare money. Making my own cables and the like does sound like fun