[plainbagel]

Current setup is PC (USB) to Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 to Objective2 to HD-600. Cables used: regular USB 2.0 cable, Audioquest Evergreen 1m interconnect (RCA to 3.5mm), Grado 1/4" to 1/8" adapter, Canare cable 6' (terminated with Furutech FP-704)

Few questions, please realize I am kind of new to higher end audio...
1. When using the DAC in Windows, should the volume in Windows sound always be 100%, and then actual volume adjusted using the amp?
2. The Canare cable was purchased from a forum member here. Since it uses a 1/4" plug I purchased the Grado adapter for it. Would this decrease the quality of the sound, since it may not be as high quality as the Canare cable? I.e. should I maybe terminate the cable with a different plug?
2b. Is he Evergreen cable a good quality? I pretty much just bought what was in my budget at the time, didn't research it much.
2c. The USB cable doesn't matter, does it? After all, it's just transmitting a digital signal, I don't see why it would matter, but I'd like a 2nd/3rd opinion on that.
3. The Objective 2 amp, is it just as good for a 32 ohm headphone like Grado-225 as it is the HD-600? According to the website it is, but reading a bit here ppl tend to lean towards amps designed for low impedance headphones.
Also any suggestions on improving setup are welcome. Thanks in advance

 

[AxelCloris]

Current setup is PC (USB) to Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 to Objective2 to HD-600. Cables used: regular USB 2.0 cable, Audioquest Evergreen 1m interconnect (RCA to 3.5mm), Grado 1/4" to 1/8" adapter, Canare cable 6' (terminated with Furutech FP-704)

Few questions, please realize I am kind of new to higher end audio...
1. When using the DAC in Windows, should the volume in Windows sound always be 100%, and then actual volume adjusted using the amp?
2. The Canare cable was purchased from a forum member here. Since it uses a 1/4" plug I purchased the Grado adapter for it. Would this decrease the quality of the sound, since it may not be as high quality as the Canare cable? I.e. should I maybe terminate the cable with a different plug?
2b. Is he Evergreen cable a good quality? I pretty much just bought what was in my budget at the time, didn't research it much.
2c. The USB cable doesn't matter, does it? After all, it's just transmitting a digital signal, I don't see why it would matter, but I'd like a 2nd/3rd opinion on that.
3. The Objective 2 amp, is it just as good for a 32 ohm headphone like Grado-225 as it is the HD-600? According to the website it is, but reading a bit here ppl tend to lean towards amps designed for low impedance headphones.
Also any suggestions on improving setup are welcome. Thanks in advance

 
2. Any adapter will modify the sound. Sometimes it's noticeable sometimes it isn't. It depends on your hearing, training and the other equipment in your chain. To the average person a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter won't change the sound at all.
 
2b. I like the Evergreen cable. It's a nice budget friendly interconnect. It's one of the cables I use in my setup. Build quality is solid and it sounds better than the standard red/white interconnects I have lying around. Granted I've only ever used more expensive interconnects when working in a studio environment.
 
2c. Not much. There are slight differences between USB cables, but really it's not that big of a deal. Some people will swear by $60+ USB cables. My stance is to get one that's build decently from a quality standpoint, but those can still be had for about $6-10.

 

[plainbagel]

Ok thanks for the input.  Will likely stay with what I have.  I did add the WASABI (spelling?) add-on to Foobar2000.  Also got Grado 225s with L-cush, and realized man these are really mediocre compared to the HD-600s lol.