[potatoe94]

I think it would be appropriate to ask members in this forum

When connecting from my portable DAC to Amp , should i use RCA Cable or 3.5 mm Cable ?

given that RCA Red-White are channels carrying monos separately 
and 3.5mm are stereos in a single line. 

im not an expert in connects , but i wish to get the best out of my set up.

will the sound be improved/changed if i replace the RCA/3.5mm with a high end one? (custom)

Your experienced answers are appreciated !


Laptop > AMR iFi iDSD Nano > AMR iFi iCan Nano > Beyerdynamic T90.

 

 

[Joshua277456]

As far as choosing between RCA and TRS, it really won't make any difference as long as both cables (RCA or TRS/3.5mm) are of decent quality...
 
but as far as will it make an audible difference if you use a super-high quality. and therefore super-expensive, TRS or RCA cable compared to a fairly decent, well-built one, is highly debatable.
 
Another thing with unbalanced cables, such as TRS and RCA, is that audio degradation begins to appear about 10-15ft depending on the build quality of the cables. Always look for cables with thick insulation and gold or silver-plated connectors. But be careful, some cable manufacturers will make a cable that appears to be gold or silver plated but will not actually mention it in the specs or description. Just because it's looks gold-plated, doesn't mean it is.

 

[yopeople70]

The change in quality for these two isn't really in the type of input, but in the type of cable. Good cables = good sound quality. Bad cables = bad sound quality

 

[Darien]

I prefer RCA because it clips on rather than 3.5mm which can lot of times have loose connections.  IE: the pac sn-1/3.5 ground loop isolator has 3.5mm female and male connections, and the female side is loose (giggity) so when you connect it to your preamp or whatever you have to make sure its pressed in tight then be careful to not let the cable move at all or it starts to cut the signal out.
 
and in general RCA feels more pro and AUDIOPHILE, cus 3.5mm makes me think is what beats people will use with their beats by dre laptops connected to crappy speakers with 3.5mm to dual whatever cables....ew.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I think it would be appropriate to ask members in this forum
When connecting from my portable DAC to Amp , should i use RCA Cable or 3.5 mm Cable ?
given that RCA Red-White are channels carrying monos separately 
and 3.5mm are stereos in a single line. 
im not an expert in connects , but i wish to get the best out of my set up.
will the sound be improved/changed if i replace the RCA/3.5mm with a high end one? (custom)
Your experienced answers are appreciated !
Laptop > AMR iFi iDSD Nano > AMR iFi iCan Nano > Beyerdynamic T90.

 
RCA is a more robust  (and professional?) connection.
But for most practical purposes, does not really matter which you use.

 

[mikeypas]

I had the same question.
I want to connect my imac to nano idsd then to schiit asgard 2.  My question is about the 3.5 or RCA output from nano idsd to the schiit asgard 2.
I have high quality 3.5 stereo to RCA, and I wanted to make sure that I didn't necessarily need RCA to RCA.
From the discussion it seems that there wouldn't be much of a difference?
 
Also, would anyone happen to know, would there by any degradation of quality by using a longer USB A to B cable from the imac to the idsd? (maybe a 1meter cable instead of the short one supplied).
 
Lastly, I use the volume control on the schiit asgard 2 to control headphone volume. Should I then leave the volume on idsd at maximum?
 
Thanks for your input (haha)
Mike