[Peterg2]

Here is my quandary and I hope someone can answer this in the next 4 hours or so as Rhinocables.net have an order on hold for me and I promised them I would make my decision in time for their opening tomorrow morning.

I have currently my Xcan V3 alongside me on the side table. My receiver and TV is about 10 feet in front of me and the hookup to the X-Can V3 is via roughly 23 or so feet via some quite mediocre interconnects to the pre-outs on my receiver (I am using digital sources like my DVD player/CD player and my digital cable box).

I decided to get some good quality interconnects from rhinocables.net since I had chosen to go with Belden 89259 and Vampire RCA connectors (much better than I have now).

But I coincidentally I still have a Grado 15' extension cable and with my 10' on the Sennheiser HD-600 I am fine for distance if I want it to be unobtrusive (goes from receiver to end wall, travels down another wall to me).

Here is my choice and which do you think is better - forget the expense involved.

I was intending to go with the X-Can V3 with 7 metres or so of the 89259 directly to my receiver pre-outs.

But I can see now that I can place the X-Can V3 alongside my receiver and hook it to the pre-outs with say a 1 metre cable. I can then plug the Grado Extension cord into the headphone jack of the X-Can and then run it to its full length whereupon I plug my Sennheiser's cable into the female jack of the Grado Extension cable.

So, just in terms of sound quality which should be better? I have to make a choice now. Would you prefer a long line level of say 7 metres from the X-Can to the pre-outs on the receiver and then just plug in the Sennheiser cable into the X-Can or would you prefer using say 5 metres of Grado Extension cable and then plugging the Sennheiser cable into the Grado. For volume control I have both the receiver and the X-Can and depending on the choice I would set the one at a fixed level and use the other (either the receiver or the X-can to control the volume).

Cost is not a factor in this case and all I want to use is the better of the two alternatives. I won't go to the extent of buying the short 1 metre Belden cable and then later on decide to try the 7 metre belden cable and forego the Grado Extension (which I have already).

All replies most appreciated.

Peter

 

[daycart1]

I think it would be better to keep the IC short. A long IC is asking for extra RFI etc..

The only exception might be if you were later going for a fancy upgrade replacement cable for the 600s, then you might not want an extension upstream (unless it were the same wire!).

 

[Peterg2]

Thanks for the reply.

The only question I have in my mind is that I know the Belden 89259 is an excellent cable when it comes to RFI resistance etc and is very good for sound quality as a line level cable. I really do not know if the Grado Extension cable is very good or mediocre (Grado say it is the same wire as they use on their headphones). What I am doing with the short interconnect but using the Grado extension cable is that I am inserting another connection into the chain - 3 as opposed to 2. I am also matching up a standard Sennheiser HD-600 cable (which is deemed so-so) to another headphone cable of different characteristics via a connector.

This does not sound great to me.

I suppose I will miss having the very attractive X-Can V3 alongside me (as opposed to being alongside the receiver) with its very nice analog volume control but that is not crucial at all.

Peter