[USAudio]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=659&seq=1&format=2

this is an acceptable RCA cable to run the M&M combo yes?  Planning to order my Modi soon, so I figure I'd buy the cables now from monoprice to save time and money lol

That would probably work OK but if you're going to stack them then 3ft is plenty.
You could even splurge and get the premium ones for $2.89:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021814&p_id=2869&seq=1&format=2

You might check out Blue Jeans Cables for higher quality US made cables for your US made M&M combo: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm

 

[thinh4u2]

Quote:

That would probably work OK but if you're going to stack them then 3ft is plenty.
You could even splurge and get the premium ones for $2.89:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021814&p_id=2869&seq=1&format=2
You might check out Blue Jeans Cables for higher quality US made cables for your US made M&M combo: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm

Oh okay, thanks for the tip.  $5 (shipped) is doable, but the BJC is a lil too pricey for me. I will probably get those "premium" RCA from monoprice.  I really wonder how the heck do they make it so cheap..doesn't the "gold plated" portion of it cost more than $2-3? lol

 

[cheuh]

This may sound like a stupid question but, do all RCA cables have the same quality? Are the "premium" cables worth more?

 

[TheGame21x]

Quote:

This may sound like a stupid question but, do all RCA cables have the same quality? Are the "premium" cables worth more?

That's not a stupid question, that's a dangerous question, lol. It angries up the blood rather quick around these parts.
 
People like me will tell you there's no difference in performance from cable to cable. Others will disagree, some of them rather vehemently.
 
Personally, I'd tell you to just go with the Monoprice premium cables. Seeing how small the price difference is, it's one of those "might as well" cases.

 

[TheGame21x]

Also, I ordered a M/M set to replace my Fiio E9/E10 set. They should be here on Wednesday so I'm super excited.

 

[AtomicFrostX]

Quote:

This may sound like a stupid question but, do all RCA cables have the same quality? Are the "premium" cables worth more?

 
Quote:

That's not a stupid question, that's a dangerous question, lol. It angries up the blood rather quick around these parts.
 
People like me will tell you there's no difference in performance from cable to cable. Others will disagree, some of them rather vehemently.
 
Personally, I'd tell you to just go with the Monoprice premium cables. Seeing how small the price difference is, it's one of those "might as well" cases.

 
From lurking around these forums for awhile, and doing some research on cables I agree with this statement. It can be dangerous though to say that cables don't make a difference. For a lot of people high end cables are a religion. 
 
Personally I look for a cable that is built well, has good shielding, and is the right length for your usage. The Monoprice cables will be fine. Especially with a stack at this price range.
 
I've also read good things about Tartan cables (Owned by BJC, but made in China), but they only had 3ft and 10ft cables available on Amazon. One was too short and the other was 4ft too long. 
 
I ended up ordering the Belkin RCA cables off of Amazon for $11. For me the 6ft premium Monoprice cable would be ~$7.30 with shipping, but I wouldn't see it till the end of next week. My Schiit will arrive on Monday, and I didn't want to wait that long to play with my Magni. 

 
The Belkin should also be a bit easier to route behind my desk due to it being a twisted pair instead of coaxial cable, and they will arrive on Monday along with my Schiit Magni. They also are double shielded so hopefully the only noise I hear is the music. 

 
 
Quote:

Also, I ordered a M/M set to replace my Fiio E9/E10 set. They should be here on Wednesday so I'm super excited.

 
You'll have to post an A/B test between the two stacks. My Magni will be here on Monday, and I'll be pairing it with my X-Fi Titanium HD. I'll try to post some initial thoughts between the built in headphone out on the X-Fi Titanium HD and the Magni a few days after that. 

  I'll also try to post some quick thoughts on the Belkin cable. Pretty good deal if you have Amazon Prime. 

 

[nam3less]

Quote:

I've been listening to my Magni-Modi since yesterday. I'm very happy with sound using Grado HF2's. I'm using this set-up thru my desktop computer w/ Windows7.I'm new to using flac and mp3 files, and my question is. When listening to either flac or mp3 files, i'm getting short pauses during playback, similar to pauses if you burned a cdr with TAO settings, very short stops in music. This happens when using Foobar 2000 playing flac files, or using Windows Media Player with mp3 files. Anyone know what the problem is? Is it a possible DAC issue? At first I thought it might be a Foobar issue, but it does the same thing in Windows Media Player. It might do this several times during the song. I really want to get this one figured out. Any suggestions.

I must preface that my computer isn't a slouch and the i5-3570k should have no issues with foobar using too much CPU or other applications using too much CPU. Process priority was set to high and affinity was set to a single core just so windows didn't get the bright idea of sending the application to a different core mid play if something started running in the foreground or background.
 
Using foobar i noticed the following with my M/M.
 
When playing flac through WASAPI (Event or Push, didn't matter), my music would stop every 30-45 seconds and buffer, almost as though the USB 1.0 didn't have enough throughput (it does) for flac. Then I tried MP3 at various bitrates (down to 192k) and it did the same thing.
 
Direct Sound was completely fine, with no stutters; DS is not bit perfect, although there is minimal at best noticeable change in sound quality (I can't reliably tell, but others might). So windows processing and buffering then sending to the Modi worked but foobar (which has had issues with wasapi before) wasn't having any of it.
 
I tried all sorts of buffer options including putting the songs in RAM and maximizing hardware as well as software buffer. Make sure the software buffer in foobar (file > preferences > playback > output) is at 1000ms or longer or else stuttering has a high likelihood of occurring, more so with the Modi because it's asynchronous which could cause issues with low buffer size in foobar from what I read (search the internet for a solid hour trying to fix my problem). 
 
Then I tried JRiver as a last resort. Zero Issues. No pauses in WASAPI Event. Try JRiver (Free 30 day trial). See if it fixes your issues.
 
Just a thought.

 

[Armaegis]

I believe JRiver Jukebox is the free version with no trial limit. 

 

[sliverstorm]

Quote:

This may sound like a stupid question but, do all RCA cables have the same quality? Are the "premium" cables worth more?

 
More so than digital, at least. Digital cables either work or do not work. They are broken, or functional. RCA cables on the other hand are analog, so ****ty cables can degrade quality while still functioning.
 
Will you be able to tell the difference between copper cables, aluminum cables, or gold-plated cables of the same make? I doubt it. Manufacturing quality is good enough these days that you ought to be able to get respectable performance out of any standard-quality cable made by a reputable manufacturer.
 
(Yes, premium cable snobs, you are permitted to jump down my throat now)

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I agree. Cables might account for a micro percentage of sound, but as long as the cable isn't pure garbage, they all should sound relatively identical. Cables should be the last thing to even consider worrying about when it comes to sonic qualities.

 

[sliverstorm]

Quote:

I agree. Cables might account for a micro percentage of sound, but as long as the cable isn't pure garbage, they all should sound relatively identical. Cables should be the last thing to even consider worrying about when it comes to sonic qualities.

 
(But do still get decent cables. Unlike with digital, no sense in using a $2 cable to hook up several hundred dollars of analog equipment)

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Pretty sure the premium Monoprice cables are more than decent.

 

[YGuyG]

+1 Monoprice products are pretty excellent in general.

 

[punks15]

Quote:

I agree. Cables might account for a micro percentage of sound, but as long as the cable isn't pure garbage, they all should sound relatively identical. Cables should be the last thing to even consider worrying about when it comes to sonic qualities.

Agree, cables is an important parts too. But sometimes it's overrated and some people priorities it over the DAC/Amp/Cans

 

[YGuyG]

Rather buy a more expensive headphone than a lesser headphone with a cable. 99% of the time the more expensive headphone will sound better with its stock cable than the less expensive one even if you bought the best cable ever made for it.