[yage]

... you can pickup APC/Belkin for around 30€? Does the surge protection affect sound quality? 

Those surge protectors use components that degrade over time. You want a unit that offers series mode surge protection. These are units from Furman, SurgeX, Zero Surge for example.

 

[motberg]

  Thank you for your help!

The Supra it is for the power cord then.
 
 
About the USB input, Pangea Audio looks promising, however its pretty hard to find it in EU-site. I have to look into for that and to some research that where i can find them for good price including shipping.
Also, i found out that Supra also makes USB-cables, that are relatively cheap for the quality of the product. Have to do some research.
 
And if i order through online, there's always 14-days period when you can return the item.
 
Also what makes me wonder is that does Surge protection matter? What i mean is that i want to use Surge protection for the AMP/DAC combo, but only "audio-grade" surge-protections i have found are Supra's (EU-plug) and they cost around 200€.... Little too much when you consider that you can pickup APC/Belkin for around 30€? Does the surge protection affect sound quality? 

Hi Again,
 
I also have tried a Supra USB cable (still have it in the drawer). It is very good. If I remember correctly, it is also highly recommended by one or two commercial engineer audio designers in the USA that do USB audio. There is lots of info on the groups about the Supra USB cable. I would guess you would be very happy with it an probably would notice a solid improvement over something from an old printer (Supra has a cool blue color also!). To me, the Pangea gives some more detail though. The Supra would be more like the Furutech or iFi sound - and the Pangea more like the PPA or Curious Cables sound. But that is in my system and I think there is no consensus about this stuff. If you think your system is a little bright, just get the Supra, stop reading the forums, and relax with some favorite tunes
 
Generally for USB, I think the recommendation is to go as short as possible.
 
I am not an EE, but generally I understand that you would not want a cheap surge protector on your amp. There are lots of different power conditioners available, from regular power strip type things (80 USD?) to power regeneration units (1500 USD+).
If you think you want to improve your power conditioning in the future, you could consider one of these used or on sale somewhere. http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/yulong-p18-without-dynamic-compression-power-purifier-filter.html
There are a couple reviews on the internet, but there are so many power conditioner options available, that it would be good to research for your exact requirements and budget. I have 2 of these Yulong P18's and there is a noticeable improvement using that over a standard strip power conditioners I have. 

 

[Ruben123]

Only buy another cable if you believe in snake oil. Do so if you want.

 

[yage]

Only buy another cable if you believe in snake oil. Do so if you want.

Sigh...

 

[serman005]

Sigh...

+1

 

[Mediahound]

This is sorta a long video, but he explains it well. USB cables don't matter in terms of getting the digital signal to the DAC, but do matter in terms of noise reduction, which can in turn improve the sound:
 
 
 
That said, if your running something like the Schiit Wyrd or Uptone USB Regen, which regenerates the signal, then the USB cables become a lot less important. 

 

[fapman]

  This is sorta a long video, but he explains it well. USB cables don't matter in terms of getting the digital signal to the DAC, but do matter in terms of noise reduction, which can in turn improve the sound:
 
 
 
That said, if your running something like the Schiit Wyrd or Uptone USB Regen, which regenerates the signal, then the USB cables become a lot less important. 

Thank you for the video.

So pretty much left with 2. choises:

QED Performance 
or
Supra?

 

[sinesweep]

Use the 90/10 rule as in Home audio. Spend 90% of your budget on the transducers and the 10% on everything else. The transducers are THE most important part of any audio reproduction system.

 

[yage]

  Use the 90/10 rule as in Home audio. Spend 90% of your budget on the transducers and the 10% on everything else.

 
Well, I blew that ratio out of the water on my stereo system...