3.5mm to RCA cable suggestions.
I think I’m going to go this route with a 3.5mm to balanced: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/hosa-3.5mm-male-trs-to-dual-xlr-male-stereo-breakout-y-ca... I have the options of balanced, unbalanced and 1/4" TRS on my monitors. Which is the best route to go? |
Thanks for the advice, Those don't look too expensive for my modest desktop needs. I'll only need .6m anyway. It sounds like you have a nice setup. I'm rolling with Mackie MR8s and soon an AudioQuest Beetle DAC/BT adapter (when it's released). I might add a small tube preamp after the DAC and before the speakers. Right now I'm running straight out of my MacBook Air. I'm not ready to drop the cash on some KEF LS50 Wireless speakers yet so I'm trying to get the most out of what I have. |
Well I’m going to stick with unbalanced. If I end up going straight from the DAC to the speakers, the 3.5mm to RCA cable will be fine (I can USB or BT into the DAC). I don’t think I’d see a benefit with balanced on one end there. If I add a small tube preamp in the mix, I’ll just go with 3.5mm/RCA from the DAC to it and then RCA to the speakers. Edit: I just realized if I go with those AudioQuest Evergreen 3.5mm/RCA cables it won’t work straight from my DAC to the speakers. I need the cable to split into two runs of about 3ft to reach each speaker’s input. I just gently pulled apart the insolation on my cheapo cord I’m using now and it worked. |
Al, thank you so much for the very helpful info. I had to read it a few times to understand it as my electrical expertise isn’t that polished. I was considering a headphone type tube preamp like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2QMAI2/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1V014... Here’s a good review of it: http://www.head-fi.org/t/284835/review-of-the-little-dot-mkii-tube-headphone-amp-pre-amp Connected to this which would be connected to my MacBook Air via USB (or BT from other devices at times): https://www.crutchfield.com/p_703BEETLE/AudioQuest-Beetle.html?tp=59309&awcp=1t1&awcr=105211... So it would be: MacBook Air to DAC via USB, DAC to preamp input via 3.5mm/RCA, preamp output to speakers input via RCA. I thought maybe it would be fun to experiment and tinker with as I’ve never had any tube equipment. Again, I don’t want to dump a lot of money into this or I’ll just go buy a pair of LS50 Wireless speakers. I made a bunch of assumptions that it would work. I used to have a pair of M-Audio BX8s that I used a 3.5mm to TRS cable with and I had TRS->balanced plug adapters on it as well. It sounded excellent but I’m sure I wasn’t taking advantage of any balanced cable benefits. Thanks again for your experienced advice. |
Here is the 3.5mm/TRS also: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/kirlin-original-y-cable-3.5mm-trs-plug--2-x-1-4-in.-mono-... |
