signal cable

[tallpaul]

i have a small home recording studio and am also passionate about listening to music (more dynamic range in recordings and less compression please!). i am planning to buy an RME Fireface 800 to link with my pc. the outputs for the 800 are:

Output DA: 8 x 1/4" TRS, servo-balanced, DC-coupled signal path. 1 x 1/4" TRS unbalanced

Output Digital: 2 x ADAT optical or SPDIF optical, SPDIF coaxial (AES/EBU compatible)

i have an audio analogue integrated amplifier maestro settanta (first generation) which only has stereo RCA inputs. i like this amplifier a lot. it drives my B&W speakers very well and gives a very neutral listening experience. it was also a bit of an investment and i cannot afford to change it.

 

my question. how can i connect my amplifier to the 800? can i use 1/4inch TS to RCA, therefore unbalanced, and not lose audio quality? is there another option? also, can anyone recommend good interconnects that are not going to cost me the earth (i'm a gardener so wish that i could pay with earth!).

 

24bit recordings are the future. so is less compression in the recording or mastering studio in my humble opinion. that is why i love listening to Chesky Records productions. the CD is dead, long live the hard drive!

 

[Guest]

Try TheCableFactory

 

http://www.thecablefactory.net/

 

They have all sorts of Mogami cables in just about any configuration....and no you will not loose any fidelity, although some may argue technically [on paper] there is or could be some sort of signal loose, phase shift or some other weird event that is totally inaudible.

 

Fact is you will have a positive lead which carries the signal and in a true balanced configuration a negative with an inverse of the positive and a ground. In a true balanced configuration the negative and positive will cancel any impurities in the signal as well as offer other benefits.

 

Any difference you hear will likely be no greater but probably less than the differences in any two IC's of either configuration. That is to say two single-ended brands will likely sound more different than going from a balanced 1/4inch to RCA and so will switching from Brand A to Brand B balanced wires.