Digital Drive

Mostly determined by mechanical considerations.

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Al Sekela

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In Reply to: Are shorter IC's better between Integrated and CDP? posted by jaybar on May 29, 2005 at 08:20:15:

IC cables can transmit vibration into connected equipment, so if a longer pair allows better dressing and reduced vibration, then you are likely to be better off.

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Re: Mostly determined by mechanical considerations. - jaybar 13:47:14 05/29/05 (2)
Al-
Tnanks. Its not about dressing the cables. Its just that if I want to raise the height of the CD player (place it on a higher shelf), I need a longer cable and I wonder if this might degrade the sound?
Jay
- Only by a very small amount. - Al Sekela 11:59:43 05/30/05 (0)
  If you increased the cable length by, say, 100%, and the cable's ability to pick up noise was also doubled, then the noise would increase by 3 dB. As long as the noise is very low to begin with, you should not be able to hear the difference. If the noise is already annoying with the shorter cable, then you might notice a degradation.
  All this is based on the assumption that the cables are otherwise identical and that neither length has special mechanical problems with your setup.
  Changing cable types will make more of a difference. Balanced cables have an inherent noise advantage as long as the equipment at both ends uses them properly. Shielded cables may offer lower noise, but may also cause other problems with the sound.
  Even if you use the same cable model for the longer ones, be sure the RCA connectors grip as well as the shorter ones.
- Re: Mostly determined by mechanical considerations. - Bromo33333 06:10:38 05/30/05 (0)
  > ...I wonder if this might degrade the sound?
  Nope. Not by itself.
  If you expose unshielded cable to an EMI source (other electronics) you will hear it - though it is not particularly delicate at he ~2V or so of the signal.
  If you ever want to have a much longer run (like 10' or more) you will be best served by Balanced cables. THey were designed for that precise purpose - most pro audio longer runs will tend towards balanced to avoid hum and EMI.

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