Question:

Do RCA audio cords affect sound quality?

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I'm considering scrapping my CDs and going digital. Mp3s at 256 kbps sound just fine to me. What is the best way to transfer that quality to a good set of speakers? I noticed that RCA audio cords seem to be the cheapest way to do this but does that sacrifice quality?

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  1. They can.  

    In general, the biggest possible downside of RCA is that it is transmitting the signal in an analog (radio frequency) format through an unshielded wire (which is why they are so cheap). Any run of wire, analog or digital, is subject to picking up radio frequency noise from surrounding electronic equipment (or even noise from other components within the same piece of equipment). Optical digital (aka toslink) is not subject to this because it isn't wire, it is glass.

    The problem with RCA, then, is that if it picks up such noise then that noise will be added to the music signal. The amplifier can't tell which analog signal it is supposed to amplify, so it amplifies both and you hear the result from your speakers. In a coax digital setup the amplifier "knows" to only decode and play the digital part so the analog noise is ignored.

    Usually the analog noise picked up is very low level. By boosting the music signal (e.g. turning up the output volume of the mp3 player) you can raise the comparative level of the music so much higher than the noise that you won't be able to hear the noise over the music. (This is the term "signal to noise ratio" you may have heard before.)

    So, digital is "better", but if you are using an mp3 player that only has a headphone jack for output then digital isn't an option.

    "Going digital" can mean a lot of things. Are you going to hook up an mp3 player via the headphone jack? Hook up a computer via the sound card? Use a dedicated media server device? A PS3 with an upgraded internal harddrive or a large external USB harddrive? There are a lot of ways to do this, and which one you choose affects how you hook it up to your sound system..

    I've used the RCA cord (via 3.5mm adapter cable) from my mp3 headphone output jack and been very happy. I've also got a Home Theater PC (HTPC) dedicated for DVR and other media storage which has a sound card with coax digital output that my receiver decodes. I also have the PS3 hooked up via optical digital output which my receiver decodes. There are a lot of possibilities.

    I'd be willing to bet that you do have an mp3 player already. Buy a cable like the one in the attached link (you can find one at any Radioshack, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) and hook it up to your receiver and try it out. I think you will be happy.


  2. Well... you have gone to a less-quality source with MP3's over un-compressed CD's, so you are starting out badly.

    (Ok, rip your own CD's and be sure to use a well-respected Codec like the LAME version which gives pretty good results.)

    Most MP3 players only offer analog output with hair-thin wires. My first suggestion would be to get some shielded coax connectors from Radio Shack. These will at least protect the analog signals.

    Then you need an AV receiver or an amp that takes the line-level signals from the MP3 player and adds watts of power to drive speakers.

    Then you hook the speakers up to the receiver.

    Personally - I burn my MP3's into a blank DVD and both my xBox and BluRay players read and play these just fine.  I use an optical cable from these to my receiver. I only use the MP3 player with headphones for walking around.

  3. Going via RCA cable to your receiver would likely be your best bet.  While it is true that you would have better sound quality going via a different connection method (a popular choice is through a USB DAC), that you're content with 256k tells me you're not wanting to go with an audiophile level system, and the difference in quality doesn't justify the difference in price.  I would recommend hanging onto your CDs, in case you decide to go with a lossless format in the future.  

    Your receiver might have a built in DAC (check the specs in the owner's manual to be sure), so it should do just fine.

  4. Dolby optical is better than RCA, RCA is better than 18 gauge.  

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