WHAT CABLE+WHAT TO UPGRADE!!!??? HELP NEEDED

[admin_exported]

Hi guys, im wondering how much to spend on a phono to rca cable, and if anyone had any recommendations. was considering qed performance/profile. my source is a laptop

also why do £50 cables exist for 3.5mm jacks ipods/laptops, surely the quality of the dac is the limiting factor?

my system is arcam alpha 9, wharfedale valdus 500, wharfedale sw 150

is it worth spending a lot on the cable from the pre out on the amp to the sub (have a £2 cable)? surely low bass fidelity cant differ too much relative to midrange etc, when i use the sub the musics really blasting anyway so i dont think id hear a difference but feel free to correct me

one final question, would i notice more of a difference from upgrading my speakers or by buying a dac for around £200? how much could i spend on speakers before the amp became the limiting factor?

thanks for any help

 

[MUSICRAFT]

running123:
Hi guys, im wondering how much to spend on a phono to rca cable, and if anyone had any recommendations. was considering qed performance/profile. my source is a laptop

also why do £50 cables exist for 3.5mm jacks ipods/laptops, surely the quality of the dac is the limiting factor?

my system is arcam alpha 9, wharfedale valdus 500, wharfedale sw 150

is it worth spending a lot on the cable from the pre out on the amp to the sub (have a £2 cable)? surely low bass fidelity cant differ too much relative to midrange etc, when i use the sub the musics really blasting anyway so i dont think id hear a difference but feel free to correct me

one final question, would i notice more of a difference from upgrading my speakers or by buying a dac for around £200? how much could i spend on speakers before the amp became the limiting factor?

thanks for any help

Hi running123

I'll recommend using a standard interconnect. If you are happy with your existing sub cable then carry on using it. If you still feel the need to look at an after market sub cable then QED's Performance sub cable is worth a look.

At a budget of around £200 i would say no to speakers but the DacMagic might give you a worthwhile difference. The Alpha 9 is a good amp and will happily also work with quality speakers such as Monitor Audio's Silver RX6, Dynaudio's DM 2/6 and ATC's SCM11 monitors.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[the record spot]

Personally, I spend as little as possible on cables beyond that which is needed to ensure the cable is well constructed. Computergear make some which you can get for less than £10 and they did as well as those costing around six times as much. As for a DAC, I use the Spitfire II from Firestone Audio. It's partnered with the TV and the Sony Blu Ray player in my signature below and it works brilliantly - better for music than the SA7001-KI I've used since 2009 in fact and I reckon that's the best CD player I've had to date.

 

[idc]

x3 to basic cable and get a good DAC. The Firestone Fubar USB DAC is cheaper than the Spitfire, depending on your budget. Chances are a stand a lone DAC will out perform your laptops soundcard.

 

[the record spot]

Fair point IDC, but I'd mention the Spitfire II can be had on special offer from a couple of places for £150 - that's £100 off the normal price, so check it out if you're interested. There's an offboard power supply available too (for around £100) which Firestone call - not unreasonably - the Supplier.

 

[Anonymous]

running123:

also why do £50 cables exist for 3.5mm jacks ipods/laptops, surely the quality of the dac is the limiting factor?

Exactly why I have bought a Pure i20 DAC iPod dock, only £25 more than one of those cables.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers guys in the end i bought a qed j2p performance for £10 inc delivery as it was £13 off rrp, and based on your recommendations it looked the most sturdy/best made.

When I get the money I will trial a dacmagic against my laptop at rs and if i think the difference merits the money for a dac then ill look more into comparing them then.

Thanks a lot for your help