Hi,
I would like to know if there is a difference in output quality between RCA connectors (cinch) and a 3.5 mm jack stereo line output?
I ask because I´am thinking about buying a Hifiberry or Wolfson Card (in the hope michelangelo will suport that card in future Volumio versions). The Hifiberry has two RCA connectors and the Wolfson a 3.5 mm jack stereo line output.
Regards, Tom
…according to my setups i cannot hear any difference.
No matter if Wolfson or other DACs
Don’t think it makes any difference at all.
Sometimes it’s more difficult to find a 3.5mm to RCA cable than it is a normal RCA cable, so that might affect your decision. But otherwise it shouldn’t make any difference.
Hello guys,
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From my listening experience I am of the opinion that it does not make any difference whether it is RCA or ‘earphone’ jack connectors.
I know you mean well, but that isn’t really the same thing as having a native RCA output!
Introducing a $0.98 connector is not going to improve sound quality. Think about what that connector is doing…simply taking what’s coming from the 3.5mm and splitting the channels to two connectors. That’s not going to improve anything.
The fewer connections the better, introducing something like that will just increase the chances of poor sound quality.
I just want to bump this thread chime in here in case someone was reading this like me and read about "splitting " the 3.5 jack. I believe there is no splitting involved. The mini jack has the separate connections condensed. That is why there is an insulation between the different connections that connect to the jack lined in a row. The converter just separates them, there really is no “splitting” causing degradation unless you are using gold plated tips and then plugging them into the converter. That would make the standard tips the weak link.
There is no difference at all between a 3.5 or rca’s, an unbalanced/balanced audio path is just that, no matter what you use. . the materials used on the contacts might make a “slight” difference, but at long as the signal gets transferred from one place to the other, your done.
I used rca’s just cause it was easier for me to get, but would have no reason not to use 3.5.
Always get into discussions with audiophiles and the whacky things they do/preach. Been a studio engineer for over 20 years, and if you only knew the crappy cables/connecters used to record the stuff… 
Audiophile stuff usually sounds better to my oscilloscope than my ears…
Really enjoyed your last setences. Not because I consider it true but because the placebo effect on sound is huge.
Everybody thinks we all ear the same way and that is not true.