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red/white RCA vs 3.5mm?

kofman13
By kofman13
in Audio
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I just got a pair of iKMultimedia iLoud Micro monitors and they are so amazing. i connect to them via bluetooth with my phone but when producing on my studio pc i need to use my focusrite 2i2 for various reasons. It has two 1/4 inch outs for output.

the iLoud micros have two input choices, red/white RCA or 3.5mm. so i am trying to figure out which wire/adapter i need to order so i can plug them into my focusrite. is there a quality difference between 3.5mm and RCA? which one should i be using?

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7 minutes ago, kofman13 said:

the iLoud micros have two input choices, red/white RCA or 3.5mm. so i am trying to figure out which wire/adapter i need to order so i can plug them into my focusrite.

Whichever matches. Since you have both types of connectors, you can use either.

7 minutes ago, kofman13 said:

is there a quality difference between 3.5mm and RCA?

No. In some cases there will be a difference between terribly shielded cables and every other cable, but that applies to any cable, regardless of the connector.

7 minutes ago, kofman13 said:

which one should i be using?

See above.

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If you buy a quality RCA to 3.5mm cable you'll be fine. That's what I use.

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3 hours ago, kofman13 said:

I just got a pair of iKMultimedia iLoud Micro monitors and they are so amazing. i connect to them via bluetooth with my phone but when producing on my studio pc i need to use my focusrite 2i2 for various reasons. It has two 1/4 inch outs for output.

the iLoud micros have two input choices, red/white RCA or 3.5mm. so i am trying to figure out which wire/adapter i need to order so i can plug them into my focusrite. is there a quality difference between 3.5mm and RCA? which one should i be using?

Well, 3.5mm and RCA both carry unbalanced signals, so if the cable's are equally well shielded, then there shouldn't be a difference between them.

 

The outputs on the back of the unit are balanced outputs, which is a standard used to help with EMI reduction over long runs of cable.

 

If you put a standard, 2 pole 1/4th jack into a balanced, 3 pole output, then you just get un-balanced audio out of it. You lose some volume and the balanced connectivity, but nothing else is really lost.

 

You can get cheap 1/4th to RCA cables, which I think would be the best bet.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CPR-202-Stereo-Interconnect-Meters/dp/B000068O17/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=1%2F4+to+rca&qid=1594232588&sr=8-3

LTT's Resident Porsche fanboy and nutjob Audiophile.

 

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Mini DSP SHD Studio -> 2x Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC's (fed by AES/EBU, one feeds the left sub and main, the other feeds the right side) -> 2x Neumann KH420 + 2x Neumann KH870

 

(Having a totally seperate DAC for each channel is game changing for sound quality)

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