Help sirs! Regarding Sound Quality!

[marvinong]

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Hi sirs!

Just wanted to ask a question to all our "sound scientists" out there..

Does Sound Quality degrade or get affected in any way when we use "extensions"?

The reason for this question is because I am currently using an extension cable that fits in my iPod Nano's headphone in.
The wristwatch case I'm using for my Nano somehow blocks a certain portion of the headphone in so I am forced to use an extension with a smaller, thinner output head.

IF it does get affected, what "extensions" do you suggest in order to preserve the SQ coming out from the Nano?

Hope you guys can help me with this! Thank you so much!

[Dipp]

also as long as we use a cable[analog] in between or extensions, there will be a sound loss definitely. this is why see expensive cables.. but its a personal taste... don;t worry about it

so as long as your ears are OK with the sound coming out, then that should be ok.

[soloworx]

This sounds like a "trick" question, haha!

If your sound source is an iPod nano (or any player out there that plays compressed media), I don't think you should worry too much about 'sound loss' — unless you ripped your songs in lossless quality. Just invest in a decent pair of headphones, a reasonable length of cable that's not frayed or kinked — the rest of the system (source, player, cable and your ears) should be ok. Extensions are not a biggie. In fact, the controls that some earphones have between earpieces and the plug are a source of loss too.

[oj88]

Unless we're talking about extensions that are in the tens or hundreds of meters long, you have nothing to worry. However, do make sure that the extension is a snug fit on both ends. Dirty or loose contacts will introduce noise.

[marvinong]

Thank you for all your help regarding this sirs! I also posted this in another forum and they said the same thing: That the sound quality loss is negligible unless you have a long long LONG cable.

An interesting note though was this:

(from the other forum i posted in)

"Cables can pick up RF interference, even crosstalk if poorly made. The better cables shield against that stuff. Some cables have a lot of capacitance and can affect highs. Need to check that. Any physical connector is a source of trouble. Micro corrosion sets in on everything, but gold is less affected than other coatings and metals. In any case, anything that can be plugged in or unplugged should be unplugged and wiped off every so often. Especially if not gold covered. The Sennheiser 580/600/650 etc. series are notorious for loose connections due to micro corrosion, and it's a simple matter of pulling the cables out and wiping the connectors. The length of the cable is a factor, yes, but a long cable of excellent quality may still be better than a short cable of bad quality."

Very interesting to me, so now i'm thinking about re-cabling my mobile set-up.