potentially stupid questions about cabling...

2008-09-29 10:55:01

Hi guys!

After long months of research and emotional turmoil ;-) I've finally decided to purchase my first hi-fi (well... mid-fI I guess) system.

Yesterday I bought the NAD C315BEE amplifier and I am currently waiting on a pair of Whaferdale Diamond 9.1s which are already in the mail. The only two things I am missing now is cables and stands. Since I am out of money, the stands will have to wait. I have an E-MU 0404 USB which I will use as a DAC connected to my laptop. Since the NAD doesn't have balanced inputs I'll be using the unbalanced 3.5 mm jack to connect the speakers.

So here are my questions:

What cables should I buy for my system? I am guessing at this quality point spending big money on cables won't do much for me, would it? Should I just go to the local entertainment shop and get whatever thick isolated speaker cables they have? Also, what cable should I buy to connect the amp to the E-MU? My laptop is sort of far away from the amp so I will either run a long USB cable from the laptop to the amp/E-MU or a long audio cable from the E-MU to the amp. The length of the cable will be about 10 m. Is that OK for an audio cable?

Last and least important question: I will be putting the speakers on an old desk/cabinet for the time being. Eventually I am planning to invest in a pair of stands. Any recommendations in that respect? The floors are wooden and the house is about 80 years. old with 4 meter ceilings (just in case that matters :-))

Thanks a lot guys! Great forum!