Best Computer to 2.1 Speakers Cable

[powz]

I have a 2.1 speaker system (Altec Lansing FX 6021) that I'd like to connect to my Macbook Pro. The 3.5 mm stereo cable that came with is too short, so I'm looking to get a 12 foot cable. Is there a significant difference between different brands/types of such cables in terms of audio quality? What's the best one to get? Are the ones from monoprice.com any good?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum, powz!

I've read good reviews of monoprice cables on this forum. They seem to pull their own weight, and they aren't too pricey. You definitely don't need to invest in some high-end cable, especially for what you're wanting to do. I think that the ones from monoprice would work just fine, as would the ones from Radio Shack (if you're like me and don't always have the patience to wait for shipping ).

 

[powz]

Hi Adam, thanks for your reply!

Just out of curiosity, what would be considered a high-end cable and under what circumstances would it be a good investment? I want to best quality sound when listening to music (which I do a lot of), but if I won't notice a difference, then I'll definitely just go with the cheaper cables. As for the monoprice one (no Radioshack here in Canada), is this the one I should be getting?

monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021802&p_id=645&seq=1&format=2 [please add www back as I'm not allowed to post links yet]

On a related question, is there any way to hook up my Mac or iPod (both with 3.5 mm stereo outs) to an aging Panasonic stereo system that only has headphone output and microphone input at the front?

 

[Adam]

Sorry for the late response - I was at work all day.

By "high-end" I mostly just meant "expensive". You don't want to get a cable that has the connector pop off the first time you pull on it, but you don't need to get Monster cables to run a line from your Mac or iPod to a stereo.

Assuming that your speakers take a 3.5mm stereo jack as an input (which I think that I read that they do), then yes - the link that you provided is the right one to get.

As for connecting to your Panasonic stereo, it sounds like your best bet is to connect to the microphone input on the front (unless there are some connections on the back that you didn't mention). If it's an "aging" stereo, then that microphone jack might be a 1/4" jack - in which case you could connect the exact same cable that you linked to, except that you would put on of these (link is Radio Shack because I didn't see it on monoprice, but you can get them at a lot of places). If the microphone jack is 3.5mm, then you could just use the cable by itself.

 

[powz]

Adam, thanks so much for your help!

 

[agleason]

Related question

Hello people - can you recommend a good cable to connect my Sony S-Series Vaio (it's a few years old) to my Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere Ipod speakers? I have a Radio Shack one hooked up right now but it looks like the connection is shaky as the automatic turn off function on the speakers kicks in with annoying frequency (I have to "wake them up" every 2 minutes sometimes). Any advice from the experts?

 

[Adam]

Hello people - can you recommend a good cable to connect my Sony S-Series Vaio (it's a few years old) to my Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere Ipod speakers? I have a Radio Shack one hooked up right now but it looks like the connection is shaky as the automatic turn off function on the speakers kicks in with annoying frequency (I have to "wake them up" every 2 minutes sometimes). Any advice from the experts?

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

From your description, it's possible that the Sony's output volume isn't high enough to keep the Logitech's auto-sensor turned on. If the input signal to the speakers drops below a certain threshold, then the sensor will think that there is no signal and will turn the speakers off after some preset time delay. I'd try turning up the volume on the computer (and turning the volume down on the speakers to compensate) and see if the speakers stay on.

If that doesn't work, let us know and we'll take a look at your cable. Thanks.

Adam