USB Soundcard Extension

[angry prawn]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get a USB Soundcard (Asus Xonar U3) for use with my ~£50 headphones, but the cable on my headphones is restrictively short. Would using a USB cable extension cause a noticeable drop in quality? Or would I be better off using a 3.5mm extension? Or are both equally bad?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[andrew_berge]

USB extensions (passive ones at least) are generally not recommended, because they don't conform to the USB standard.
You could completely replace the cable with a longer one (15 feet is the max for a passive cable, i believe). There would be no loss in quality.
A 3.5mm analog extension would work also, there is more potential for interference and such things, but you won't necessarily have problems. It's worth considering, especially if you want to use your headphones with other devices.

 

[angry prawn]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

I think I'll go with the 3.5mm extension first, since it's a relatively cheap solution and encountering a problem with it wouldn't be too terrible a loss.

Thanks again.