Is Radio Shack my friend, too?

[Matt]

Are those black, shielded hook-up cords from radio shack okay for a small studio set-up? If not, what do any of you recommend?

[Dragon]

Sure, but don't be a hoser...get Hosa!

[drstawl]

For anything but an absolute emergency replacement (I'll leave it to your imagination as to what constitutes an audio emergency) don't use adapter plugs. For example, for a RCA to 1/4" mono connect get a cord with those connectors on the ends rather than adapting RCA to RCA cords with RCA to 1/4" adapters. Much cleaner signal transfer for very little extra money. And when you're on the road or don't have the cash or the clout to make such cords appear in 5 minutes- bring on those adapters. That's what they're made for. Slightly degraded sound beats no sound at all when you're being paid to provide audio entertainment.