Line conversions/sound loss

[natbot]

I've recorded analog for some time, and I'm finally making the digital jump (thinking of getting a Delta 66 for my macclone) and when confronted with what sound card to get i started to wonder about how much sound quality is lost in line-type-conversions. working with lots of different gear i have often times found myself converting an RCA output to 1/4" and then to 1/8", and things like that... if i'm using decent, reliable cables, how much am i loosing?

basically my more specific question is this: what am i loosing when i convert RCA to 1/4"(stereo)? anything?
and if so, what?

 

[drstawl]

That's not a conversion at all- merely an adaptation for the appropriate connector. If the connectors are of fairly good quality and the cable is properly shielded and not too thin then it shouldn't make a noticeable difference. However, finding any 1/8" plugs/jacks that are of decent quality is like looking for a left-handed wind shifter.
1/4" to RCA (for unbalanced) or 1/4" to XLR should be no problem. One more thing. It's better to have no adapters at all in your chain if you can avoid it. Use dedicated adapter cables instead because every disconnectable connection you add will introduce some signal loss.