Related question to RCA cable runs- is there any difference / benefit to types of unbalanced runs? Is it any better to run shielded 1/4" TRS versus shielded RCA? Is the type of shielding inherently different in any way or can you make any cable equally shielded?
Thanks!
Bringing this back to life.
Let's break this down into connectors and cable.
TRS (1/4" or 1/8") connectors support 3 conductors for either stereo unbalanced (headphones) or balanced mono.
TS connectors support two conductors for unbalanced audio
RCA supports unbalanced audio.
Cable. Shielding types vary from cable to cable. High quality cables for our applications are usually braided. Foil wrapped shield also works well, but doesn't hold up with uncoiling/recoiling.
So, to answer the original question. (Finally)
A 1/4" TRS cable will be superior to a RCA cable if the devices support balanced audio.
B. a 1/4" TS cable will be equivalent to an RCA cable if built with the same cable (except that the 1/4" connector is more robust)
C. In the real world, RCA cables are often built with lower quality materials than cables terminated in 1/4"