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If the cable detaches, almost certainly yes, and a replacement is usually quicker and cheaper than a repair. Intermittent sound in one channel is far more often the cable or its connector than the driver. Where the cable is fixed to the headphones, it needs a repair rather than a replacement.
Almost always an earth loop rather than a faulty cable. It happens when two components find more than one path to earth, and it often appears once a television or streaming box joins the system. Unplug other sources one at a time to find the cause, and check the subwoofer cable is not running alongside a mains lead.
Place the subwoofer where it sounds best in the room, then buy a cable long enough to reach it. Bass placement makes a far bigger difference than cable length does, and a well shielded cable will run several metres without any trouble.
Check the manual. Some subwoofers sum both inputs and gain a little output when both are fed, while others expect a single LFE connection only. A Y splitter feeds both from one output where the manufacturer recommends it.
The USB specification allows up to five metres, and shorter is generally better. If your DAC sits further away than that, moving the DAC or using an active repeater or a network bridge is more reliable than a long cable.
It separates the power conductor from the data conductors, or disconnects power entirely, so noise on the computer's five volt line does not reach the DAC. It only suits a DAC with its own power supply, since a bus powered DAC needs that line to run at all.
There are two routes. If the television has an optical or coaxial digital output, or analogue outputs, connect straight to a DAC or amplifier. If it does not, an HDMI audio de-embedder takes audio out of the HDMI path and gives you optical, coaxial or analogue outputs while the picture carries on to the screen.
Both send audio back from the television to an amplifier along the HDMI cable. ARC is limited to compressed formats and basic surround. eARC has far more bandwidth and carries uncompressed and object based formats. Both the television and the amplifier have to support eARC for it to work.
Usually a format mismatch. If the source sends a multichannel bitstream and the unit only outputs stereo, the result is silence rather than a stereo fold down. Set the source to output PCM stereo, or choose a unit that down mixes.
EDID is the information a display sends back to the source describing what it can handle. When several displays share one output, or a signal passes through a matrix, the source can receive the wrong information and default to a lower resolution or no picture at all. An EDID management tool lets you read, store and force the correct one.
Yes, with an active converter rather than a passive adaptor. The output resolution is limited by the source, so conversion makes an old signal compatible rather than better. DVI carries no audio, so a separate audio input is needed if you want sound.
A converter changes the connector and the signal format. A scaler deliberately changes resolution, which is useful for putting a legacy source onto a modern display, or for locking every matrix output to the same resolution so all displays receive a signal they can handle.
An adaptor only changes the shape of the connector, so both ends have to be carrying compatible signals already. A converter is an active device that changes the signal itself, for example turning VGA into HDMI. Where the formats differ, an adaptor will not work however well it fits.
Every adaptor adds two more connections to the signal path, and connections are where quality is lost. For occasional use that is not worth worrying about. For a permanent connection in a hi-fi system, a single cable with the right plugs at each end is the better answer, and we can usually make one.
A 3.5mm to twin RCA lead covers most headphone outputs. Phones and laptops without a headphone socket need a USB-C connection, either into a small DAC or through a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor with a converter built in.