Connecting it all together.

Use only high quality audio patch cords TRS  or XLR between components in the audio rack. A rack is not too expensive and can really make working with the components a lot easier and allow for a neat and orderly chain. Keeping cables and power wires apart is an important factor in fighting RFI. Make sure there is a good station and audio equipment ground. Do not under any circumstances take the ground plug from any power cords. Use a good power conditioner and plug your audio gear into it. 

I found the manuals that came with the components that I bought, made little sense until I started to set the units up myself. You are trying to produce a sound that you like. Not a sound that fits the taste of some big gun on the bands who thinks he knows all about audio. This goes for the guys on 14.178 as well. You are trying to make a sound that best describes you and what you like. Of course, things like hum, or lack of any highs, lows or muddy sounds will detract from your audio. Once these problems are fixed, you can go on to develop a sound you like that you feel fits you. I bet you can't stop fiddling with it though. Seems to be a common malady among audiophiles.  Having said that, do take as constructive criticism the comments of other audiophiles on the bands. Many of them can record you and play it back so you have an idea as to what you sound like. This can sometimes be a little misleading  because of things like band conditions, phasing, QRM, and the strength of the signal at both the recording and receiving station.  These facts may give you a false evaluation benchmark, but is still worth the effort. It has been said by many of the guys who have been messing around in audio for long time that more equipment has been bought and sold because of recording than any other factor. I believe that to be a true statement. Never make a major change to your system or audio, based on just one recording or critique by one ham.  However, that being said, most of the guys who can record and play back your audio, try very hard to give you an accurate  recording and playback.

 There are other products you can use to evaluate your sound. There are several PC spectrum analyzers available that use the audio from you transceiver and plug it into the line/mic input on your sound card. This method gives a pictorial representation of what your signal looks like. You can print the graphs and store them to see how much progress you are making and how your audio signal has changed. There are 3 packages I use,  SpectraPlus , Spectrum Analyzer by PAS software and the newest one HamAlyzer. All do a good job in my opinion, but one is quite a bit more accurate but expensive. I prefer HamAlyzer because it was written for hams and even with some limitations, it is the best bang for the buck, in my opinion.

I gave you this information because it is important when doing the programming and tuning of the components. Some of my tuning is done while looking at the spectrum analyzer software. You can also make recordings of your signal if you have your system set up correctly especially if you have a mixer. You can also rely on other audiophile hams who can assist you by doing a graph and sending it to your or make suggestions on the air after looking at the graph. 

When making your connections between audio devices keep good records. If you find that real great sound and then suddenly lose the EQ, if you do not have it written down you may lose a lot of time in recreating it. Also it is a great idea to make, and file away so you can find it, a good block diagram showing where the connections are made. That is how the cabling is done and what the order of the devices is in relation to each other. I have made changes over time in my rack and a good picture of what it looks like on paper has saved me a lot of grief. Keep a log of the date you make changes so that if something goes wrong down the line, you can look for the obvious change that may have caused the problem. 

Of course it should go without question that you keep all manuals and documentation on your audio rack. Also keep a copy of the sales receipt in each manual so you can recall when you purchased if and from whom, in case you want to get another device like it or get repairs on the one you have.