Page 1 of COAXIAL VERSUS OPTICAL

WE HAVE ALL HEARD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DECENT CABLES IN OUR EXPENSIVE CINEMA SETUPS. HOWEVER, I AM TRYING TO WORK OUT IF WHICH INTERCONNECT PROVIDES THE BEST SOUND QUALITY:

COAXIAL OR OPTICAL

AND WHICH BRAND IS THE BEST TO BUY, AS THESE THINGS TEND TO VARY IN PRICE.

Chris

If you read Hi-fi mags most will say use Coaxial

IXOS are a good make

I got an IXOS Coaxial cable which cost me about £25 from Sevenoaks. I also use IXOS S-Video cable as I believe you get a better picture than SCART but thats another debate

Just don`t go overboard and spend too much

PS

When posting don`t have all your words in Capitals as it`s deemed that your SHOUTING!!!

Is there any real, discernable difference in quality between the two? Coax and optical that is, not Scart & s-video.

Some people believe different digital interconnects can sound different (for DD/DTS). IMHO they`re wrong.

I don`t believe it makes a difference. I also don`t believe it can make a difference, based on my limited understanding of the technology.

Cheers

Herman

Over quite a bit of testing, I found Coax to be discernibly better that Optical. For me, Coax gave a clearer sound, while Optical sounded soft and hazy. FYI, I used cables from both Ixos and Chord, finally settling for Chord Coax.

So are the Coaxial ones digital as well? If so how can they give you different sound?

Surely 10010100101 sent down the line is the same whatever the medium used?

For CD audio in principle they can, because the signal carries timing information, and slight differences can cause jitter, which can introduce subtle distortion, though how much depends on the quality of the cables and the circuitry at each end. I have never been able to hear any difference, but I did not really expect to.

For DD and DTS the signal is compressed, and has to be decoded and the audio samples retimed at the reciving end, making such subtle cable effects impossible. But it only requires a vivid imagincation to be able to hear what you expect to hear in the absence of a true A-B test. Those who claim to be able to hear clear audible differences should try for the $1 million prize from www.randi.org for supernatural faculties.

And if you don`t believe me, check out the start of the third paragraph of section 4.5 of http://www.dolby.com/ht/Guide.HomeTheater.0110.html which states that "If your system components allow you to choose between two types of digital connector, note that both have identical audio performance."

This item was edited on Friday, 4th October 2002, 12:26