Page 1 of Optical cable; any difference in quality.

Hi,

I`ve a Panasonic DVD/VCR combination unit. If I`m going to use digital surround sound I have to use the optical PCM output as this model does not have a coax digital output.

I need 2 meters cable length. There`s a heck of a price difference on these cables between £5 plus postage on Ebay for 2 meters to £13+ in high street stores for 1 meter. I know that quality can make a difference with analogue cables, but is this the same with digital? If I buy to price on Ebay, am I cutting corners as well as costs??

Regards,

Jim.

As long as the "ebay" cable is reasonably well constructed and reliable, there`s no reason why it should give any worse performance than a more expensive one. Does the feedback on ebay give any clues or information?

Hello Sput,

Thanks for your reply. No real information from Ebay sellers, a lot of them seem to be offering the same product, described as TOSlink. Packaged in the same way I guess they are buying it in bulk then selling on. Would this cable work as a DVD to Amplifier connection? Most sellers have a lot of different things listed, so maybe their knowledge of specific items might be limited. Not as limited as mine though.......... I thought that digital connections either worked or didn`t; ie no progressive deterioation as with analogue.

Thanks for your help; if you could clarify any difference between TOSlink and PCM I`d appreciate it. I`m more or less ok on older stuff simply because I understand (to a point) what it does and how it does it, and that build quality can make a difference. On a personal level, the best sound I`ve ever heard was from a valve driven professionally rebuilt DECCA stereo record player running through a pair of Lowther speakers. Superb sound. Clear and detailed at all volume levels.

Best Regards,

Jim.

Quote:
could clarify any difference between TOSlink and PCM

TOSLink & PCM are different things

TOSLink is the type of connector on the end of the cable (a square plug)

PCM is short for Pulse Code Modulation, it`s a method used to transmit an analog signal digitally (nothing to do with connectors)

You can probably find out more by just searching for the above terms in Google

Quote:
Packaged in the same way I guess they are buying it in bulk then selling on. Would this cable work as a DVD to Amplifier connection?

Some CD players offer a digital output socket (which is what you`d use a TOSLink connection for), but that`s usually to connect it to an external DAC (Digital-Analogue Converter), without which an amp can`t do its job. If your amp has a DAC built in, then you should be OK, but usually DAC`s are usually separate, stand-alone items OR built into your CD player. A CD player without an inbuilt DAC is usually referred to as a CD Transport, and will definitely have a digial output socket on it, otherwise it would be useless! Your best bet with a CD player is probably to connect using the standard analogue phono outputs.

Quote:
I thought that digital connections either worked or didn`t; ie no progressive deterioation as with analogue.

That`s my understanding too, which is why as long as the cable`s reasonably well made and the connections are sound and intact, it should perform as well as anything.

This item was edited on Sunday, 12th June 2005, 10:52