Toslink optical or coaxial SPDIF?

[melomaniac]

what do people prefer to connect their transports (CDP or SB or computers) to their DACs?

 

[slwiser]

Depends on the cables themselves. It is easier and cheaper to get a good glass optical than an equal coaxial. The main thing is to get a dac that can handle the signal properly. So to answer your question there are several variables involved, optical cable, coaxial cable and Dac with each making a contribution to the final solution. It is called synergy.

 

[Vaughn]

I can't say for certain but back when I read all the audiophile magazines
the optical interface was held in very low esteem.
My experience has verified this as I prefer the sound via the coaxial connection.
This is assuming that you are using an appropriate 75ohm coaxial cable(I use a Canare version made by HAVE)
I am curious what others have to say on this.

 

[tot]

The type of the cable shoudn't matter. If they sound different, you should get a proper DAC. I am sure you will get other opinions...

I tested once my DAC where I can connect both optical and coax together to the same transport and just flip a switch to change, and the sound in both cases is identical, no change at all.

 

[ecclesand]

I use both. A good quality glass toslink from my soundcard to DAC and a BJC digital coax from my CDP to DAC.

 

[krmathis]

Depends on the person in question, and the gear he/she want to hook up.
Cause some prefer optical over coaxial, or the opposite. While other are limited by their hardware to one interface...

I prefer optical.

 

[SunWarrior]

If you can pick either type, here's what Blue Jeans Cable writes: "When we have a choice, we prefer to run digital audio in coax; it's more robust over distance, and the cable is interchangeable with cable used for certain other applications (e.g., composite video)."

Of course, as a cable seller, they might have a bias. Or, for the same reason, perhaps no bias...since they'd get a sale either way.

Dave, who likes the more-robust-over-distance concept

===========================================
Headphones: AKG K701, Grado SR-80, Etymotic 4P/S
Amps: Little Dot MK V, Heed CanAmp, Headroom Total AirHead, Arcam A80
Sources: Arcam CD93, Sony SCD-C2000es, iPod Classic
Interconnects: RS Audio Solid Silver
Speakers: Audio Physic Yara
===========================================

 

[Oliver :)]

Optical. Coaxial sometimes gets more hype, as you have more opportunity to mess it up and sell the result as "signature sound". It does not quite match the audiophile market's usual tendencies to hook up megabuck systems with optical cable selling for about €1/m. That is why you will find optical cable with "gold plated contacts" and thick isolation at a higher price. Even the €4,50 optical switch I just bought the other day (so I can easily switch my between my Laserdisc Player's AC3/Stereo signal. Only one optical input on the darn HT amp

) came with gold plated ports... pathetic, all you need is plugs made to spec and a cable that is not broken. So in short, optical will get you there, for cheap. If you want a nice looking cable, spend more. If you have a long distance to cover, spend on a real glass fiber. If you like to experiment with how sound might be affected by the use of different coaxial plugs etc., try coaxial. If you have the time and budget, buy all sorts of cable and compare for yourself. That game is more fun with analog connections though.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunWarrior /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you can pick either type, here's what Blue Jeans Cable writes: "When we have a choice, we prefer to run digital audio in coax; it's more robust over distance, and the cable is interchangeable with cable used for certain other applications (e.g., composite video)." Of course, as a cable seller, they might have a bias. Or, for the same reason, perhaps no bias...since they'd get a sale either way. Dave, who likes the more-robust-over-distance concept

There's probably a lot of truth in what BJC said, but it really only applies in studio situations where the lengths of cabling will be in the order of hundreds of feet.

I take "robust over distance" to mean less signal loss over distance. At long distances, the RCL parameters actually make a significant impact on the resulting signal. With optical, I'm guessing the the signal gets too diffracted/diffuse beyond a certain length to be interpreted at the other end.

 

[n4k33n]

Oliver hit it on the nose.

 

[pompon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by melomaniac /img/forum/go_quote.gif what do people prefer to connect their transports (CDP or SB or computers) to their DACs?

I have tested both ... both gave me the same result till I win a good highend coax.

Coax now is better (clarity, details).

 

[slwiser]

I have been using my optical cable out of my Squeezebox for a while now until I got my Virtual Dynamics David digital IC. Right out of the box the David did not sound as good as the optical.

Now that I have about two weeks on the David I have to give the nod to the David using my Lavry DA10. This has surprised me since I had thought that the Lavry was good enough to mask any differences between them.

One more item of interest: I have always been able to tell the difference between my Lavry's CrystalLock and it's wide. Now with the David and the other cables in the mix those differences are much more apparent. Before it was very difficult to tell between the CrystalLock and it's Narrow setting but now I am able to distinguish some details as having some differences here as well.

I have one more VD Power cable coming, a VD Power 1 which will allow me to have two VD Power cables, a 1 and a 3. I think I will put the 1 into the Yamamoto since it seems to be the more sensitive component.

 

[philodox]

A good coaxial cable will generally out perform a good optical cable. I say generally, because the outputs and inputs of the two devices being connected come in to play. Some devices have better implementations for optical and others coax. As a general rule of thumb, I use coax for CD transports and optical for computer sources. Optical doesn't pick up all the PSU noise, so is preferable with a computer as source setup.

Of course, by all reports AES/EBU is better than either.

 

[melomaniac]

thanks all!

 

[j0shimi]

I'm about to receive my HR Balanced Desktop with DAC upgrade. I will be using this with my PC's X-Fi Prelude and want to carry over a few X-Fi 3D effects for gaming, I know this can be achieved through Toslink Optical but will I be sacrificing sound quality?

Am I better off hooking my HR Balanced Desktop up to my Prelude via Coaxal for the best sound quality or will they sound identical?