Coaxial versus Toslink/Optical

[mfleisch]

I have heard from different sources that audiophiles prefer optical to coaxial as optical is apparently immune to RFI and EMI interference. Though I have also heard that a well built coaxial cable will have minimal issues with RFI and EMI interference get into the cable in the first place. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? The latest generation Playstation and Xbox give you the option of using either optical or HDMI depending on your setup for the 5.1 playback of movies and games. I am currently using HDMI for both and I am satisfied with the results. If the optical was to produce better sound does anyone have a particular brand of optical cable that is well built but not ridiculously overpriced to recommend?

[kennyt]

I disagree, most audiophiles I know prefer coaxial to optical. Yes, coax can get RFI, but optical (Toslink) has it's own troubles to deal with, now if you hat AT&T glass, that is a different story, but no one is using it outside of the super high end market and it is even fading their. HDMI is also prone to jitter, but it is what we will have to use for the new codecs so we are stuck..

If your receiver/pre/pro has HDMI and will decode the new audio formats or accepts MC PCM then you need to use HDMI to get the best audio....

[Mcintosh Man]

Hi,

If I have a choice between Coaxial vs Toslink/optical I use a good quality Coaxial cable.

My two cents

[Merton]

[QUOTE=kennyt;15063]I disagree, most audiophiles I know prefer coaxial to optical. Yes, coax can get RFI, but optical (Toslink) has it's own troubles to deal with, now if you hat AT&T glass, that is a different story, but no one is using it outside of the super high end market and it is even fading their. <snip>

Ken, since coax and fiber are both digital, they'll either work or won't work. I suppose if the coax signal level is low it could result in intermittent glitches, but not noise.

Last night I read some of the cable quality thread and must admit I'm in the "decent quality" camp. $ 200 3 foot HDMI, $ 200/ft speaker cable or $ 4k interconnects are all snake oil to me.

Jim

[kennyt]

Originally Posted by Merton

Ken, since coax and fiber are both digital, they'll either work or won't work. I suppose if the coax signal level is low it could result in intermittent glitches, but not noise.

Not true, both have their own issues, jitter being among the largest, it isn't as simple as they work or not, they each add inherent problems to the signal, jitter is more a distortion of the digital signal than noise, though noise can also be an issue.

When choosing cables, each musty make their own decision, hopefully listen to their chooses in their own system and decide what is best for them and their ears. The cable issue is as old and debated as the chicken and the egg and each side has devout supporters at all levels so I won't start another cable discussion. If interested, their already is such a thread hotly going on at;

http://www.avrevforum.com/showthread.php?t=1874

KT

[Loves2Watch]

Originally Posted by Merton

Ken, since coax and fiber are both digital, they'll either work or won't work. I suppose if the coax signal level is low it could result in intermittent glitches, but not noise.

Last night I read some of the cable quality thread and must admit I'm in the "decent quality" camp. $ 200 3 foot HDMI, $ 200/ft speaker cable or $ 4k interconnects are all snake oil to me.

Jim

You are absolutely correct. Go to www.monoprice.com for all of your cable needs at very low cost.