Leo Reed

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Which cable is better to use for a soundbar? HDMI or Digital Optical Cable
 
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What's the TV and what's the soundbar?
HDMI would be better but depends on your TV if it has ARC for example.
 
I have bought a few days ago an LED LCD TV TH-55GX750D and I am thinking about the JBL Bar Studio soundbar.
 
An HDMI or optical cable can be had for less than a fiver so why not try both and see which you prefer.
 
It's a great idea to try two cables. Then I will know for sure what will fit.
 
Depends on where you getting the sound from and the capability of the soundbar.

toslink has a maximum capability of 6 channels (5.1 Dolby Digital Audio).

HDMI extends this to lossless HD audio (as found on bluray disks). and to Dolby Atmos if the sound bar has atmos capability.

They certainly aren't the same thing. Its true if you only want up to 5.1 then they should work the same.
 
HDMI passes higher audio resolution than digital optical cable so I recommend HDMI. Been using HDMI ever since mine and I am impressed how good audio is.
 
Depends on where you getting the sound from and the capability of the soundbar.

toslink has a maximum capability of 6 channels (5.1 Dolby Digital Audio).

HDMI extends this to lossless HD audio (as found on bluray disks). and to Dolby Atmos if the sound bar has atmos capability.

They certainly aren't the same thing. Its true if you only want up to 5.1 then they should work the same.
optical digital can do 7.1 not just 5.1

An optical digital audio connection is used to send digital audio signals between devices.

It supports uncompressed PCM stereo audio, and 5.1/7.1 Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel audio for people with surround sound systems.

It does not support SACD, DVD-A, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X or high-definition audio such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
 
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