SPDIF Audio Problem

[aNoBody]

Can anyone tell me the name of a lead that looks like a RCA or AV plug that connects to spdif Audio coaxial as I went to Dick Smiths here & they didnt have one or coudnt find one.
What I would really like to know is,can you use a RCA or AV plug to do the same job or would the quality be not as good as the proper lead.?

 

[scarty16]

digital co-axial??

I assume you do not mean the optical connector.

 

[bu5ter]

As far as I am aware the connection is a 3.5mm mono headphone type jack then from there you can use a standard digital coax cable to connect to the jack.

Ive tried this and it works with my audigy 2 sound card to my digital coax in on my amp

 

[LostCause]

In the case of optical its refered to as either optical, spdif or toslink. In the case of electrical its a standard RCA to RCA, Digital Audio RCA. They are male at either end. Buster's 3.5 jack cable is simply a convert required for his soundcard. Amps and Dvd and higher end soundcards either use the optical toslink connection or the electrical RCA connection. A standard audio cable can be used but the specific ones are shielded.

 

[aNoBody]

I always use toslink for spdif but one day noticed a plug on the back of my Foxtel SetTop Box that was the same shape etc as a normal RCA or AV & has the colour Orange instead of the normal red,Yellow & white & it says it is called SPDIF which surprised me because I thought SPDIF was a Toslink plug but found out there is others that represent SPDIF.
AnyWay I noticed if I use a normal RCA cable & connect it to my Reciever with same coulered plug on the back that it does work but was wondering if it mattered what I used.
Infact I was surprised that a normal RCA cable worked

 

[cmatt]

i personally use coax on the spdif, but a designated cable made by monster

 

[Knyght_byte]

SPDIF means both optical and coaxial..........in the case of coaxial it will be colour coded orange if it is at all.........Sony and Philips simply came up with the idea of a single cable digital interface for multiple channels via one cable.......but couldnt agree on which was superior...lol...however its only really in the computer industry that SPDIF is even used as a term anymore........most AV gear simply calls it a digital connection......

on soundcards u often find you'll need a 3.5mm to single RCA adaptor.....

on AV gear it'll be a RCA to RCA cable, single, however its usually best to get a shielded one to ensure no problems....you can make do without shielding if a short run, but for the sake of a couple extra quid you might as well play safe...

however optical isnt so much of an issue, so long as the plastic coating is thick enough for no bleeding of light then its fine......altho it can to some peoples minds come across as bright sounding......

 

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Can anyone tell me the name of a lead that looks like a RCA or AV plug that connects to spdif Audio coaxial as I went to Dick Smiths here & they didnt have one or coudnt find one.
What I would really like to know is,can you use a RCA or AV plug to do the same job or would the quality be not as good as the proper lead.?

I've seen them called 1/8" optical, 3.5 mm optical or optical mini-plug. It's a normal SPDIF connection, but with that special connector. You can buy cables that have 1/8 " on one end and TOSLINK on the other. You can also buy adapters that will convert from TOSLINK (which is the most common optical connector for audio) to 1/8". In the US, Radio Shack carries all of this.

Most 1/8" optical connections are dual-purpose outlets that let you connect either optical or a mini stereo analog cable. What's behind the outlet is kind of strange: it has both the connectors needed for the analog cable and the small laser needed for optical. If you use a normal analog cable, obviously you get an analog connection rather than a digital one. In the end the signal has to get converted to analog. So the type of connection you use is significant primarily because it determines where the digital to analog conversion is done. Most devices that would have 1/8" optical are pretty low-end, so you'd normally be better off to connect them via optical to your receiver or whatever, because your receiver will likely have better digital to analog conversion. But that's not an absolute rule.