Toslink/RCA connection?

Stumpywhu

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Hi, am just about to replace the cheapo toslink connection going from my DVD player to my home cinema amp.
Is there any difference in quality between the Toslink and RCA connections? also can anyone recommend a cable for around the £50 mark?
Many thanks.
 
Stumpywhu said:
Hi, am just about to replace the cheapo toslink connection going from my DVD player to my home cinema amp.
Is there any difference in quality between the Toslink and RCA connections? also can anyone recommend a cable for around the £50 mark?
Many thanks.

£50 :eek: Blimy, your rich! I personally use fibre cables which cost me £1.50 from ARD electronics, about 4 years ago... They are week and feeble, but I don't touch them much! :thumbsup:

If you look around this forum, you'll see that the advise is to buy for build quality, not for price. As both toslink & RCA (SPdif) are digital, you cannot improve the quality, or to the actually point, the signal will not degrade with a cheep cable. This is the beauty of digital propagation, it will work perfectly... until it doesn't, but that would be due to cable lengths of 10s, if not 100ds of meters.

Toslink and SPdif(RCA) are the same protocol. they are both carry PCM (pulse-code modulated signal). The light going down the fibre is actually SPdif, which has been buffered and the digits are driving the light source.

So not, there is not difference in quality.

Gareth. ;)
 
Thank you for that - much appreciated.
I was just looking for a 'reasonable' way to upgrade my system and considered this cable as a possible weak link.
I DID assume 'digits is digits' but on searching around got confused with articles such as this http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/buyersguide_list.asp?category=CAB&subcategory=DIGTL reviewing differences between cables.

Stick with the £2.99 ones Iv'e got then I assume...
 
Choice is entirely yours of course but I doubt you'll discern any difference between a £2 toslink (Fibre) cable and a £50 one (Apart from the lightness of wallet).
My personal choice would be to use digital coax cable (RCA) it's far easier to make a good job of terminating a Coax cable than a fibre cable.
Bad termination could very well effect the sound quality.
 
Stumpywhu said:
Thank you for that - much appreciated.
I was just looking for a 'reasonable' way to upgrade my system and considered this cable as a possible weak link.
I DID assume 'digits is digits' but on searching around got confused with articles such as this http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/buyersguide_list.asp?category=CAB&subcategory=DIGTL reviewing differences between cables.

Stick with the £2.99 ones Iv'e got then I assume...

Wow... £299 for a Coax cable (on the review website)... Im coming over with a cold sweat :eek:

I am, really, REALLY in the wrong business!

Digits realy is digits! The whole ethos behind digits is that its there... or its not! Therefore, the cable/fibre doesnt play any factor in the "quality of the carried signal". Dont get me wrong, the quality of the digital information is diturmined by propagation variables, but the reconstructed signal is purley down to the A-D/D-A, Compression systems etc, if the data actually arrives! When people talk about CD jitter, dropped bits of digital video tape etc, they are then in the relm of reconstruction & concealment. When just sending bits down a fibre/coax, what you send in, is what you send out. There is no interperation.

Gareth.
 
Knightshade said:
Bad termination could very well effect the sound quality.

Termination is irrelavent in DACs of less than 10 metres.
I use audio phono cables, much cheaper than £2, just as good.
 
PJ,
Bad termination is never 'irrelavant' or even 'irrelevent' :)
 
Knightshade said:
PJ,
Bad termination is never 'irrelavant' or even 'irrelevent' :)

I agree... But I also agree with the fact that over short distances, you can send digits down anything that will take it!

Gareth. :smashin:
 

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