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Digital TOSLINK better or M2Tech HiFace + COAX ?

post #1 of 7
12/17/10 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 

Which one of these options results in a higher quality signal from the computer?

 

1. Van Den Hul Optocoupler MkII (supposed to be one of the best TOSLINK cables around)

 

OR

 

2. M2Tech HiFace + a good COAX cable?

 

I might think it is the optical cable since there is no conversion involved from USB to COAX (the M2Tech has its own onboard oscillator and and hence introduces additional jitter)

 

Thanks,

akart

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post #2 of 7
12/18/10 at 2:44pm

Cable quality may not have anything to do with it, it may be more about capabilities of the S/PDIF output of the sound device..  I've been wondering about that myself, does the quality of the S/PDIF signal vary with the quality of the Audio Codec?. It's just bits, but what about Jitter, etc..  There a lot of opinions on both sides, about whether its better to use USB or S/PDIF..

I'm planning on doing some testing myself..

 

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post #3 of 7
12/18/10 at 8:40pm

Going from a toslink to the M2tech was a good move. I like the sound better.

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post #4 of 7
12/18/10 at 11:56pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks guys. I think I will also take the HiFace + COAX route since I will re-use the COAX cable anyway with a CD/SACD player/transport if I decide to get one.

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post #5 of 7
1/8/11 at 8:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by akart View Post

Which one of these options results in a higher quality signal from the computer?

 

1. Van Den Hul Optocoupler MkII (supposed to be one of the best TOSLINK cables around)

 

OR

 

2. M2Tech HiFace + a good COAX cable?

 

I might think it is the optical cable since there is no conversion involved from USB to COAX (the M2Tech has its own onboard oscillator and and hence introduces additional jitter)

 

Thanks,

akart

How do you define "the best TOSLINK cable"? IMHO I don't believe that it is worth the money to spend a few hundreds euros in an optical cable or an USB cable. Either there is a signal or there is no signal. In general, the connection via SPDIF (Coax) is the better one even though the differences are minimal.. 
 

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post #6 of 7
1/8/11 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 

I agree with you. I am using a plain vanilla optical cable.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by monoethylene View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by akart View Post

Which one of these options results in a higher quality signal from the computer?

 

1. Van Den Hul Optocoupler MkII (supposed to be one of the best TOSLINK cables around)

 

OR

 

2. M2Tech HiFace + a good COAX cable?

 

I might think it is the optical cable since there is no conversion involved from USB to COAX (the M2Tech has its own onboard oscillator and and hence introduces additional jitter)

 

Thanks,

akart

How do you define "the best TOSLINK cable"? IMHO I don't believe that it is worth the money to spend a few hundreds euros in an optical cable or an USB cable. Either there is a signal or there is no signal. In general, the connection via SPDIF (Coax) is the better one even though the differences are minimal.. 
 

Reply
post #7 of 7
1/8/11 at 11:58am

I dont know that brand but it will be certainly good and not the bottleneck if you have possible problems in your rig. I have ordered almost all my cables either at Blue Jeans cable or I have made them by myself and in my opinion it sounds really good :)

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