[Audiophiliac]

I need to get a cable to connect my soundcard to a soon-to-be-delivered DAC. Searching the forums for mini->RCA links has only turned up this one:
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/RCA-mini-spdif.html

Has anyone tried both of them, or at very least, someone who has tried more than one digital coax speculate on what differences I may find between the two on this page? I don't mind spending extra, even double in this case, for a "killer" cable, but is this 89259 such a cable? Other links would be appreciated, as well.

My other question is one regarding length. I have read that shorter is better, and I require a minimum of 4ft, and this site's jump from 3 to 6ft, but even 6ft would still be running close to many other cables, and passing close by my computer case and 21" crt monitor. Would a longer cable, say 10ft, that I could route free and clear of everything else, be a preferable choice?

 

[Daroid]

I wouldn't spend very much on it considering it is terminated to a RCA and a minijack. So the cheaper cable is absolutely fine despite it's 3% impedance tolerance. There are larger problems to correct before reading too much into teflon and brand name cables.

If your soundcard offers optical out, use it instead (imo).

 

[Chri5peed]

Optical-out FTW.

 

[device manager]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed Optical-out FTW.

Not necessarily. Coax vs. Optical has been heavily debated over the years. On a short run I doubt you'll hear a difference.

http://www.audioholics.com/FAQs/0007...al_coaxial.php

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by device manager Not necessarily. Coax vs. Optical has been heavily debated over the years. On a short run I doubt you'll hear a difference.

I hear the main advantage of optical over coaxial for computer listening is that a beam of light is not affected by any sort of interference, of which in a PC theres loads. My optical lead is passing by a whole heap of cables; 3 mains, 2 Transformers, 2 USBs, a Firewire and an ethernet.
Apparently jitter can potentially be a problem, but is it right to think that jitter would manifest itself in a highly noticable jump, which I've never had, or is it a misleading name?

 

[audioengr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed I hear the main advantage of optical over coaxial for computer listening is that a beam of light is not affected by any sort of interference, of which in a PC theres loads. My optical lead is passing by a whole heap of cables; 3 mains, 2 Transformers, 2 USBs, a Firewire and an ethernet. Apparently jitter can potentially be a problem, but is it right to think that jitter would manifest itself in a highly noticable jump, which I've never had, or is it a misleading name?

The Toslink has the advantage of galvanic isolation, but the S/PDIF coax can also have this if a pulse transformer is used.

The BIG disadvantage of Toslink is the jitter created by the electrical-optical-electrical conversion. this is what makes it generally worse than well-executed S/PDIF coax.

Whether or not you can hear a difference is a function of the resolution of your gear.

 

[Chri5peed]

I also love the idea of using fibre-optics to transfer my signal. Unplugging the lead from my DAC and seeing a little red light is nifty.

I know its not the same but coaxial may as well be a normal analogue signal, its not tangible. USB, well the same thing, plus lots of computer peripherals use USB, its not unique. I've heard many horror stories concerning USB too?

 

[Revliskciuq]

I always recommend TOSLINK for PC to DAC setups. It's true that if you're very careful in your setup, you can eliminate grounding problems and still use coaxial - but TOSLINK is (arguably) just as good and there's absolutely no grounding issues to worry about.

 

[jefemeister]

Another vote for optical. You get complete sepreation between your DAC power and your crappy computer power. This is acheivable with transformers on the coax lines but they aren't usually implemented despite being part of the S/PDIF spec.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister Another vote for optical. You get complete sepreation between your DAC power and your crappy computer power. This is acheivable with transformers on the coax lines but they aren't usually implemented despite being part of the S/PDIF spec.

Is this because with an optical cable, the only thing connecting the computer to the DAC is a piece of plastic? Which is not electrically conductive...

 

[jefemeister]

exactly

edit: a device called an opto-isolator is used on some circuit boards when complete isolation is critical. For example external sensors in industrial equipment. Another example, some audio equipment uses opto-isolators (or the equivalent like an ISO150 galvanic isolator) to keep seperate power supplies for analog, digital, transport mechanism, etc. Using a toslink is the same principle.

BTW, a glass toslink cable will be better than a plastic one. They can be had for pretty cheap on ebay and elsewhere. When people think of toslink as being inferior to coax, etc it's because they're used to plastic cables. Either way, not like it's a night-and-day difference or anything like that.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister exactly edit: a device called an opto-isolator is used on some circuit boards when complete isolation is critical. For example external sensors in industrial equipment. Another example, some audio equipment uses opto-isolators (or the equivalent like an ISO150 galvanic isolator) to keep seperate power supplies for analog, digital, transport mechanism, etc. Using a toslink is the same principle. BTW, a glass toslink cable will be better than a plastic one. They can be had for pretty cheap on ebay and elsewhere. When people think of toslink as being inferior to coax, etc it's because they're used to plastic cables. Either way, not like it's a night-and-day difference or anything like that.

Cool, it makes pefect sense to me. I'm an electrician btw...

I shall look for a glass cable but finding this one was a nightmare.

 

[device manager]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed Cool, it makes pefect sense to me. I'm an electrician btw... I shall look for a glass cable but finding this one was a nightmare.

Here's a popular glass solution

I use a similar one (Sonicwave) from my Dish ViP622 to my Denon 3803.

 

[Chri5peed]

Are there any TOSlink to mini glass cables?

I'm not too concerned with price, although nothing too silly.

If not, is an adapter a perfect solution, does it make the plug huge(like a barrel 1/4->1/8). Also does it pass the sgnal through it or does it just convert the connection?
i.e are there glass/plastic adapters?

edit -

Just had a thought.

With these connections being so close, would an adapter fit in with my Cardas HPI in line-out?

 

[Audiophiliac]

OK, I can see the merits of optical standing out in computer-as-source especially, however, the particular dac I have ordered (Zhaolu 2.0) is said to sound inferior through it's optical connection (Device Manager, it may even be you who said it?) Furthermore, I would require purchasing a breakout digital box for my x-fi basic (I game, too) to use optical. So it looks like coax, for me.
I'm feeling talked out of the more expensive of the two in the link. I'm sure that there must be more options than this one or radio shack, but I guess I'll have to start somewhere.
So, has anyone tried different lengths, in order to bypass noisy stuff? Surely I am not alone in this dilemma. At this point, I can only hypothesise that a longer run, which generally speaking would be inferior, would probably still be better than a shorter run that quite specifically passes close to electrical devices. I'm wondering, how far is far enough away?

BTW, I am still interested in the optical side of the discussion, keep it up and thanks guys.