[B-side J]

I have been looking at Glass toslink cables today and found a few that look suitable for fairly cheap. Two of them have been discussed on here but I searched for the third and came up empty.

I know as far as SQ they "should" be the same but how about build quality? And fit?

Here are the ones I am looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/1m-ATLONA-HIGH-PU...QQcmdZViewItem
Looks well made, but says it uses a SINGLE 1.5mm strand? Where as the other use high strand count (which AFAIK is better).

http://cgi.ebay.ca/3-28ft-GLASS-TOSL...QQcmdZViewItem

AND

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=180-951

The first one apears to be of higher build quality but I'm not sure if its worth 3x the price.

Any feedback on build and fit of these or other options in the same pricerange would be great!

Thanks,

JB

PS I'm after Short (.5m) and Med (1-1.5m) lengths

 

[erikzen]

I bought the one from Parts Express. In most cases I avoid buying through eBay but that's just my personal bugaboo. I must say the look and feel of the cable is very nice.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

I have the middle one and I love it. There are many fibers in this one so it should be able to hold up to more flex than the others with less, more thick fibers. It is a very high quality cable for not a whole lot, and I have observed that many people here have this one as well through their pictures of their stuff.

Edit: I will say though that if you are going to move it fairly often or unplug it often, you should get a plastic one instead, as the glass ones do not hold up as well. Mine might have a problem with single tiny fibers breaking and sticking out of the plug (very, very small chance as there have been perhaps three people complain of this). The more expensive one on top, though it may look nicer, has one thick glass fiber. This will not hold up well to flex, I don't care what anyone says. Given the pros and cons, if you are going to stay put, go with the middle one. If you are going to play with your setup, go plastic.

 

[erikzen]

How can you tell if the fibers break. Mine seems flexible but who knows what's going on inside.

 

[B-side J]

I already pulled the trigger on the one from partsexpress... i couldn't helpmyself

I got a 1.5' and 6' for $85 CAD shipped, pretty cheap compared to MONSTER crap from Futureshop!

Thanks for your input!

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikzen How can you tell if the fibers break. Mine seems flexible but who knows what's going on inside.

Well, the only real way to tell is if any of the fibers stick out of the plug. If you are gentle, this should not really be a problem. My reasoning behind suggesting the one with more, smaller fibers is that smaller ones are more flexible and more resistant to breakage than thicker ones. As an example, engineers use many thin steel fibers to make the two cables that support suspension bridges. The reasoning is that it is more resistant to breakage and is more flexible. The same reasoning goes with braided vs. solid core interconnects.

As long as ths cable has many fibers, the two connectors crimp the two edges of the cable together tightly, and the fibers are polished at their edges then all should be well.

 

[Welly Wu]

I am going to buy the second glass optical fiber TOSLink cable for my Wadia 302 which is only $20 USD. It is identical to the more expensive $50 USD Sound Professionals glass optical fiber TOSLink. I will also buy the Blue Jeans Cable Mitsubishi ESKA POF cable to do a little review for Head-Fi members about the "perceived" sound quality differences between glass and plastic fiber optic cables. I think it will be useful for the community.

 

[B-side J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu I am going to buy the second glass optical fiber TOSLink cable for my Wadia 302 which is only $20 USD. It is identical to the more expensive $50 USD Sound Professionals glass optical fiber TOSLink. I will also buy the Blue Jeans Cable Mitsubishi ESKA POF cable to do a little review for Head-Fi members about the "perceived" sound quality differences between glass and plastic fiber optic cables. I think it will be useful for the community.

I think that would be good to hear the results..seems like a big debate

 

[skullguise]

I also got the middle glass one for ~$20USD. Seller was fast in shipping, and it is a very nice cable for the money, easily beating out a plastic TosLink I had. The plastic one seemed muted or distorted by comparison, it was really weird; never would have expected that much difference.

I imagine the PartsExpres/Dayton model is very similar...

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-side J I think that would be good to hear the results..seems like a big debate

I second that. I'd love to read that review.

 

[bex]

there are many reports about digital cables that say there is very little or no loss "bits" of data. meaning all the '1's and '0's get across safely or is easily repaired so they can determine if the bit is a '1' or a '0'.

so really, the glass and other materials are just on how much they can bend with total internal diffraction and how fast light travels within. a plastic cable treated well can sound just as good as an expensive one because all the digital data gets through.

therefore, the expensive ones really only bend more and built better. but obviously some cheap cables will have dust or somthing and will skip bits of info, but very very rarely.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am going to buy the second glass optical fiber TOSLink cable for my Wadia 302 which is only $20 USD. It is identical to the more expensive $50 USD Sound Professionals glass optical fiber TOSLink. I will also buy the Blue Jeans Cable Mitsubishi ESKA POF cable to do a little review for Head-Fi members about the "perceived" sound quality differences between glass and plastic fiber optic cables. I think it will be useful for the community.

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but were the results of this shoot-out ever posted?

 

[blaken]

I would also look at monoprice

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...d=10229&style=

The markup on cables IMHO is out of control. Fiber optics cost hardly anything to manufacture. I worked at a major chain during college and we charged $75 for an optical cable we paid $1.50 for. I would guess the packaging cost more to make then the cable. Don't fool yourself into thinking you "get what you pay for" in cable land.

Edit: I didn't notice how old the original post was. But I still stand by my statement