help me pick a tos...link cable!

[grandenigma1]

So I want to play around with some toslink cables and I am not sure what to pick up... I currently have the ebay special glass one and I am just curious if you think any of these would be an improvement.

 

[grandenigma1]

or not... fine!

if you know of some better feel free to suggest those as well.

 

[Gabe Logan]

Stop yelling at me!! lol

I got the Glass TOS.The same one akwok has so i went with that one.

They have them on audiogon for $25 i believe.

I have no experience with any kind of those cables so im no expert.

 

[Scrith]

Over at Audio Asylum a couple of people (including one that claims to have compared several cables, including the one from eBay) recommend the Van den Hul OptoCoupler. I have one and it sounds exactly like my Zu Ash 1.5m coax cable (both coming from my E-Mu 1212M into a Benchmark DAC1, which makes comparisons very easy because it has both inputs and an easy-to-use switch on the front to change between them).

I think it goes for around $70 or so.

 

[lan]

I don't think your system is high resolution enough yet to make much difference out of digital cables. I'd spend it on music, power cord, or power conditioning.

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan I don't think your system is high resolution enough yet to make much difference out of digital cables. I'd spend it on music, power cord, or power conditioning.

So you're saying that power conditioning or power cords would make a greater difference? I don't want to threadjack...but I always wondered how much of a difference another power cord or power conditioning would make on anyone's system.

 

[lan]

I think they do make a greater difference. Here's how I rank these "tweaks".

Component modification
Power cord
Power conditioning (depends what kind)
Interconnect
Digital cable

Telling jitter differences between digital cables is hard if the rest of the system isn't detailed enough. It's sometimes so small it's just not worth it. I'd just get a glass toslink and be done with it. If you spend more money, you are better off getting something else.

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alu So you're saying that power conditioning or power cords would make a greater difference? I don't want to threadjack...but I always wondered how much of a difference another power cord or power conditioning would make on anyone's system.

Power conditioning shouldn't make a difference as long as the PSUs of the devices connected are actually worth anything and the power isn't extremely polluted (think large machine hall... funny things can happen there). Power cables can almost impossibly make any difference at all, considering the perfectly ordinary outlets and many, many meters of ordinary cheapo 2.5 mm^2 wiring preceding your high-end power cabling. As long as the contact is good on both sides I wouldn't worry about high-end power cables too much... IMHO that belongs into the snake oil category.

Re: optical cables, as long as it's got good connectors (you want to get the light to get into the fiber and out again without being reflected needlessly) and a glass core (lower dispersion should cut down on jitter), it should be alright. It wouldn't be all too hard to measure reflections, losses and dispersion smearing IMHO. (Yet I doubt any audio mag does this. It's probably easier to prove that expensive cables must be better that way...)

 

[grandenigma1]

I have the music (1000+ CDs) power cords (DIY ones I made) and power conditioning (dedicated line

) taken care of...

Just curious if it would be a noticable improvement or not... I was looking at the Van Den Hul having read many good reviews but I have not been able to find it for sale anywhere.