optical cables all created equal?

[oqvist]

I have seen pictures here of real thick optical cables? Are they any better then these ultra thin ones except for being better to handle with? Or am I better off with a good coaxial? I would preferr that they also have rca interconnects for a reasonable price/performance ratio

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Erm, there is no difference in the signal that will come out of the cable. A difference in how your DAC handles the signals maybe (Though extremely unlikely I would say), but as long as the DAC can decode the LPCM coming through the cable all is good.

As for a good coax, BlueJeans Cable makes a good one.

 

[Maxvla]

All optical cables are the same. Don't pay a premium for any fancy glass cables. A cheap, but properly made plastic cable has better durability. Optical cables don't need to be shielded so don't buy into any claims about shielding. All it is is a strobe of light transferred down the clear shaft of the cable. The strobe is the digital 1s and 0s. You can't get interference in a signal like that.

Toslink Optical 6 FT $2.14

This is all you need.

 

[daglesj]

I love the ones that quote in their ad blurb -

"with gold plated connectors for better signal connection"

I think that must be force of habit.

I did find a website that was selling Toslinks for a good price but the difference with these were they were about 12mm thick!!!

The covering on them was way over the top. They did look cool though.

As with fibre network stuff, I think its how both ends of the fibre are finished and polished that really counts.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif The strobe is the digital 1s and 0s. You can't get interference in a signal like that.

You can actually, as the light is actually reflecting off the walls of the strands. "Just 1's and 0's" would be fine if there was buffering and error correction such as you have in computers, but in DACs which don't re-clock the signal, you don't have that.

I thought that optical cables wouldn't make a difference until I found I could easily hear the difference between a cheap and nasty one vs. a high quality one from a reputable company.

 

[majkel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif All optical cables are the same. Don't pay a premium for any fancy glass cables. A cheap, but properly made plastic cable has better durability. Optical cables don't need to be shielded so don't buy into any claims about shielding. All it is is a strobe of light transferred down the clear shaft of the cable. The strobe is the digital 1s and 0s. You can't get interference in a signal like that.

No, sir. They are not. Learn some optical fiber physics and come back to edit your misleading post. I have got at home two different optical cables, one is said to be made of glass. They sound different, and the Glass Toslink I'm talking about now is the bad one. Don't buy this crap from ebay.

 

[mark2410]

tosh, digital is digital, either it works or it doesnt. it is theoretically possible for losses to happen due to a very poor quality cable but there is certainly absolutely no EM interference. anything that could would be bright enough to blind you so you really would have bigger issues

 

[krmathis]

Certainly not all created equal.
The most noticeable difference, which also may reflect in the sound, is the core material (plastic or glass) and the connectors.

 

[daglesj]

I always like this talk of 1's and 0's. Its not 1's and 0's, its on or off or pulse, no pulse.

 

[Chri5peed]

The difference is in build quality...tell me w/$130 cable!

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daglesj /img/forum/go_quote.gif I always like this talk of 1's and 0's. Its not 1's and 0's, its on or off or pulse, no pulse.

Yea, and in digital computer language 1 = on and 0 = off.

I have both Rocketfish coax and Philips optical connected to EMU 0404 USB and both sound exactly the same to my ears.

 

[Headphile808]

All Created Equal? No Way, I've got 3 different Audioquest Optical (OptiLink-1, OptiLink-G, Optilink-A,) & A Monster M-Series M1000. They are all built quite differently, as the cheaper models OptiLink-G ($50) & OptiLink-A ($30) have a bare-minimum design, being quite fragile-feeling. While the OptiLink-1 ($85) & Monster M1000 ($100) are fully sleeved to give it a lot more durability IMO. And also, the connectors used are much more substancial, which gives the cable a solid feel. As far as SQ, these are all cables of good quality, so differences are very inaudible when compared to one another. But if you compare it to one of those stock cables (never used one), I'm sure it would'nt be hard at all to determine. Good Luck.
Aloha

Headphile808

 

[myinitialsaredac]

IME, there is a bit of a difference moving from cable to cable. In optical you have problems with reflections and over long distances signal degradation. The lens polish can make a difference, if the lens is causing reflections than the entire beam is gonna get messed up to some degree. Moving from a dayton 15$ optical to a monter thx 1000 (both plastic), offered a bit more soundstage and decay, but coaxial cheap coaxial to the monster thx was blatant. Using a cardas golden IC as a coaxial cable provided a sound that was darn near identical to the monster thx optical. Remember, the spdif protocol was written for 75 ohms, which cant be acheived with rca coaxial, and plastic fiber, which you cant do with glass opticals.
My recomendation is to go to target or best buy/frys electronics, buy one of the expensive opticals, and compare it. If you like it keep it, if not tell them you thought it was for optical like tv signals or monitor signals and it doesnt fit in the circular hole
Dave

 

[Maxvla]

You guys really are nuts. The most error proof connection there is and you still say there is a difference.

Enjoy your $100 tubes of plastic.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif You guys really are nuts. The most error proof connection there is and you still say there is a difference. Enjoy your $100 tubes of plastic.

The great irony is that when people say that ICs make no difference, they quote scientific tests, but when they say that optical digital cables make no difference, they completely ignore science!