[lobehold]

Those little optical/toslink ports with the inward flipping door keep breaking on me.
 
The first time it was probably my fault, I pulled out the plug at an angle, the skewed force probably ripped out the door.
 
I was super super careful afterwards, and recently found that the little door wouldn't return to the down state after unplugging the cable, turns out the one side of the door was dislodged and when I try to push it back it popped out again with the hinge broken off.
 
These doors have plastic hinges that's the size of the ball of the ballpoint pen, it seems that they snaps off very easily.
 
This is so infuriating, there is also another type of port without the door that replaces it with a physical plug, I wish everything has the plug type but most still use the flip doors.
 
Currently I'm kind of afraid to use the optical door on my new DAC, this is ridiculous as it's a useful feature but I would hate for it to break again.
 
Is it my fault? What am I doing wrong?

 

[David Aldrich]

I can't say I've had any issue with doors coming off, I've never considered the Toslink connector to be a connector designed for repeated insertion/removal cycles though.
 
I would focus on making sure that you keep the connector going in and coming out straight to minimize the risk of putting undue force on the door.
 
I do agree that a doorless Toslink with a removable plug cover is a better design.

 

[lobehold]

Thanks for replying, I guess it's not as common of an issue as I thought?
 
All I can do is be even more careful in the future, I wonder if it's due to my optical cable, probably not as it's a monoprice, and just about everyone uses monoprice.

 

[hodgjy]

  Thanks for replying, I guess it's not as common of an issue as I thought?
 
All I can do is be even more careful in the future, I wonder if it's due to my optical cable, probably not as it's a monoprice, and just about everyone uses monoprice.

I've tried many different optical cables, and I can say without a doubt that the Monoprice jacks are slightly larger than the other brands, making for a more snug fit. It's possible that your female optical jack is slightly smaller than other makes, so this combination is just enough to pop the door off.

 

[lobehold]

  I've tried many different optical cables, and I can say without a doubt that the Monoprice jacks are slightly larger than the other brands, making for a more snug fit. It's possible that your female optical jack is slightly smaller than other makes, so this combination is just enough to pop the door off.

 
Wow thank you!
 
Can't believe it's the one thing I never doubted - the cables.
 
Definitely going to change to a different brand.

 

[hodgjy]

   
Wow thank you!
 
Can't believe it's the one thing I never doubted - the cables.
 
Definitely going to change to a different brand.

No prob, glad to help.  I like Cables to Go because the connector size seems to be the most compatible with all my gear.

 

[Jeb Listens]

Those little optical/toslink ports with the inward flipping door keep breaking on me.

The first time it was probably my fault, I pulled out the plug at an angle, the skewed force probably ripped out the door.

I was super super careful afterwards, and recently found that the little door wouldn't return to the down state after unplugging the cable, turns out the one side of the door was dislodged and when I try to push it back it popped out again with the hinge broken off.

These doors have plastic hinges that's the size of the ball of the ballpoint pen, it seems that they snaps off very easily.

This is so infuriating, there is also another type of port without the door that replaces it with a physical plug, I wish everything has the plug type but most still use the flip doors.

Currently I'm kind of afraid to use the optical door on my new DAC, this is ridiculous as it's a useful feature but I would hate for it to break again.

Is it my fault? What am I doing wrong?

Hi lobehold,

Let me reassure you that you are not alone in this! I find the toslink port implementation pretty annoying on some devices. As others have said there is also variation between cables.

I've just experienced something quite similar with my Rega DAC. I'm not sure if this is exclusive to my DAC. Firstly, there seems to be huge variation in how the toslink cables fit, varying from snug fit to fall-out-if-you-look-at-it fit. My Chord Optichord was unusable with the Rega because it was so loose.

Anyway, I tried a few different cables to try and find a good match but within about half a dozen unpluggings the spring door stayed pressed in and then the cover broke off. In the end I decided to just use Coaxial Instead as I find the connection much more reassuring.

It's strange because on the same DAC there is also a toslink output and that one is a different beast entirely with a much better fit for all cables and one of those clip in connectors instead of the spring door.

I just popped a bit of tape over the port with the broken cover to stop dust getting in.

Regards

Jeb.

 

[lobehold]

Those flip door ports are quite poorly designed, aren't they?
 
Btw., the mini (3.5mm) type port is a million times better in terms of durability and fit, no doors to break off, no plugs to loose.
 
I wonder why more products don't utilize the mini port instead.

 

[David Aldrich]

Because the stem breaks and gets stuck in the terrible 3.5mm port. 
 
BNC, XLR, ST Those are all I need, notice a trend? They're all metallic and lock.

 

[lobehold]

 
Because the stem breaks and gets stuck in the terrible 3.5mm port. 
 
BNC, XLR, ST Those are all I need, notice a trend? They're all metallic and lock.

 
It always sounds good on paper doesn't it?
 
Optical connection is much more ubiquitous amongst consumer electronics though.

 

[acia]

   
It always sounds good on paper doesn't it?
 
Optical connection is much more ubiquitous amongst consumer electronics though.

mine also broken.

 

[Thenewguy007]

mine also broken.

Mine too, on my PC.

is there anyplace that sell door hinge & door replacements for optical doors?

 

[cmacsocial]

My optical door broke off too -- the left hinge snapped off the side. Broke off of my Paradigm Soundtrack soundbar. Local repair shop told me this. His last paragraph suggestion didn't help. Anyone have ideas? Otherwise I'll try to sell this great soundbar for guts.
 
I contacted Paradigm in regards to this matter.  Paradigm would need to replace the amp board on the bar.  The bar and the sub would need to be shipped to Paradigm in order for them to sync the sub to the new replacement amp.  The cost of the amp is $284.00 + tax.  Shipping would need to be factored in as well for both the sub and bar which would be around $100-140 both ways.  The replacement amp boards are on back order till end of February. 
 
If the only issue with the bar is the optical input not retaining the cable I would consider tying or strapping the cable in a way that will keep it in the input.
 
 

 

[lobehold]

You can buy the little optical socket/port on eBay (make sure to get the right part, you can't mix-up the transmitter and receiver, plus there are different style/specs to these with different pinouts) and get the repair guy to replace it, should be an easy soldering job. If you can switch to a plug-style port that's even better as there's no little door to break.
 
Push come to shove you can just shove a piece of cardboard/folded up paper to wedge the optical connector in place, preventing it from slipping out, paying $400+ to fix a tiny plastic door is preposterous.

 

[cmacsocial]

  You can buy the little optical socket/port on eBay (make sure to get the right part, you can't mix-up the transmitter and receiver, plus there are different style/specs to these with different pinouts) and get the repair guy to replace it, should be an easy soldering job. If you can switch to a plug-style port that's even better as there's no little door to break.
 
Push come to shove you can just shove a piece of cardboard/folded up paper to wedge the optical connector in place, preventing it from slipping out, paying $400+ to fix a tiny plastic door is preposterous.

Thanks Lobehold. Indeed, I just took the soundbar to an electronics repair shop, he showed me the $7 replacement part, and is charging $69 out the door. Thanks.