[Soundbuff]

For awhile I was running a toslink and a coaxial to my Bel Canto DAC 2 from two different transports. I've read a few reviews which claim the coaxial connection produces better sound with this DAC.

It seemed like there was just a slight difference in sound between the two transports, but the difference was extremely subtle and I couldn't determine which was better (or even quantify the difference).

Then I tried connecting both the coaxial and the toslink to the same transport, and compared them using the selector switch on the front of the DAC 2.

I could hear absolutely no difference in sound between the toslink and the coaxial connection.

 

[remilard]

I've never heard a difference with tranports or cables in my setup, and I'm the kind of person who complains about the lightbulbs making noise.

 

[maarek99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundbuff It seemed like there was just a slight difference in sound between the two transports, but the difference was extremely subtle and I couldn't determine which was better (or even quantify the difference). Then I tried connecting both the coaxial and the toslink to the same transport, and compared them using the selector switch on the front of the DAC 2. I could hear absolutely no difference in sound between the toslink and the coaxial connection.

That's pretty much what I experienced. There seemed to be an extremely slight difference but when A/Bing fast the difference disappeared completely. I guess thats the way human hearing works. If we want to perceive a difference, we will.

 

[Juzi68]

Depends what sound card you're using. With the RME digi I hear a big difference between COAX and Toslink. Toslink wins big time. I have the Bel Canto Dac 2 btw.
This article measured jitter on the RME card and found that under Toslink it was "low 248 picoseconds peak-peak" with Coax it jumped to "still-good 686ps"
http://www.stereophile.com/digitalso...99/index5.html
I even went a step further and upgraded my Toslink cable to a glass cable versus the less expensive plastic.
So if someone cannot hear the difference or is using less resolving speakers, it makes sense to stick with coax.
I found this article in 6 moons an eye opener as well, which was subsequently reinforced by my own listening tests.
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/t...toslink_2.html

 

[Asterix]

Okay, here's what happened to me:

First I assumed optical was better so I bought a $20 Monster optical cable. That worked fine. Then I read coaxial may be better so I got a $50 Audioquest VDM-1 cable. I plugged them both in between my NAD C541i and E-mu 1212M and then switched between them to see if I could hear a difference. The digital coaxial sounded better. A little fuller and louder. I am trying out a Standard Silver Headphile digital cable to see if it beats the Audioquest. I would also like to try a glass toslink to see if that's any better.