Optical vs digi coax

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

they're all the exact same thing, physically

apparently cables are optimized for different uses by altering the resistance of the line, most likely to regulate the stress on the components/maximize appropriate voltage

but they're the same thing, call it what you will, phono jack, rca, etc. the same terminal's been used for video, audio, digital, speakers, who knows what else, if you wanted to, you could use it for electricity

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

they're all the exact same thing, physically
apparently cables are optimized for different uses by altering the resistance of the line, most likely to regulate the stress on the components/maximize appropriate voltage

but they're the same thing, call it what you will, phono jack, rca, etc. the same terminal's been used for video, audio, digital, speakers, who knows what else, if you wanted to, you could use it for electricity

Yeah but I thought you couldn't use audio RCAs for video and vice versa.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

well, you can't hook up an rca cable or speaker wire with directional arrows on it the wrong way, either

but if by some stroke of misfortune you do...... it still works, and the world still spins

i don't honestly understand the big fuss about cables, and why the original poster went out and bought a "Monster" cable, and plans on upgrading still is beyond me

if someone can show me an a/b comparison with any type of cable, serving any purpose, between two of the same type of cable, where one's of decent 'typical' quality, and the other is of 'audiophile grade' quality and there's an honest to god to the ears or eyes discernable difference, i'll start buying $200 RCA cables like all these kooks out there

but if there's a true difference, i've never been witness to it

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

well, you can't hook up an rca cable or speaker wire with directional arrows on it the wrong way, either
but if by some stroke of misfortune you do...... it still works, and the world still spins

i don't honestly understand the big fuss about cables, and why the original poster went out and bought a "Monster" cable, and plans on upgrading still is beyond me

if someone can show me an a/b comparison with any type of cable, serving any purpose, between two of the same type of cable, where one's of decent 'typical' quality, and the other is of 'audiophile grade' quality and there's an honest to god to the ears or eyes discernable difference, i'll start buying $200 RCA cables like all these kooks out there

but if there's a true difference, i've never been witness to it

I have to admit that when I first got into home audio back in the early 90s (before Dolby Digital or DTS) and there was only Pro Logic (analog) surround I was taken in by the EXOTIC cables. Since then I still have those cables so atleast they've lasted a long time and I didn't TOTALLY waste my money. I spent a good load of money on those darn things.

Audioquest S-video cable $80

Monstercable stereo interconnects 1 meter pair (M1000 Mk2) $190

And a few other cables by those 2 brands. In retrospect I was ***** but like I said they are still in great shape today. So if nothing else, they atleast have lasted a long time.

 

[RSVCHAD 10+ year member]

As previously stated there are physical differences between cables optimized for audio information and those optimized for video/digital transfer. Will the cables WORK interchangeably? Yes! But remember a spoon would also WORK to dig a large hole in the ground. It may not be the best tool or even the correct tool, but it works.

As far as the difference in quality between cables... There are most certainly obvious differences in geometry, construction, materials etc. Can you hear these differences? I personally find noticeable differences in cables, but perhaps I'm just a kook! For those that can't hear a difference, perhaps your equipment (electronics or ears) are not up to the task. Keep in mind a receiver (even a Denon 5805) is not really a high-end piece of home audio gear.

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

well, you can't hook up an rca cable or speaker wire with directional arrows on it the wrong way, either
but if by some stroke of misfortune you do...... it still works, and the world still spins

i don't honestly understand the big fuss about cables, and why the original poster went out and bought a "Monster" cable, and plans on upgrading still is beyond me

if someone can show me an a/b comparison with any type of cable, serving any purpose, between two of the same type of cable, where one's of decent 'typical' quality, and the other is of 'audiophile grade' quality and there's an honest to god to the ears or eyes discernable difference, i'll start buying $200 RCA cables like all these kooks out there

but if there's a true difference, i've never been witness to it

I just bought whatever compusa had.

I like the look of the knukonceptz cable, and it would look good with everything else.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Is there a soundcard that uses optical out? cause it be nice to sen an optical signal to my soon-to-buy h701 or 700.

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

Yes.

I have creative audigy 2 zs platinum.

That model and up definatley do.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

my audegy 2 doesnt have optical. i guess i have to have the platinum ediotion

 

[1loudsuv 10+ year member]

let me add optical does have its limits and no one really with a good system uses it. its either hdmi or analog outputs. i know in my setup my receiver doesnt have hdmi input so use the analog outputs wich is 6 of them to the receiver and i get truhd and dolby digital plus like that. with optical you cant their bandwith isnt enough.

*edit did some reading and it sounds like optical has alot of bandwith but dunno how much. all i know is in ht optical isnt the best right now.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Optical has SHIT TONS of bandwidth, who are you kidding. Ever heard of FiberOptical braodband internet... you know the stuff the holds the current transmission record... of like 14terabits per second... or something crazy of that sort.

All I know is, I use optical out of my Xbox360... and into my receiver... and it works great for games and movies. I don't care about TrueHD sound of DDPlus right now though..

nG

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Optical has SHIT TONS of bandwidth, who are you kidding. Ever heard of FiberOptical braodband internet... you know the stuff the holds the current transmission record... of like 14terabits per second... or something crazy of that sort.
All I know is, I use optical out of my Xbox360... and into my receiver... and it works great for games and movies. I don't care about TrueHD sound of DDPlus right now though..

nG

what about in a car?

optical cable doesnt get any interferance?

no alt wine from an h701(just an example) using optical(espcially since processor will be mounted in trunk)? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

I use optical and digital on the P9 combo...Good shit.

 

[1loudsuv 10+ year member]

Optical has SHIT TONS of bandwidth, who are you kidding. Ever heard of FiberOptical braodband internet... you know the stuff the holds the current transmission record... of like 14terabits per second... or something crazy of that sort.
All I know is, I use optical out of my Xbox360... and into my receiver... and it works great for games and movies. I don't care about TrueHD sound of DDPlus right now though..

nG

i worded it wrong but in order to get truhd and ddplus you need either hdmi or analog inputs. i dunno why? maybe cause the cables we use arent up to spec or soemthing?

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Is there a soundcard that uses optical out? cause it be nice to sen an optical signal to my soon-to-buy h701 or 700.

There's even cheap soundcards that have optical out.

You can't transfer computer surround sound via any type of spdif output, tho.

It will transfer DTS/DOLBY DIGITAL out if you're watching a DVD or a video file with AC3 audio if you have everything set-up correctly, but any sound generated by the pc itself will only be transferred as 2-channel stereo PCM stream.

AKA, DVD's and AC3 (rare) video downloads in surround sound: yes

anything else (games, surround sound wma's): nope, still need the 5/6/7/9 channel analog outputs from your sound card to transfer this, b/c no sound cards have realtime AC3/Dolby digital/DTS encoding, and it'll just send stereo out