SPDIF vs. Optical?

[rugger29]

ok, I've got a question. I've got a soundcard with both types of digital ins/outs.... the coax spdif ones, and the optical (Toslink?) ones. My receiver also has both types of input/outputs. Now, I know the optical cables are MUCH more expensive than coax ones. Is one type of connection better than the other?

My thinking is that since its a digital signal, it's only one stream of data, so it shouldn't make a difference in quality. However, I have no experience in this area, so I'm probably completely wrong Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[MasterHoss]

Well, arguably, the optical (toslink) is the way to go. I believe it's made of fiber so, theoritically, you'll achieve a "cleaner" connection between the sound card and receiver using an optical cord instead of the coax digital cables which are essentially beefed up versions of the good ole' RCA cables.

 

[Mavrick007]

There are people out there that will argue that digital coax has better fidelity than optical cables, but I don't think anyone could really tell the difference with the human ear. Whatever you have, they will both be good for what you want to use it for.

I believe that it's only good for dvd movies and what not cause the jacks supposedly only do DD or DTS, or else it just gives you a stereo signal (ie. 2 channel). If you want the multi channel in your games, you will have to use separate outs for fronts, mains, and center/sub channels.

 

[GoSharks]

just to clear things up -

spdif is a transfer format,
optical and coax are spdif transfer mediums

people say that coax is the better format due to the jitter than occurs in optical, and with the need to convert from electrical to light and then back to electrical, they say it isnt as clean as a pure electrical connection would be.

 

[Accord99]

Benefits of optical

No ground loop problems
Doesn't suffer from EMI

Disadvantages of optical

Fragile, easily breaks
Most cables don't actually use glass but plastic, which is not as good for transmitting light
More expensive than digital coaxial cables and much more expensive than the standard 75ohm video cable which can sub as a digital coax cable too

All in all, there really isn't any sound difference between so I would usually pick the one which is cheaper or whichever connection is more convienient.

 

[dnoyeb]

If it were analog I would say go optical. but since its digital I am saying the difference is neglidgible. There is enough error correction that you should not notice any difference in short runs. Long runs the optical should fair better, but I have yet to see very long optical cables. Perhaps the cables are cheap and not transparent enough...Though they are quite pricy. \


I go RCA, I dont even use a "high quality" cable. Just an elchepo job. If I were in a business are with interference I'd probably step up the quality. Never get gold cables. The gold is useless and any company interested in marketing hype, I question their dedication to true quality.

 

[WebDude]

Can't really tell you which is best, but I've just been shopping for optical toslink cables. The major brands (Monster Cable, etc.) are really pricey. But I found some really decent prices at Cables America (Link) I've ordered some, but they haven't come in yet, so I can't say about the quality, but I think they should work well.

Also, I found another supplier that makes really long toslink optical cables (up to 20m.), if you want to run to another room in your house. Here's that link. Link

Good luck.

WebDude

 

[rugger29]

thanks for all the info guys, and the deal on cables WebDude!