Optic cables vs. Coax cables for DVD? [Archive] - Audioholics Home Theater Forums

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1db

12-06-2003, 07:06 PM

Hello all,

Can anyone enlighten me on the use of either of the above mentioned cables for DVD audio?  I'm hearing the optics are superb one place, and another place says they produce bright sounds, which could make my Klipsch KG5.5 unbearable (as they are pretty bright by themselves).  Also heard the Optic cables are succeptible to sonic jitter and can mess with the sound if they are off just a bit.  This same guy recommended using Coax connecter's for sound, as they produce a flatter range fidelity.  I just purchased the Yamaha 2400 tuner/amp if this helps.

Any real life experience on this issue?

Thanks!
1db

Yamahaluver

12-07-2003, 09:15 AM

My personal experience is that unless you have long runs, coax sounds much better, more depth and warmth so I would suggest that you use coax if possible.

1db

12-07-2003, 06:55 PM

Thanks for the info Yamahaluver!  As always, your help is greatly appreciated!

av_phile

12-07-2003, 10:02 PM

In other fora, this issue ussally becomes the subject of heated debates. *I happen to side with one camp.  With what little I know about digital transmission, 0s and 1s really don't care much which medium they travel provided the medium conforms to certain specs defined by the S/PDIF recommendations. *Personally, I don't find any difference. Maybe because all my interconnects are just in one meter lengths and some below. *Just make them as short as possible. *Optical cables are immune to spurious interferences but can't go very long. *Coax, when properly shielded, can. *If using Coax, make sure they are of 75 ohm impedance. Just my 2 cents. *

This site could be helpful:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

SoftEng

12-08-2003, 12:57 AM

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>1db : Any real life experience on this issue?
Congrats on the Yamaha 2400 - I just got one too.  I'm using a 12 foot coax audio cable from Radio Shack for my DVD player, sounds great.  Cost: $3.99

Bits is bits, and jitter is managed in the DAC not in the cable.

1db

12-08-2003, 02:20 AM

Thanks you guys!  Good info.  I am going to try both and see if I can tell the difference.  

By the way, does anyone know of any Forums like this, except for video?

av_phile

12-08-2003, 04:27 AM

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>1db : By the way, does anyone know of any Forums like this, except for video?
There are many. *Offhand I could think of the discussion forum in www.ecoustics.com and www.diyaudio.com *The latter is more technical though. *You can google search on the topic if you like.