Optical Dilemma

[GO-NAD!]

Some background first. I wanted to connect my two CD players to my receiver (See my signature for my setup). I ordered a 75' toslink cable from Monoprice and ran it from the one of the CD players in the living room, through the walls to my receiver in the rec room. Worked perfectly, except for one teeny tiny detail. I had the CD players daisy-chained through the analog connections and thought, for some strange reason, that the daisy-chain would then function through the digital optical connections. As many of you are probably aware, that is not the case. I only got the signal from the CD player that was directly connected. So, after reading some reviews at Monoprice, I ordered an optical splitter and two 6' cables from Monoprice. Many of the reviewers for the splitter had done the same/similar thing as I wanted to do (two outputs to one input) and it worked for them. Well, it didn't work for me. I tried every conceivable orientation of the connectors and didn't get a signal at all. Monoprice recommended using the 3X1 Optical Audio Toslink Bi-Directional Manual Switch (PID # 2946) for this application. Anybody out there use this? Is it possible that I need a signal amplifier? Any and all advice would be appreciated.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Nobody out there can provide any advice, or even comment on my situation!? I'm surprised, considering the number of knowledgeable members of Audioholics forums...

 

[Adam]

Hi. I have never tried that, but I have a thought. Make sure that you only have one CD player on at a time. If you are using a splitter as a combiner, then you only want one signal going to that splitter - so only have one CD player on.

 

[GO-NAD!]

It was one of the issues raised in the Monoprice reviews, so I tried that as well, to no avail...

 

[markw]

Just a guess...

You say you have a 75' run. That's quite a long run.

You say that when one unit is connected to that 75' run, it works.

You say that when you "split" the signal at the end of that 75' run, neither unit works.

My take: the signal isn't strong enough to survive a split and still run two devices.

I see two options :

1) Try that switch and be satisfied to run one unit at a time it it doesn't introduce too much loss into the signal path.

2) Try a toslink amp like this : http://www.cablewholesale.com/specs/fiber-optic-amplifier/10tr-08400.htm and see if it boosts the signal enough to survive a split.

An interesting quote from the blurb for this item : "This optical cable booster will allow you to extend your optical cable beyond the 5 meter recommended maximum length. This device will extend an additional 20 meters."

FWIW, 25 meters is approximately 80 feet, so you're still pushing the signal strength/length limit.

 

[GO-NAD!]

You say you have a 75' run. That's quite a long run.

You say that when one unit is connected to that 75' run, it works.

You say that when you "split" the signal at the end of that 75' run, neither unit works.

My take: the signal isn't strong enough to survive a split and still run two devices.

I see two options :

1) Try that switch and be satisfied to run one unit at a time it it doesn't introduce too much loss into the signal path.

2) Try a toslink amp like this : http://www.cablewholesale.com/specs/fiber-optic-amplifier/10tr-08400.htm and see if it boosts the signal enough to survive a split.

An interesting quote from the blurb for this item : "This optical cable booster will allow you to extend your optical cable beyond the 5 meter recommended maximum length. This device will extend an additional 20 meters."

FWIW, 25 meters is approximately 80 feet, so you're still pushing the signal strength/length limit.

I agree with your assessment - the question is - which way to go? I think I'll go with the amplifier route, although it'll be a bit cumbersome, as I'll have to add another piece of cable. Unless, of course, there are any double-male toslink adapters out there. I'll have to do a search, I suppose....

Thanks for the link!