Can I use coaxial cables to connect my receiver to an amp

A

Adam Kelly

Junior Audioholic
I received RCA interconnects today for my new amp but these "higher quality" cables only come in .5 meter length which is too short for my side by side set up. I called the company and they have coaxial cables as part of this series of cables that run 1 meter and he suggested I go with those.

My question is can I use digital coaxial cables instead of analog RCA cables? What's the difference?

They do offer RCA interconnects as part of a step down series of cables in 1 meter length but they claim that this series of cables has less shielding, etc...
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Shielding is irrelevant for a 1m length for an application like this in all but the most extreme cases. For analog connections, coaxial digital and stereo/video analog are effectively identical cable. More or less, coaxial digital and analog video exceed the requirements for passing analog audio.
 
A

Adam Kelly

Junior Audioholic
Even if the power conditioner is on the shelf above the amp?
 
A

Adam Kelly

Junior Audioholic
I was more referring to any noise from the power cords that will be in close proximity going into the power conditioner.

But back to my original question...is there any difference between digital coaxial and analog rca cables and can I use coaxial to connect to an amp.

I'm inclined to go with the coaxial depending on the answer because I just bought matching wires for my entire system and would like to keep that aesthetic if possible.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Original question was already answered: you can use coaxial digital for analog. The cable does not care what it is carrying no matter how they label it.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
My question is can I use digital coaxial cables instead of analog RCA cables?
Yes, you can use digital or video coaxial cables instead of RCA analog audio cables.
What's the difference?
The digital and video coax cables have to meet a specification of 75 ohms impedance. Analog audio cables have no such spec, and may have a somewhat lower impedance.

For analog audio, it makes no difference at all. Many cable makers use the same 75 ohm cable for all those purposes.
 
A

Adam Kelly

Junior Audioholic
Thank you. I was reviewing this thread on my phone and missed the second half of your answer in regards to that.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Yes, you can use digital or video coaxial cables instead of RCA analog audio cables.The digital and video coax cables have to meet a specification of 75 ohms impedance. Analog audio cables have no such spec, and may have a somewhat lower impedance.

For analog audio, it makes no difference at all. Many cable makers use the same 75 ohm cable for all those purposes.
Now that I think about it......seems like it has been a long time since I've seen "RCA" cables that were NOT coax
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
There are several audiophile & boutique RCA cables that are not coax! Some are not even shielded. Both are bad ideas.

It's almost 2016 and any new product that you purchase that plugs into an AC receptacle has the potential to generate interference. So even short RCA cables should be shielded.
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai

It's almost 2016 and any new product that you purchase that plugs into an AC receptacle has the potential to generate interference. So even short RCA cables should be shielded.
Can you elaborate on that?

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
I'll defer to Jim Brown and Henry Ott, both suggest that any wire much longer than 1/2 can be an interference antenna.

*******************************************
Jim Brown, past AES committee co-chair on EMI/RFI.

'RFI, Ferrites, and Common Mode Chokes For Hams'
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

about 50 more Jim Brown papers:
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm

********************************************
Henry Ott industrial EMI/RFI expert.

'Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineering'
by Henry W. Ott,
publisher: John Wiley & Sons, hardcover 872 pages, 566 figures, 65 tables.
Publication date: August 2009, ISBN#: 978-0-470-18930-6.
http://www.hottconsultants.com/EMCE_book_files/emce_book.html
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I'll defer to Jim Brown and Henry Ott, both suggest that any wire much longer than 1/2 can be an interference antenna.

*******************************************
Jim Brown, past AES committee co-chair on EMI/RFI.

'RFI, Ferrites, and Common Mode Chokes For Hams'
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

about 50 more Jim Brown papers:
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm

********************************************
Henry Ott industrial EMI/RFI expert.

'Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineering'
by Henry W. Ott,
publisher: John Wiley & Sons, hardcover 872 pages, 566 figures, 65 tables.
Publication date: August 2009, ISBN#: 978-0-470-18930-6.
http://www.hottconsultants.com/EMCE_book_files/emce_book.html
I'm in the boat of "don't fix a problem that doesn't exist in my system". I've rarely had problems with unshielded interconnects 3 feet or shorter. There have been a few times that a quality shielded cable solved a problem in my system, usually for a phono cable.
 
F

fmw

Audioholic Ninja
There are several audiophile & boutique RCA cables that are not coax! Some are not even shielded. Both are bad ideas.

It's almost 2016 and any new product that you purchase that plugs into an AC receptacle has the potential to generate interference. So even short RCA cables should be shielded.
I agree that boutique RCA cables are a bad idea but I don't understand how you would expect to get radio frequency interference from 60hz electrical service. The purpose of coax is to contain or reject radio frequency signals. Nothing wrong with having that in an audio cable but it certainly isn't necessary.
 

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