Fascinated by Audio Cables, but confused...

[Samiam]

I just purchased a Marantz sr7500 and I am wondering should I use digital coaxial or optical? I have heard that the optical has a harsher sound in the highs. I'm running polk rti's so that won't do.

Any thoughts?

 

[MDS]

Optical and coax digital sound the same, period. They both transmit the same data using the same protocol (s/pdif).

 

[Seth=L]

Interference will be nill with optical, that is it's advantage. Coaxial advantage, it fits better and is less likely to become disconnected, and shielded cables have very low interference that would not likely be noticable in most situations. Coax cables are any 75ohm cable, i.e. video cable, sub cable, and digital coax cable. Sometimes you can get a very good 6 ft. coax for well under $20, so the coax will likely be the cheapest. SQ wise, I can hear no difference as MDS already said.

 

[j_garcia]

For similar quality cables there will be no meaningful difference. Get CRAP cables though, and you might notice why they are so cheap. I prefer coax for the reasons Seth metioned.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I just purchased a Marantz sr7500 and I am wondering should I use digital coaxial or optical? I have heard that the optical has a harsher sound in the highs. I'm running polk rti's so that won't do.

Any thoughts?

I couldnt' tell any difference between the optical and coax other than the optical tended to fall out of the plug occasionally and the coax doesn't. I switched to coax and have been completely satisfied with the performance.

Jack