Quality of Digital Cables?

[Wee]

I'm curious about how a $100 Toslink cable can "sound" different than a $10 one. I understand how important the speak cables to sound. The analog signal is changing when transfered through the cables. Transfer digital signal is whole different. It's like wire transfer money if you think off transfer analog signal is like carry the money with a bag. You may loss money if the bag is leaking more leaking means loss more money. But for wire transfer, how big the mistake is not depends on how many numbers you misspell, a single digital mistake can result in 1 cent, 1 dollor or a billion dollors difference. So, error is not allowed at all, the receive end must verify (verifiable is one of the good thing of digital), request-resend-if-error and cache (so it has time for verify and resend) the information. It's true that cable could be low-loss or high-loss because of the cable quality, but that is just why verify-cache is important, ultimately, there should be only the correct digitals in the cache ready for processing.

As all the Toslink manufactors declare their good cables produce clear, full and richly detailed sound. I wander how a bad cable can selective drop those digitals that make the sound rich.

 

[Leprkon]

As all the Toslink manufactors declare their good cables produce clear, full and richly detailed sound. I wander how a bad cable can selective drop those digitals that make the sound rich.

I think you'll see scratches on the interface quicker on a cheap cable and it might be less flexible. Don't know if that would change just a part of the sound....

 

[mustang_steve]

I work in a manufacturing plant for network electronics, and have to deal with optical cables (not toslink, but still optical)....here's the beef.

Number one problem with fiber is exact element centering...sometimes the filament doesn't sit right in the connector...given this is a connector issue, but some super-cheap companies might not pay much attention to this.

Next issue is if they do any qualifications beyond basic packet testing. The good shops will use a microscope to analyze the surface of the element...it has to be within very tight tolerances (I forgot the specs...I just got onto fiber a few months ago).

Last issue is flexibility....cheap network fiber can break easily from a bend...but the better ones can be bent into all kinds of pretzel like shapes....I don't reccomend it, but it is possible.

Only way I can see a sound difference is if the filament doesnt sit right or is scratched and is causing data transmission errors, or the converters in the gear that is doing the electronic to optical and back conversion may not be all that. Basically any data transmission error can change the sound...in digital transmission that is the only way it can be altered outside of something in the conversion pathline.

Really though, if your not in some obscenely high noise environment and have coax digital capability, go for it...less chance for errors during the two extra conversion steps the signal has to go through.

 

[mtrycrafts]

[=Wee]I'm curious about how a $100 Toslink cable can "sound" different than a $10 one. I understand how important the speak cables to sound.

Actually, it is not that important beyond ga size and normal design




As all the Toslink manufactors declare their good cables produce clear, full and richly detailed sound. I wander how a bad cable can selective drop those digitals that make the sound rich.

They cannot. If there is a problem, you will hear no sound or just a click. Anything in between is taken care of. Nothing to worry about. So, that $100 cable is $90 extra profit for the company

 

[BMXTRIX]

That's about all I have ever seen as well. The extra money you spend is BS. You don't need to spend it and there are cables that are even well under 10 bucks that sound just as good. The more expensive cables may be prettier, and use some better materials... maybe. But, you don't need them and if you aren't showing off your cables to people, then they will never know, but enjoy looking at your plasma anyway.

 

[markw]

That's like a car maker saying their car runs on gasoline.

As all the Toslink manufactors declare their good cables produce clear, full and richly detailed sound.

Actually, that's a pretty safe claim. Sounds great, but it's no big deal.

Now, if they had said theirs was the ONLY interconnects that produced "clear, full and richly detailed sound" there might be some issues.

That's called "puffery". Stating a fairly common and obvious attribute in such a way as to make it sound impressive and unique.