Toslink (fiber optic) VS. XLR output

[starcraftbw]

this is from DVD/CD player output ----------> preamp (consider it has balance XLR input). which carries better sound.

Peace

 

[MDS]

They carry the same sound. Optical is for digital signals and XLR is for analog signals. Balanced inputs and outputs are good at rejecting emi/rfi interfence when the cable run is long. Optical is immune to emi/rfi.

It's really an apples to oranges kind of comparison.

 

[agarwalro]

Look at it this way, you want to use the device with better DACs to do the digital to analog conversion. If you have a cheap DVD player, use digital connection. If you have a Denon 5910 DVD player or something that good, its DACs will probably be better than all but the very expensive pre-pro/ receivers. In this case use analog to the pre-pro/receiver.

In analog connections, XLR offer better noise rejection than RCA connections.

If you use sound processing like 5-ch stereo, Dolby PL Cinema, etc, it might be a moot point since the pre-pro/ receiver will have to re-digitize the signal to process it, then use its own DACs to do digital to analog conversion.

Hope this helps.