Digital cable v. standard interconnects


This may sound somewhat naive, but what is the difference between a "digital coax cable" and standard RCA-type interconnects? Is it truly necessary to connect a digital source with a digital cable, or will any decent IC work as well?
jason321

Showing 1 response by ghostrider45

No digital cable with RCA termination will exhibit true 75 ohm (nominal) impedance. RCA connectors were designed for audio rather than radio frequency (RF) use. They do not exhibit a constant 75 ohm impedance at the RF frequencies used by the digital signal.

Ideally the digital cable, processor, and transport would use BNC connectors. Some manufacturers (i.e. Wadia) supply their gear with this connector in place of the RCA.