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Optical Toslink cable quality? Is there a difference?

Hi there,

My understanding of digital signals is that there should be no difference between different cables.  Like HDMI cables, either it transmits the data, or it doesn't, right?  So what is the difference?  Why pay more than $6 for Toslink cable that you can get off KabelDirekt - Amazon?  What would be the difference in sound?

Thanks!
leemaze

Showing 1 response by agisthos

agisthos
518 posts
 

There is a difference in optical toslinks cables if your downstream system is good enough to reveal it.

15 years ago I went on a toslink merry go round and settled on the Lifatec cables posted above. They sounded best. This was when using them between a CD transport and DAC.

That setup is long gone, and I recently needed one between TV and DAC. I got another Lifatec. OK. Then I got the QED Reference Optical

https://www.qed.co.uk/qed-reference-optical-quartz-digital-audio-cable.html

This was a noticable upgrade over the Lifatec. It even surprised me how much better it was, considering it has less strands of glass than the Lifatec, and it's on TV/Xbox duties only

There is a few other botique optical cables out there. DHL Labs and Wireworld to name some I have not tried.

 

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