SB Touch to Metrum Octave: toslink, coax RCA, BNC?

You should be fine using the coax of the Touch. I use it without problems. Just use a good cable.

There are 75ohm RCA plugs. Good coax should be better than glass Toslink but I'm sure you'll find people with exactly opposite experience. It is system dependent.

Coax is sensitive to impedance mismatch and ambient electrical noise.

Toslink does not create ground loops but has slower transitions making it more sensitive to system noise.

Other people experience doesn't count, IMHO, since nobody has exactly the same system with the same noise, house wiring, area electrical noise etc.

My vote is for a good coax...never heard a toslink beat a coax of equal quality. Depending on your budget, I've had good experience with the following in descending order of quality: Shunyata Python digital, Shunyata Cobra digital, Moray James digital ( very rare but inexpensive and incredible), Harmonich Tech Magic digital, and the ever-affordable Kimber Illuminati D-60.

Thanks guys. So I'm leaning towards coax with RCAs.

Should I DIY with true 75 ohm RCA plugs? BTW, which RCAs are "true" 75 ohm? WBT?

I have Purist Audio Museaus analog ICs, and doubt the RCA plugs on their Genesis RCA coax is truly 75 ohm.

I used Canare 75ohm RCA plugs.

Kijanki,

Did you replace the RCA female plug on the Octave as well?
What did you use for the cable?

thanks!

It wasn't Octave, just short coax between CDP and DAC without changing female socket. I used Canare coax and connectors but there is a lot of different choices. Quality of shielding is extremely important. Buy or build either very short <12" or >1.5m because of transmission line effects (reflections in the cable affecting edges).

Connection becomes transmission line (relections on impedance boundaries) when propagation time is less than 1/8 of transition time. Signal travels about 1.5ns/ft (5ns/m) allowing for 8x1.5=12ns transitions. Typical transport has 25ns transitions - we're safe.

For 1.5m cable reflections might happen, but they will just miss original edge. Reflection starts from the beginning of transition and takes with 1.5m cable (both ways) 15ns to come back (3mx5ns/m) and add to original edge and it's just missed threshold point that is roughly in the middle of transition (12.5ns).