2. cables
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TOSLINK Optical vs Coaxial for CD transport to DAC

I have just purchased a DAC so I can use my oppo 205 as a transport and having an optical cable on hand I just used it to get things up and running. I bought the optical cable years ago and it was advertised as being actual glass as opposed to plastic?

At any rate I'm wondering if using a Coaxial cable instead would offer better audio performance, mostly looking for better resolution of micro details. 

Thanks for your thoughts and experience.

gakman

Showing 2 responses by richardbrand

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
484 posts
 

@fastfreight 

Optical is used where HDMI does not work (no HDMI input on legacy processor or soundbar etc)

Replace "does not work" with "is not available" and we 100% agree! 

Or where you want TV sound though your audio system and your HDMI is so old it does not support Audio Return Channel (ARC).

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
484 posts
 

@fastfreight 

Optical is often chosen out of TV's where the only other option is usually HDMI and may not work

I would have thought the opposite - optical is only used where HDMI is not available.

According to Wikipedia, S/PDIF is bandwidth limited and cannot support higher resolution formats:

S/PDIF can carry two channels of uncompressed PCM audio or compressed 5.1 surround sound; it cannot support lossless surround formats that require greater bandwidth

 

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