2. cables
  3. 194807-22525

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
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

 

fastfreight
944 posts
 

Hello @richardbrand !  That is what I was trying to say.  Optical is used where HDMI does not work (no HDMI input on legacy processor or soundbar etc).

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).

fastfreight
944 posts
 

We are indeed in agreement.  Thanks for clarification.

nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,194 posts
 

I've tried a few coax cables out from my disc player to my integrated and every one had occasional drop outs. A high quality RCA IC never did (it even sounded better) but a glass Toslink sounded the best and never has drop outs. 

Trust your ears. 96Khz done right sounds fantastic.

All the best,
Nonoise

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