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Toslink Question ?

I have 4 toslink cables that I have been swaping from my cdp to pre/pro.Three of them sound the same.Detailed but at times overly detailed.The fourth cable makes the sound smoother with less detail but overall the sound is more pleasing although the music does not seem as fast.
My question, is the fourth cable damged and or introducing jitter.Can jitter actually distort the signal and make it smoother.
All toslink cables are not glass.Any thoughts.Thanks.
Shaun
shaunp

Showing 2 responses by johnnyb53

johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
I have often heard from various vendors that the biggest weakness of TOSlink is the connector itself--that the end of the fiberoptic bundle in the cable connector does not make optimum contact with the transmitter and receiver in the components. Some of my Toslink cables easily fall out of their sockets.

Monster Cable states that that's why their TOSlink connectors are spring-loaded--to keep the cable end in tight contact with the transmitter and receiver. I have no direct experience as to whether the Monsters work better.

The TOSlink mini-plug format shouldn't be as vulnerable to this.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 

07-08-10: Zephyr24069
I've used Monster's best TOSLink cable years ago... I did find that Audioquest OptiLink5 (possibly due to superior construction and materials on the cable itself) yielded a better fit and a better sound profile.
How much more expensive was the AQ, and in your opinion, was the performance improvement worth it?
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