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Toslink Survey / Please Participate

Digital interconnection, IMHO, has always held many myths.

When I first began delving into outboard D/As, jitterbugs, and transport combinations, very few component manufacturers (for some stupid reason) were actually providing coax RCAs (75ohm SPDIF). Interconnection, in many cases, was acheived through the use of Toslink.

Now most of here already know that I am quite an extreme advocator of balanced interconnection including, digital signal. I personally use AES/EBU on XLRs for my 2 channel system.

Out of necessity, I have had to hook up my home theater DVD player to HT receiver using the Toslink (Denon DVD 5000/Denon 3300). And after listening for an extended period of time, I have to ask, (because I obviously must be forgetting),....... Why was Toslink so bad? Why do many people say it sounds like crap?

The system sounds fine. Very natural and "undigital". I won't mention the Toslink cable manufacturer, but it is glass, and the cable costs $39.95. No "Break-in". No "cryo" no crap, just hook it up and go.

When you think about it, many issues associated with interconnection are negated. Balanced????? No Need. RFI, EMI ????? Trivial. Impedance mismatch????? None. Adverse environmental conditions????? Irrelevant. Overall, a very easy, inexpensive, and sonically acceptable interconnection. I don't know about 2 channel usage, but if this any indication, I'm sure it would yield acceptable results?

Can anyone comment? Is anyone still using it for 2 channel? Even if just out of necessity, or otherwise. Does anyone find Toslink unacceptable?

128x128buscis2

Showing 1 response by elevick

elevick
2,636 posts
 
Consider the care in which manufacturers take with toslink vs rca. Most toslinks are cheap plastic and usually only 1 or 2. Manufacturers seem to take more care and pride in putting in an RCA/Coax digital for every input-usually gold plated. This tells me that internally things are probably not equal either.
Toslinks are definitely more "delicate" where good coax is sturdier, better shielded and better connections.
Finally, I've been told that good coax digital cables were designed for different impedence and voltage levels than regular interconnects.
Try them all out and see for your self?
My toys: Anthem avm-2 & denon 2200 hooked up with 6 nordost blue heavens for sacd/dvd-a and using an older tara labs digital/coax cable for normal 5.1. However, I do use a toslink to hook up my dishnetwork 501 receiver to this!
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