Analogue / Digital Interconnects - Whats the difference?

[matengawhat]

this could be a silly question but is there any difference between these cables in manufacturing or is the analogue and digital tags given by the signal that passes through them

obviously you have 2 for analogue and 1 for digital but if i had a spare pair of analogue interconnects could i use just 1 to pass a digital signal between my wadia and dac?

 

[idc]

As you say, its the tags given from the signal that passes through them. Though there are huge differences in the way they are manufacturerd, particularly the connectors. Different connectors have become associated with analogue (for example phono or RCA) and digital (for example USB or toslink). Otherwise, what is inside the cable is various combinations of primarily copper and silver, except for optical cable.

 

[daveh75]

idc: Different connectors have become associated with analogue (for example phono or RCA) and digital (for example USB or toslink).Digital coaxial being an exception as they use RCA/phono connections

 

[idc]

My turn for a daft question on the same theme. Is there any reason why phono could not be used for the majority of connections? I can understand SCART sockets being different as they provide different connections within the same cable. Or could SCARTS have a phono connection as well?

 

[a91gti]

I've used half of a pair of rcas in place of a dedicated digi lead before with no ill effects but that was a half metre run, I think that there may be a difference in resistance between the two tho.

 

[a91gti]

I've used half of a pair of rcas in place of a dedicated digi lead before with no ill effects but that was a half metre run. I think that there may be a difference in resistance between the two tho so with longer runs there may be an issue.

 

[activebass]

New question:

I thought I should resurrect this thread before starting a new one.

If you're using a digital source like a CD player or MD player (yes, you read correctly) is it better to use a digital or analogue interconnects?

This may sound funny, but you would think that optical digital would make for the best interconnects, but when I use my analogue Ixos interconnects to connect my Sony MD player to my amp, it just sounds better.

I don't know if there is a loss in information transfer when I use an analogue cable, but in this case it just sounds better.

 

[jase fox]

activebass:
New question:

but when I use my analogue Ixos interconnects to connect my Sony MD player to my amp, it just sounds better.

I agree activebass, i find when i use my IXOS analogues with my CDP it sounds laods better than with a digital connection, however it all depends on the CDP really? For example, i used to own a Marantz CDP the 6000 special edition i think & that sounded better through a digital connection, so i think its sometimes best to try both ways & see which sounds the best to you.

If you use the analogue connection your using the CDPs internal DAC / And if you use the digital connection your using the amps DAC

 

[activebass]

jase fox:activebass:
New question:

but when I use my analogue Ixos interconnects to connect my Sony MD player to my amp, it just sounds better.

I agree activebass, i find when i use my IXOS analogues with my CDP it sounds laods better than with a digital connection, however it all depends on the CDP really? For example, i used to own a Marantz CDP the 6000 special edition i think & that sounded better through a digital connection, so i think its sometimes best to try both ways & see which sounds the best to you.

If you use the analogue connection your using the CDPs internal DAC / And if you use the digital connection your using the amps DAC

I will try it once I've decided on whether to repair my current CD player or to buy a new one.

I was previously using a Rotel amp and both my Sony MD player and Marantz CD player sounded better with Analogue connections. I only used an optical cable to go from the CD player to the MD.

 

[jase fox]

activebass:jase fox:activebass:
New question:

but when I use my analogue Ixos interconnects to connect my Sony MD player to my amp, it just sounds better.

I agree activebass, i find when i use my IXOS analogues with my CDP it sounds laods better than with a digital connection, however it all depends on the CDP really? For example, i used to own a Marantz CDP the 6000 special edition i think & that sounded better through a digital connection, so i think its sometimes best to try both ways & see which sounds the best to you.

If you use the analogue connection your using the CDPs internal DAC / And if you use the digital connection your using the amps DAC

I will try it once I've decided on whether to repair my current CD player or to buy a new one.

I was previously using a Rotel amp and both my Sony MD player and Marantz CD player sounded better with Analogue connections. I only used an optical cable to go from the CD player to the MD.

Yep, thats the way to connect it activebass.