For an interconnect between a cd player and DAC, or an amplifier with a built in DAC, which is the best, ( in terms of sound quality), a Toslink optical or an RCA digital ?
Benedict_Arnold said:In the pst it has been mooted that a co-axial (electrical) digital interconnect is best for short runs, e.g. from a CD to a DAC, etc., whereas a fibre-optic is better for longer runs.
The signal from a CD starts out as optical, and is then converted into electrical for the on-board DAC in a CD player. For an electrical interconnect, this data stream just gets fed into the interconnect, off to the DAC for processing. If you use a fibre-optic, the signal gets converted back into an optical signal inside the CD player / transport, then fed along the fibre-optic (with a potentially more "lossy" junction at either end), into the DAC, where it's converted back into an electrical signal for processing by the DAC.
So the electrical route:
CD (Optical) --> Electric Digital Cable ---> DAC
The optical route:
CD (optical) --> Electric Circuitry ---> Electrical to Optical Converter ---> Fibre Optic Cable ---> Optical to Electronic Converter ----> DAC
So with the optical route there's two extra conversion prcoesses involved, which MAY increase the risk of data error and jitter.
I also find electrical interconnects a bit more robust physically, so if you're in the habit of connecting and disconnecting stuff, an electrical interconnect might be better.
ON THE OTHER HAND:
For long runs, I prefer fibre-optics. The cables are a lot cheaper, especially for long runs, mechanically more flexible and the sources, e.g. my satellite box, and the destination, e.g. my surround sound, aren't as crticial as my hifi listening.
Just my opinion, naturally.
fr0g said:They should sound the same. But if I were to choose, I'd go optical as there is zero electrical connection, and potentially less inteference.
dudleyperkins said:For an interconnect between a cd player and DAC, or an amplifier with a built in DAC, which is the best, ( in terms of sound quality), a Toslink optical or an RCA digital ?
WinterRacer said:*It's another theoretical problem the hi-fi industry has used to sell expensive kit that solves a non-existent problem.
MykhailM said:Having various quality optical and digital coaxial RCA cables, the best are silver coaxial cables. I personally use Malbru CX silver coaxial that sounds better than QED Silver Signature. I highly recommend to spend a bit of money on a good quality cables and of course auditioning and compare them on your own system, you shouldn`t regrets it as the change could be very obvious from the start.
MykhailM said:Having various quality optical and digital coaxial RCA cables, the best are silver coaxial cables. I personally use Malbru CX silver coaxial that sounds better than QED Silver Signature. I highly recommend to spend a bit of money on a good quality cables and of course auditioning and compare them on your own system, you shouldn`t regrets it as the change could be very obvious from the start.