How can there be any audible difference between different optical cables? As my understanding goes, with digital, you either get sound or none at all.
-
When should you upgrade your hi-fi? How to control ‘upgradeitis’
optical digital
- Thread starter admin_exported
- Start date
Not so much with the cables as what they make the equipment at the receiving end do. If the signal isn't delivered intact, or jitter is introduced, then the error correction systems in the digital to analogue converters have to work harder, which can affect the sound (or indeed the picture).
Optical cables - at least of the normal S/PDIF kind, with Toslink connectors, can sound worse than a direct electrical digital connection, as the signal must be converted from electrical to optical for transmission, and then back to electrical again at the receiving end. There's also some potential for reflections at the interface between the end of the optical 'cable' and the sender or receiver.
And yes I know about the 'digits is digits' argument and how a word file sent by email doesn't lose letters along the way, but digital audio and video is being sent and received and decoded in real time (or as near as possible). That's why error correction can be needed.
Some player manufacturers - Meridian is an example - use a read forward system, in which data is read from the disc, then dumped into a buffer, just to avoid the problems in real-time read/decode/convert systems.
Optical cables - at least of the normal S/PDIF kind, with Toslink connectors, can sound worse than a direct electrical digital connection, as the signal must be converted from electrical to optical for transmission, and then back to electrical again at the receiving end. There's also some potential for reflections at the interface between the end of the optical 'cable' and the sender or receiver.
And yes I know about the 'digits is digits' argument and how a word file sent by email doesn't lose letters along the way, but digital audio and video is being sent and received and decoded in real time (or as near as possible). That's why error correction can be needed.
Some player manufacturers - Meridian is an example - use a read forward system, in which data is read from the disc, then dumped into a buffer, just to avoid the problems in real-time read/decode/convert systems.
So its not an error introduced by the cable? just the change from optical > electric > opltical > cable >optical >electric transmission inherent in all applications of optical cables?
Mate it makes a HUGE difference. Andrew recommended me to buy the IXOS XHD608 coaxial cable to replace my optical cable between my DVD player and AV Amp and oh my GOD! I had no idea my optical cable was losing so much information. It was like a rug had been lifted off my speakers.
I doubted it too. Totally in the science camp of digital is digital, how different can it be and this is true. It seems to be a case of ensuring that bits are not lost and interference is not introduced by reflections (as Andrew says).
Trust me. It's a really worthwhile upgrade. I've turned from cynic to true believer!
http://www.hificables.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/11238/groupID/711/categoryID/2399/
I doubted it too. Totally in the science camp of digital is digital, how different can it be and this is true. It seems to be a case of ensuring that bits are not lost and interference is not introduced by reflections (as Andrew says).
Trust me. It's a really worthwhile upgrade. I've turned from cynic to true believer!
http://www.hificables.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/11238/groupID/711/categoryID/2399/
I can understand that not having to convert from electronic to optical to electronic, as in coaxial is benefitial. but how can one optical be better than another? is what I was getting at. I do have an IXOS coaxial cable and it does sound better. but I have a ceap off the shelf optical for my ps2, which i will be upgrading to a ps3, and was wondering about how a more expensive optical cable will be of benefit over my basic one.
[quote user="Will Harris"]
Mate it makes a HUGE difference. Andrew recommended me to buy the IXOS XHD608 coaxial cable to replace my optical cable between my DVD player and AV Amp and oh my GOD! I had no idea my optical cable was losing so much information. It was like a rug had been lifted off my speakers.
I doubted it too. Totally in the science camp of digital is digital, how different can it be and this is true. It seems to be a case of ensuring that bits are not lost and interference is not introduced by reflections (as Andrew says).
Trust me. It's a really worthwhile upgrade. I've turned from cynic to true believer!
[/quote]
Mate it makes a HUGE difference. Andrew recommended me to buy the IXOS XHD608 coaxial cable to replace my optical cable between my DVD player and AV Amp and oh my GOD! I had no idea my optical cable was losing so much information. It was like a rug had been lifted off my speakers.
I doubted it too. Totally in the science camp of digital is digital, how different can it be and this is true. It seems to be a case of ensuring that bits are not lost and interference is not introduced by reflections (as Andrew says).
Trust me. It's a really worthwhile upgrade. I've turned from cynic to true believer!
[/quote]
[quote user="richardjlarby"]I can understand that not having to convert from electronic to optical to electronic, as in coaxial is benefitial. but how can one optical be better than another? [/quote]
Greater purity of material and connectors, meaning less loss of light down the pipe. Some cables use plastic fibre, some expensive ones use glass strands. And don't even get me started on the effects of the shaping and polishing of the fibre end...
Greater purity of material and connectors, meaning less loss of light down the pipe. Some cables use plastic fibre, some expensive ones use glass strands. And don't even get me started on the effects of the shaping and polishing of the fibre end...
ah. reccomendations please? will be using the QED qunex hdmi for video. Do QED do a cable to match the purpley sort of colour of the hdmi?
Choosing cables by colour??? QED Qunex OT optical is kind of steel grey, AFAICR. This Ixos one, which is XHD308, may be a better aesthetic match, and is pretty good...!
sweet, yeah, ive found purple things are usually good; purple rain, purple haze, deep purple etc etc.
Now I'm getting you! I must say my experience with my old optical quite put me off using them in favour of coaxial, but where no alternative to optical exists, you have to ask the quest as to which one is the best to use. Hope we find out soon!
Ok, in the meantime a purple solution has come forth from Andrew.
Guys, the purple fettish is worrying. Where will it end????
Guys, the purple fettish is worrying. Where will it end????
getting off the purple subject, is there really anything that will perform better than the proposed purple ixos? i dont have my copy of WHF to hand to go looking in the back.
Well, you could try Supra X-ZAC, the QED or van den Hul Optocoupler, all of which have done well in the magazine tests. I've also had good results with Chord Optichord, which is sensible value at £40 for a 1m length.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram