Which is best: digital coax or optical?

[admin_exported]

Hi everyone, I am thinking of getting the Onky NDS1 dock for my iPod Touch and connecting it to my Denon amp. I have both the options of using a digital coaxial or an optical cable. What would be the best option for the best sound quality? I was thinking of buying a QED cable of one sort or the other. Is this a good brand to go for in this instance?

Thanks for your help.

pj

 

[laserman16]

Some will say a coax over an optical as there is no conversion to do.

Btw welcome to the forums.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the welcome and advice.

pj

 

[idc]

But some say that optical is best due to no electrical interference (thats not the correct word, but it is along those lines) between one component and the other.

There is no real consensus on digital connections and SQ, including USB. There is also no consensus as whether one brand of digital cable can/is better than another. What Hifi reviews say that there is, some forum members say that there is, some forum members say that there is not and some say that science disproves that there can be a difference.

Can you buy both and then let the forum know if you can hear a difference? Otherwise go with the What Hif reviews on both types of cable and your budget.

 

[Anonymous]

LOL

That because there is a diffference between different coax cables, its the tightwads that says there isn't

Here we go again

 

[Thaiman]

I am using both (prefer optical)

 

[RodhasGibson]

Thaiman:I am using both (prefer optical) Optical my choice too.

 

[coolaboola]

The advice I got on here once was that generally coax is better over short distance and optical is preferable if you have to run the cable a long length.I use a coax between my dac and amp which is a 1m length but have a 3m optical cable from my freeview t.v running through the wall into the same dac.And qed will do the job nicely.However the cable debate runs on about performance it is clear that the build quality is far better with the reputable brands.I have had a cheap hdmi disintegrate in my hands which is very frustrating if you have fed it behind skirting or walls etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go the optical route. It sounds like there's not too much in it between the two types, which is what I was mainly concerned about. And I'll get a QED cable even though it's a bit more expensive than some others. Can't wait to get it all hooked up.

pj

 

[Anonymous]

From Wikipedia "TOSLINK cables do not work well (and may even suffer permanent damage) if tightly bended, and their high light-signal attenuation limits their effective range to 6.1 metres (20 ft) or so. On the other hand, TOSLINK cables are not susceptible to ground loops and RF interference, like coaxial cables. Any standard 75 O A/V cable can be used for coaxial connectivity, while TOSLINK requires a specific cable"

As for do more expensive coaxial cables used as s/pdif digital audio connectors improve sound. I think not.

Results from testing free coaxial cable.

Phono cable length: 1.2 m
Nominal impedance : unknown
Measured Results:
Amplitude versus Frequency response: 6 MHz -0.12 dB. 100 MHz -2 dB. 330 MHz -3 dB. 800 MHz -6 dB
Frequency-domain amplitude ripple, with a periodicity of about 60 MHz, was about +/- 0.5 dB , presumably due to impedance mismatch.
Group delay versus frequency response: 500 kHz to 1.3 GHz: 8 ns average with +/- 1 ns ripple (again probably due to mismatch)

Cable frequency response is near perfect up to 6 MHz. S/PDIF is around 3MHz

Hifi component manufactures would not ship their components with cables that diminished the performance of their products. Freebee cables are perfectly good.