PhilippeC Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 I never noticed a sound quality difference with so-called high-end optical (toslink) cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SileEeles Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 I dont really think there is one. a 99p one I bought sounds exactly the same as a more expensive (longer) cable I bought. I guess maybe just be a bit more careful with the cheaper ones? They might break down a bit easier? I dont know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Where you start to get trouble with optical cables is at the limit of their transmission length, which is somewhere between 15 and 30 feet. Up to that point, all receivers and transmitters are basically equal, beyond it, older diodes and their driving circuitry start to be quite iffy. Whereas coax can run for 50 feet easy. Coax can have other problems, though. My impression is that it's just possible that high quality cables can make a difference at 15+ feet. However I have never seen the little unsheathed plastic ones at lengths of more than a few feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilippeC Posted November 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 You are correct, very basic cables are short. These cables are also much more flexible, a "plus" when you travel or even if you use a laptop at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDietrich Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 There are indeed quality differences between optical cables. I´ve written an article about quality differences with optical signal transfers but the article more or less revolved around the signal quality of portable CD players against my Creative X-Fi HD USB... and it wasn´t about the cables. As I found out, the optical output of the Creative is the best I´ve ever 'heard'. Now, I cannot measure the signal integrity coming out of the optical output. But the sound coming from it is very different (and much closer to the original) than the sound coming out of the optical outputs of any of my portable CD players. In short, optical outputs of portable CD player suck. The cables are something different. For quite some time I´ve used an optical cable by Philips, this one: http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=SWA7302S/10&scy=ru&slg=en It´s a no-nonsense cable... and slightly better than all of the cables any MD recorder was equipped with. And yes, I tested this. Not with measurements, I can´t measure it. Some months ago I received a Sharp MD-MT 270, the person selling it also sent me the optical cable he used: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-Audio-Optical-Connecting-ProClass/dp/B00006JCNQ This cable has been around for... I don´t know, 15 years or so and while it looks good it isn´t good. It sounds decidedly different to the Philips cable. And yet, it still is bit-perfect. How this can be still baffles me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilippeC Posted November 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 I just bought this cable for 300.000 VNd (14 US$) just because Son Ha audio in Saigon sell it also (for 470.000 VND). http://audiosonha.com/index.vip As they sell only high-end Hi-Fi products (that I can't afford ), I suppose the cable is good enough ! Litton audiophile "Audio/Video Cable with Silver Design USA".. made in China Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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