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Originally posted by Matlock
Now the connexion. I don't know much about optical cables, but in the coaxial one, digital signal is not sent as "some current means 1, no current means 0". Instead, there is a certain defined potential that means: above it 1, below it 0. Of course, we try to send potential values far away from this limit to avoid any confusion, but it is still error-prone, especially if it's not shielded properly or else.
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Are you sure? Because, based on that link I provided, it sounds like logical "1" and "0" are two different voltage levels (.2V - .6V for the coax connection. On - Off for the optical connection).
And besides, even if we are having trouble telling 1 and 0 apart, then we'll have trouble figuring out any info since that's all we are reading. In other words, if all we're doing is looking for 1's and 0's, and we can't tell them apart, then we won't be seeing much.
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Despite all this, I must say that the laser beam of the player is in my opinion the thing that really matter. The cable is so short compared to all the path the signal went through inside the player, its effect is negligible.
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Isn't the digital cable usually longer than any path inside the player?
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These expensive audiophile CD are not made of gold just for the cool factor. Gold is more durable, first. It also reflects light better, therefore the laser beam is more certain if it read a hole or a bump.
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You're mixing singal types here. Gold has nothing to do with light (though I've had a good laugh when I've seen gold plated optical cables in a hi-fi store!). Gold is better for transmitting based on electric reasons. It doesn't cororde as easily, it's a better conductor, it's more maluable, etc.
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And for what few glitches that might appear once in a while, error correction should do the job.
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I completely agree. (Sorry if I'm rough on what you've said, especially since you don't post much) It's not that a digital signal is totally imune from degredation. It's that the point of transmitting in digital is because we can reconstruct on the receiving end exactly what we sent. That's why we've converted all of this info into a world of 0/1, black/white, off/on. We're either getting it or we're not.
As the section of that link about SPDIF expalins, when there are errors, you'll certainly notice them because there will be big effects along with any minor ones.