Newbie question: w/c is better: coax or optical

trying to decide whether to buy coax or optical for audio connection between dvd and receiver. what are the pros and cons of the two?

thanks in advance for any feedback on the matter.

DvdGene

[Chromy]

Well, the way that I understand it... there are slight differences when you are listening to a cd because everything is decoded in real time. Things like jitter come into play (Could someone for the love of god tell me what this is? Is it a slight time delay or acceleration caused by the wire?). A digital surround decoder has a slight buffer that gets everything synched before decoding so as long as the bits get to the decoder in one piece everything is smurfy.

Someone a while back ran a test between some "Fancy Wire(tm)" and a straightend coat hanger. Hooked up to measuring equipment, the coat hanger worked just as well... never dropped a single bit.

So... the only problems that I can see arising is if you are having grounding problems you might want to go with fiber rather than co-ax. This breaks a direct electrical connection with the receiver. On the down side, fiber is more vunrable to cracking and breaking down.

Chromy

thanks for the quick reply. in terms of sound quality though, are they equal in quality?

[Taxi]

I think the general concensus is you have to be a computer to tell the difference, and even they don't care that much.

Taxi

[Rick Lowery]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt "1001001111" from fiber optic the same as "1001001111" from coax? Uhhh . . .this aint rocket science.



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Rick Lowery
DVDFile Forum Administrator
ForumAdmin@DVDFile.com

There's virtually no difference in sound quality. The drawback to coax, as Chromy pointed out is potential ground loop problems, but if the cable is designed with decent insulation it should be impervious to this. Fiber optic toslink connections are completely impervious to ground loop problems, but you have to be careful how you run them. No bends or sharp angles allowed since that will interfere with the signal.

Personally, I prefer and use a coax connection.

My 2 sense,
James M.

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HT equipment: Pioneer Elite Pro-100 RPTV (ISF calibrated)
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