Optical or Coaxial? Which is really better?

comfortablycurt

This seems to be a pretty heavily debated topic amongst the audiophile world. Which really is better though? Is one even better than the other really? I know that optical cables are susceptible to jitter when the ends aren't polished down smoothly enough. Coax cables obviously have a much tighter, sturdier connection, which is a plus.

I've heard that optical cables are better over longer runs because they don't degrade over distance like a standard RCA style cable would.

Which is really better?

I'm sure there's a thread on here about this already, I searched back a few pages though and didn't find anything. So, sorry if this is a repost.

mantis

They i + and - to each cable. I don't prefer one over the other unless I have a cable box. I like the Optical cable for a non metalic connection to the preamp or receiver(non HDMI box) This cuts down the ability to send noise to the preamp.

Coax is easy to build and can be sent over long lengths. I don't build optical cables.

Over the years I have demo'd entry level to extreme high end digital cables and I never heard any difference between the 2. Same price points no difference at all. Your taking me back here as years and years ago at Bryn Mawr Stereo( then became Tweeter), we would all sit around and try cable shootouts. This one was a big one. Guys would bring in different brands at different levels and we would compare them to the Monster cable line. Some said they heard a difference but in a blind test , no one could figure out which one was which. I did this on my own as well non blind test and had the same results.

So here is my bottom line. Which ever one you use , get the best quality you can afford. What you are doing here is buying a cable that is properly designed and passes spec. This is the most important thing about any cable. Termination and spec. The cable has to be able to pass the signal correclty at the given length. The better digital cables I have found quality wise is Monster but I hate there company but there digital cables are well built , Transparent they are expensive but worth it , Kimber Kables are nice, Audioquest are good , etc. All these wire companies do a good job.

Dan

Face

My lossless PC music server used to have a optical and coax out. I wired both of them to the DAC I was using at the time and switched back and forth. The optical appeared to sound dryer compared to coax. It wasn't a night and day difference, but it was one that a few friend and I could all hear. As to which sounds better, it's just a matter of preference. I would pick up both and see which you like.

If it matters, both cables were made by Blue Jeans Cables.

Dan also brought up a good point about electronically isolating components, sometimes coax can cause a ground loop.

Ricardo

Look at the bottom of this page under "Similar Threads"; this question has been asked many times.

Welcome!!

steveinaz

Depending on the resolution level of your system, the 2 types may have a different character to their sound. Both are perfectly capable of passing the signal correctly. I have found (with my system) that Toslink tends to be very, very neutral--some equate this to "dry" sounding; where coax seems a little more flavored, appearing to present more spacial cues.

This is all very subjective--listen for yourself and decide. I use Dan's (Mantis) approach and isolate all my video's audio (Direct TV/BluRay player) by Toslink (for the same reasons Dan states), and connect my transport to my DAC by coaxial. This allows me to totally isolate video sources from the chain when I'm listening to music.

Fongolio

I have heard some say they like coax better because it eliminates at least one digital/analog conversion thus a slightly purer signal. I can't hear the difference.

ben62670

Fongolio wrote: »

I have heard some say they like coax better because it eliminates at least one digital/analog conversion thus a slightly purer signal. I can't hear the difference.

Kinda. Coax is straight digital, and optical adds two more conversions. Digital to optical, and optical to digital(Coax).
Coax is better.
Ben

WilliamM2

Fongolio wrote: »

I have heard some say they like coax better because it eliminates at least one digital/analog conversion thus a slightly purer signal. I can't hear the difference.

There is no extra D/A conversion, it just converts electrical pulses to light pulses. Not hard to do.

disneyjoe7

WilliamM2 wrote: »

There is no extra D/A conversion, it just converts electrical pulses to light pulses. Not hard to do.

Yes, but could add some noise / errors.

mantis

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Yes, but could add some noise / errors.

This is true. This is where what cable will make a sonic difference. The goal is to pass to signal unaltered.

WilliamM2

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

Yes, but could add some noise / errors.

I suppose it could have errors if broken. I don't see how it would add noise.

beardog03

steveinaz wrote: »

Depending on the resolution level of your system, the 2 types may have a different character to their sound. Both are perfectly capable of passing the signal correctly. I have found (with my system) that Toslink tends to be very, very neutral--some equate this to "dry" sounding; where coax seems a little more flavored, appearing to present more spacial cues.


same here ...

I spent a mint on my AQ toslinks !! :rolleyes:

mantis

beardog03 wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

Depending on the resolution level of your system, the 2 types may have a different character to their sound. Both are perfectly capable of passing the signal correctly. I have found (with my system) that Toslink tends to be very, very neutral--some equate this to "dry" sounding; where coax seems a little more flavored, appearing to present more spacial cues.


same here ...

I spent a mint on my AQ toslinks !! :rolleyes:

I use AQ as well. I just own the 1 series.

vonnie123

Afraid I can't tell (HEAR) the difference in the digital cables I have. Both sound very good.

Optical: Audioquest Optilink-1
Coaxial: Audioquest VDM-3

steveinaz

Impact Acoustics makes one of the few available quartz-glass Toslink cables--not plastic fiber. I've owned a few and really like them. I believe it was $39 bucks for a .5mtr run. The glass/plastic fiber issue is likely a moot point at the short distances that stereo system runs need to be, but I figured for $39 bucks--what the heck; it certainly can't hurt.

One of the things I really like about Toslink is that impedance, crimp/solder joints, connectors, hum, RF interference--electrical connection factors--are all taken out of the equation. The noise-floor is absolutely silent--given your components are up to the task.

At any rate--to answer your original question, IMO the differences are very subtle and you won't go wrong using either.

comfortablycurt

Well...I guess I was right in thinking that neither was really superior then. I've been using an optical cable for some time now...I may have to pick up a coax cable sometime too, just to compare the two of them.

What are the best places to get cables from? I've looked at bluejeans cables, and they seem pretty nice for the money. Is there a better place to go that's within the same price range?

steveinaz

I really like Blue jeans cable Belden digital coaxial. It's built to the proper specifications to pass digital, and uses very high quality wire--and it's CHEAP. Model 1694A. I believe it's under $20 bucks for a 1 meter. This is the same cable Benchmark Media sells exclusively for the DAC1.

kolyan2k

When it comes to digital signals, i am pretty sure there is no difference. But, isnt optical resistant to noise where coax needs proper shielding in order to deliver noise free signal ?

comfortablycurt

kolyan2k wrote: »

When it comes to digital signals, i am pretty sure there is no difference. But, isnt optical resistant to noise where coax needs proper shielding in order to deliver noise free signal ?

I guess that's the primary advantage of optical. It's completely immune to outside interference. In most scenarios though, interference isn't even really a problem from what I've gathered. It's useful over longer runs though.

phuz

My Zero is better than your One.

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comfortablycurt

phuz wrote: »

My Zero is better than your One.

010010010111010000100111011100110010000001100001011011000110110000100000011101000110100001100101001000000111001101100001011011010110010100101110

No way...my one would annihilate your zero. Your zero fails bigtime.

SolidSqual

Read This. It's a good comparison of what you can expect when you stop effin around and buy decent cables.

steveinaz

I'm from the "show me state" of Missouri, and don't believe a damn thing I don't see or hear for myself. So, I ran a 6 month test between coax, aes/ebu on XLR, and optical cables, letting each run in the system for 2 months. Here's what I found (YMMV):

AES/EBU (Signal Cable, .5mtr): Warmest sounding, plush, bass a little sloppy though. Sweet treble. the most "analog" sounding topology.
Toslink (Impact Acoustics .5mtr): Extremely neutral--bordering on clinical, dead silent. Bass was very tight/fast; treble smooth yet less pronounced than AES/EBU. Less spaciousness (depth, specifically) of the soundstage.
Coax (Belden 1mtr): Somewhere between Toslink and AES/EBU. A touch more treble presence than Toslink, but less than AES/EBU--same with the bass. Better spacial cues than Toslink--more dimensional sounding.

Transport: CEC CD-3300
DAC: Benchmark DAC1

Take'r for what shes worth....

bigaudiofanatic

I like coaxial when I used it for my computer and I could choose between the two and coaxial sounded better to me.

comfortablycurt

SolidSqual wrote: »

Read This. It's a good comparison of what you can expect when you stop effin around and buy decent cables.

That was an interesting read, thanks for posting that up.

So what it really comes down to is personal preference I guess. There is no clear cut winner from the sounds of it.

I'm using a Toslink right now, and I've been planning on getting a better one. When I do though I may pick up a coax too, just so I can compare the two in my own system. I guess the only winner between the two is what sounds better to your own ears.

steveinaz

For me, coaxial is a best of both worlds choice between the lushness of AES/EBU, and the somewhat overly neutral presentation of Toslink; if there is such a thing as "overly neutral."

It really is a personal preference thing--any of the 3 are perfectly capable of properly transmitting a digital signal to it's fullest potential.

fbm211

Get a monarchy audio DIP combo.This might add a little extra detail and better overall SQ to your system....MIGHT...depends on YOUR ears.Ive seen them go for 150.00 on audiogon which is better than 279.00 new. Thais is my next purchase after some quality ICs.

zingo

I really prefer coax because the signal maintains the same "format", and another conversion can't be helpful. However, I will also use Toslink it the situation calls for it. For example; reducing a ground loop, isolating video signals, reducing noise from RF interference, etc.

Steve, you must have a balanced digital for that AES/EBU connection?

steveinaz

Both my transport and DAC support AES/EBU over XLR.

zingo

I decided to do an A/B last night sparked by this thread. Since both my DAC and source can run both at the same time, I was able to switch on the fly and hear an immediate, if any, difference. My cables were the Monoprice Premium Toslink and Acoustic Research Performance Digital Coaxial, which seemed to be of similar quality and market segment.

Switching back and forth revealed subtle differences. The digital coax was a little fuller and a tad more holographic; but remember I'm talking subtle. I will do a blind A/B tonight with my wife switching the inputs and I'll report back with the results.