Optical cable

acmf74
acmf74 Posts: 936
edited February 2010 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
I currently have RCA cables from my CD player to my AVR for sound. Is optical digital cable a worthy upgrade? Is the sound quality noticeable?
Post edited by acmf74 on
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited February 2010
    acmf74 wrote: »
    I currently have RCA cables from my CD player to my AVR for sound. Is optical digital cable a worthy upgrade? Is the sound quality noticeable?

    Need more info. What cd player, what AVR?

    The difference in sound quality doesn't come from the cable.

    It comes from switching which component is doing the digital to analog conversion.
    I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.

    Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii

    Desk: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / ISK HD9999

    Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3

    HT: Denon AVR-X3400H / Sony UBP-X700 / RT16 / CS350LS / RT7 / SVS PB1000
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2010
    Depends entirely on the rest of your setup. I personally prefer TOSLINK, but there are a lot of other variables.
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • acmf74
    acmf74 Posts: 936
    edited February 2010
    I have a Adcom CD player and Adcom AVR.
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited February 2010
    acmf74 wrote: »
    I have a Adcom CD player and Adcom AVR.

    Which models?

    I'm going to take a preliminary guess and say that you probably won't see a big difference, unless it's an old lower-end CDP.

    Basically it comes down to this question: Which has the better DAC?

    If the CDP has a better DAC, then stick with RCAs. If the AVR has a better DAC, then go optical.
    I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.

    Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii

    Desk: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / ISK HD9999

    Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3

    HT: Denon AVR-X3400H / Sony UBP-X700 / RT16 / CS350LS / RT7 / SVS PB1000
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  • acmf74
    acmf74 Posts: 936
    edited February 2010
    I have a GCD-600 CD player and GFR-700 AVR.
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited February 2010
    If i remember correctly, the GCD had the GDA-600 DAC built in? I may be making that up, hopefully someone else can verify.

    If that's the case, i'd probably just stick with RCAs. Though if you have an optical cable lying around, it wouldn't hurt to try.
    I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.

    Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii

    Desk: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / ISK HD9999

    Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3

    HT: Denon AVR-X3400H / Sony UBP-X700 / RT16 / CS350LS / RT7 / SVS PB1000
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  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited February 2010
    I have used both RCA and TOSLINK cables and to be perfectly honest, there wasn't much difference between the two. If you have an optical cable laying around hook it up and try it out, or go get one and see if you like it better. They aren't that expensive and that way you will be able to decide for yourself which is better. I run everything in my rig via HDMI and it is, IMHO, the best way to go if your equipment suports it.

    -Jeff
    HT Rig
    Receiver- Onkyo TX-SR806
    Mains- Polk Audio Monitor 70
    Center- Polk Audio CS2
    Surrounds- Polk Audio TSi 500's :D
    Sub- Polk Audio PSW125
    Retired- Polk Audio Monitor 40's
    T.V.- 60" Sony SXRD KDS-60A2000 LCoS
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
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