Digital cable quality?

setzer808 · March 2003

Hey guys,

Just a quick question thats been bugging me. I'm using the COAX digital out on my DVD player and am using a fairly cheap RCA cable to run from the digital out on the dvd to the reciever.
Now, assuming that this is just sending a digital bitstream (1's and 0's) does the size/quality/price (other than shielding) actually make ANY difference on audio? I mean if the 1's and 0's get to the reciever they get there, unlike the wave tendancies of analog signals right?
I could be way off base, but was just wondering about this after seeing some outrages prices on "Digitial" cables in the store yesterday.

Thanks,
Shaun

brettw22 · March 2003

I dunno about the technicalities.........

But I'm curious....what do you consider to be "outrageous" as far as interconnects go?

HBombToo · March 2003

Is the cable your using a digital cable or analog cable. You would be best off ensuring that the cable type is intended for digital connections.

The system probably sounds fine now regardless of the connection because it is a short run... so my advice is if it is a digital cable leave well enough alone and if not go ahead and purchase a digital RCA line.

I am not in the expensive cable camp and think alot of it is more marketing hype than anything else. I do not think a person is wrong on the otherhand spending a ton of cash on connections and we'll leave it as what sounds good to YOU is good.

HBomb

setzer808 · March 2003

Thanks for the prompt answers. Its an analog cable at the moment, and it is only about a 3 foot run using a 6 foot cable, so it does sound fine. I was just wondering if digital communication was "all or nothing" based on if the signal transfered the bitstream intact or not. If it is all or nothing then $2 for the cable would be overpriced since any RCA that connects point A to point B would work. Unlike analog outs on say a CD player where the cable quality can be dramatic.
Most of my internconnects are fairly cheap/generic. I do have a few lower grade Monsters in the mix and some nice Monster Z1 speaker cables on my fronts so I do know that cables can make a difference on some things.

danger boy · March 2003

my rule of thumb.. is that I won't pay more than $100 per analog interconnet. that's my top limit. i think cables above and beyond that aren't for me. If you shop around... lots of decent cables can be had for way under that price too. especially if you don't mind shopping around on ebay or something. which i don't mind used cables or equipement.

TonyPTX · March 2003

My only advice is that the digital coax out line is a 75 Ohm rated cable so you should be using a coaxial type line rated for that at least to protect your signal. If you're using an analog cable, that may work OK too for short runs. Coax digital out isn't as simple as 0's and 1's. Actually, your output device is sending a small voltage out of the line, and if memory serves me right, the signal ranges from -5mV to 5mV. One extreme being "0" and the other extreme being "1". Cheap cables can introduce some sort of voltage fluctuation (assuming long runs or extremely thin conductors) so techinally your receiver may only be seeing a voltage difference between say -2 mV and 2 mV which closes the gap a bit and could cause for problems. If you're really pressed for money, use a decent Composite video cable as it uses the same technology (75 ohm rating). I find that a good balance between performance and price is the Acoustic Research Performance Series of Interconnects which can be had at a local BestBuy.

setzer808 · March 2003

Thanks, very informative post there. Cleared up a lot of questions.

Shell · April 2003

The quality of cables do make a difference. While it is true that only binary on and off signals are being sent, they are being sent at an extremely high rate. A digital quality cable will have less hiss and other background noise.

Digital cable quality?

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