Optical or Coax?

 

Bronze Member
Username: Blazer

Post Number: 11
Registered: Feb-04
Ahhh the age old question which evokes much debate on this forum and others. Thought everyone would like to see what Onkyo's website had to say about this. It surprised me a little.
http://onkyousa.com/faqs_detail.cfm?detail=1&id=203
 

Silver Member
Username: John_a

Post Number: 303
Registered: Dec-03
Oh, no, not again.

Coaxial Digital Connection Vs Digital Fiber Optical Connection?

"Technically, a coax connection will sound better because there is less processing to the signal." Onkyo is wrong. There is no processing. It is a stream of 1s and 0s. You could send the stream by carrier pigeon and it would still be unprocessed. If someone shot the pigeon, there would be signal degradation. That is different.
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 265
Registered: Dec-03
I prefer coax because coax cables are much more rugged and less prone to damage due to bending etc but sonically I fail to hear any difference at all. Just another myth IMO.
 

New member
Username: Stone

Post Number: 9
Registered: Dec-03
No debate, why not hook up both and let your ears decide?
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 266
Registered: Dec-03
Stone,
Good suggestion. Since I have never heard a difference what I always tell people who ask is to use whichever cable your receivers default is for whatever component you are hooking up. This way you avoid the hassle of changing the input settings on the set up menu, just plug and play.I do think it's nuts how much you can spend on these cables as the basic models do a great job. A person can really get carried away on interconnects and speaker wire if not careful. I personally like the basic models from Phoenix Gold.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Avman

Kansas City, MO US

Post Number: 26
Registered: Mar-04
can some one tell me why if your just sending a bit stream, why do i hear a diffrents in cable.

ive tryed cheap ones and then i bought a z series monster cable one and it help out alot,
why in that
 

New member
Username: Larsaas

TrondheimNorway

Post Number: 4
Registered: Feb-04
The placebo effect?

Seriously, can't a coax cable pick up external electrical interference and feed that into the receiver? I'm not talking about disturbing the digital bits in the bitstream, but disturbing the electronic circuitry in the amplifier through other means. Just wondering - I really don't have a clue about this topic other than that the bits themselves should come through equally well on fiber and on coax cables.
 

Silver Member
Username: John_a

Post Number: 314
Registered: Dec-03
Lars,

Yes. This is a reason I personally prefer optical. My guess is, it works the other way round, and the co-ax cable can generate radio frequency interference. But it should not be a practical problem if the connections are secure and the cable is shielded.
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