And, in our experience, compared to optical, a coaxial connection does tend to sound better. That's because it has greater bandwidth available, meaning it can support higher quality audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. Optical is usually restricted to 96kHz. It also has to be implemented correctly so it's always running of battery. Many claim they do but in reality they really don't. Sinewave batteries can just produce stable clean power when done correctly, which is often very expensive. Also, think of your DAC as the source, not the player (transport) since the DAC is the source of the analog signal. So in this mindset keeping your source in close proximity still applies. TOSLINK is just the shortened trade name for Toshiba Link, both named for the company that introduced optical audio as a consumer standard.

While 20 years ago these sorts of misconceptions about digital signals were understandable, today it should be common knowledge that digital interference is not the same as analog interference and behaves completely differently. They could easily update both to support full bandwidth, all formats but it's all about HDCP, which is a shame. Also, maybe Toshiba invented the original digital toslink connected but both are S/PDIF, which was created by Sony and Philips.(see below). Also, coaxial doesn't have the bandwidth required to support high-quality surround sound formats such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. So, in a modern home cinema setting, its uses are quite limited. In addition to our overview above, people often have specific questions about optical audio cables and connections. Here are some of the common ones. Are TOSLINK, Optical Audio, and Digital Audio All The Same? The consumer version of the TOSLINK standard has stayed stable for decades. A TOSLINK optical audio cable from the 1990s will work just like one you buy today.The majority of TV and AV products launched over the last few years support HDMI version 2.0, but HDMI 2.1 (which supports 8K resolution content and features such as ALLM) is becoming more common among modern TVs and AV kit. Variations like in labeling are just that, "Digital Audio,""Optical Audio," and "Digital Audio (Optical)" all refer to the same standard. Are There Different Types of Optical Audio Connections and Cables? S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a type of digital audio interface used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fiber optic cable with TOSLINK connectors.

The answer to this will depend on the kit you’re using. If it’s a straight choice between coaxial and optical, we’d go for the former. In our experience, a coaxial connection tends to produce better audio quality than optical, allowing for a higher level of detail and greater dynamics. If better to use the panasonic dac, then should I go ordinary analogue interconnects, or the balanced pin cables? why?Pretty much this outside the fact that almost all HDMI cables shorter then 10 to 15ft max are copper. Really, you just need a well shielded cable although it's always a good idea to keep all cable runs as short as possible in my experience. HDMI’s feature set, upgradability and the fact it can handle both audio and video means you don’t need to worry about too many wires clogging up your system. And, best of all, you won't sacrifice performance.

In addition to the long run as a tech writer and editor, Jason spent over a decade as a college instructor doing his best to teach a generation of English students that there's more to success than putting your pants on one leg at a time and writing five-paragraph essays. While his days of steering students toward greatness are behind him, his lifelong desire to delight, entertain, and inform lives on in his work at How-To Geek.

Although the cables are fiber optic, the output isn't very powerful. The laser system your local fiber internet service provider uses might be able to shoot a signal down several thousand feet of fiber optic cable, but your TV's TOSLINK port certainly won't.