Amazon Basics Digital Optical Audio Toslink Cable, 6 Feet, Black

Product Information

A DAC performs this process, so a poorly designed device may create audible differences when using optical or coaxial inputs. In contrast, a high-quality device shouldn’t sound any different. Along with HDMI, optical and coaxial are the two primary connection types for sending digital audio. DVD or CD Players - An optical cable can be utilized to exchange sound from one segment to another, for example a DVD player to a receiver. Since optical cables are perfect at recreating a signal and barely any transfer is lost in the exchange, they make exceptional solutions for generating great sound with CD players. This issue will only likely affect audio from external devices, and the audio from streaming apps on the TV itself should pass surround sound OK.

Also, HDMI has the advantage of HDMI ARC and eARCconnections, where you can send audio from a TV to a soundbar or AV receiver. Long HDMI cable runs can sometimes cause signal issues, so optical audio provides a reliable separate audio path. Older devices with HDMI may not support audio over HDMI. Optical audio ensures compatibility with those devices.However, HDMI also supports Dolby Digital Plus and high-resolution audio like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. If you look carefully, you will see that this matches the shape of the port on your device. So be careful when inserting the cable into your device. Connect the cable from the TV’s optical out to the home theater’s optical input – making sure to line up the connector correctly as it will only insert one way around.

Switch on the TV and amplifier. Ensure the TV’s output is enabled, and you select the correct input on the home theater system.

For example, you might have an optical output on your Blu-ray player but wish to send audio directly into your amplifier – which only has a coaxial digital audio input. Some optical ports have a protective cap over the hole, which you must remove before you plug in the cable. You can see an example of this below: Optical output with a protective plastic cap