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

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If all your devices are functioning just the way you want in an all HDMI environment, then by all means carry on. You’ve seen the sockets, you’ve probably bought the relevant audio cables, but which digital audio connection should you be using?

What Is a TOSLINK Audio Connection? - Lifewire

This is a good choice, but you can spend less and get similar results, or spend a little more and step up to audiophile goodness. A number of encodings are available over IEC 61937, including Dolby AC-3/ E-AC-3, Dolby TrueHD, MP3, AAC, ATRAC, DTS, and WMA Pro. Your device supports Toslink or optical connections if you find the distinct “optical audio”, “digital audio out” or “Toslink port. TOSLINK is a fiber optic cable that makes use of glass/plastic material for amazing data transfer that’s much clearer than previous analog or primitive digital cable standards. ADAT Lightpipe or simply ADAT Optical uses an optical transmission system similar to TOSLINK, and is used in the professional music/audio industry.I take it from your opinion that there shouldn't really be anything in it between that and a similar quality coaxial cable? Gold-plated connections, for example, can aid with corrosion resistance, allowing the cables to last longer. Remember, TOSLINK has been on the market since 1983: there is good chance that a premium audio/video receiver manufactured anytime in the few decades has a TOSLINK port. Take a look at the back of a modern amplifier or receiver and you will find a series of different types of digital and analog connections.

Coaxial vs optical vs HDMI: which is the best audio

Many TOSLINK ports are quit snug and the design of the TOSLINK connector itself includes little hard plastic nubs that stick out off the sides to help hold the cable into the port by tension. As both transmitter and receiver modules have a TTL or PECL interface, they can easily be connected to other circuits. TOSLink uses an optical fibre to transfer the audio as light pulses, this makes it immune to noise pickup and ground loop problems allowing signals to be transferred over long distances with no degradation. The new, award winning ‘Performance Graphite’ Optical cable utilises the superior PMMA acrylic glass optical fibre previously only available in our ‘Reference’ range products. Traditionally, in a home cinema environment, optical connections tend to be used to transmit compressed Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound.This doesn't matter for a 1m long fiber in your home cinema, but if you need a 100 meter run, coax will be the only option. Signals transmitted over consumer-grade TOSLINK connections are identical in content to those transmitted over coaxial connectors, though TOSLINK S/PDIF commonly exhibits higher jitter. If it does it properly, there will be no measurable difference, and good luck hearing anything in a double blind test.

What is a fiber coupler (TOSLINK™)? | Toshiba Electronic

And all optic cables are considered fragile, being that any portion can be damaged if bent or coiled too sharply. That's because it has greater bandwidth available, meaning it can support higher quality audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. It supports a wide array of media formats as well as audio and certain video types with its TOSLINK type connector (the standard SPDIF square connector) versus the rounded RCA “phono” connector with the metal tip. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine.

I also compared the AudioQuest Vodka Toslink and Carbon coaxial cables with generic, low cost cables. If you ran everything off battery that pretty much elimates most noise but that would be crazy expensive. Digital optical digital cable comes with a connector with a tiny lens and comes with a cover to protect the lens from scratches when not in use. Needless to say, this issue is not present in the optical versions, and thus they are more suited to hot-plugging.