Fiber optic users in here please...

Vincent_S · 05-29-2003, 11:05 PM

I am giving my friend my old Acoustic Research fiber optic cable. Has anyone ever noticed a difference in sound after replacing their fiber optic cable with another brand? What brand of cable are you guys using? I tried searching but couldn't really come up with anything.

Jeremy Little · 05-29-2003, 11:22 PM

If it is the basic AR that Best Buy sells, the only issue I've had with it is that it didn't fit as snugly as others I've used. It would come loose really easily if the equipment was moved around to clean.

Vincent_S · 05-30-2003, 12:56 AM

Yeah, it's the Best Buy cheapie. I am giving it to him and now I would like to upgrade.

Chu Gai · 05-30-2003, 01:19 AM

how's about some armor plated ones from lifatec...you can step on them

Shane Martin · 05-30-2003, 10:42 AM

I upgraded from a pack in Fiber Optic cable to a Tara Labs Optical shown below
http://www.taralabs.com/catalog/cata...1DD8617 9F220

I think I paid $35 for a 1 meter cable. To ME it was an audible improvement over my previous cable which I was using to get by with.

**HTF Ads**

Bob McElfresh · 05-30-2003, 11:21 AM

Assuming all the cables work, there should be no sound change going from one optical to another. Digital is very insensitive to the cable. (Can you tell which of my posts are from my Sun workstation, which are from my Sat modem and which are from my new cable-modem?) Very different systems & cables, but zero difference in the bits.

Home Theater Magazine did an article where they compared 3 different coaxial-digital cables and 3 different optical. The reviewers could hardly detect any difference between the 3 coaxial cables and 2 opticals. But everyone heard a difference with one of the optical cables.

This was never really explained.

So it does appear possible that an optical cable can change a DD bitstream and still produce sound. But the new sound - is different (read "damaged") compared to the other 5 connections.

Shane Martin · 05-30-2003, 11:50 AM

The connection plug wise is much more snug on the Tara Labs than the pack in(read free cable). Doesn't really matter to me, It was an improvement and only costed me ~$40 with tax.

Chu Gai · 05-30-2003, 12:19 PM

and i guess the curious souls that they were, they never pursued it.

Steve Carlo · 06-02-2003, 03:45 PM

I have the same gripe about the AR Bronze series cables...the fit was so slack in both my DVD player and the amp that I thought there was something wrong. So I jammed it in hard and it appears to be OK. Sounds fine at the very least.

Steve Sm. · 06-02-2003, 08:47 PM

I have an AR pro series optical cable, and it hasn't given me any problems with looseness. Since all you're going to gain with a better digital cable is more durability, you might just want to pick up one of these; it cost me a whopping $9, probably less than Best Buy charges for the performance series ones.

Frank Carter · 06-02-2003, 10:11 PM

I have an AR Pro and AR Performance series(Best Buy one) cable in my system. I also notice with the cheaper Performance series, it doesn't really fit too snugly but I don't have that problem with the Pro series. Regardless, I tried switching them to see if I could tell a difference and they sounded the same to me.

I've found the cheapest prices for AR Pro series cables at www.ac4l.com. They're shipping prices are over inflated like a lot of places too, plus they're very quick.

AR Pro 3ft for $9

Jim A. Banville · 06-04-2003, 12:03 AM

I'm using a $15 6' GE optical cable from Target with no problems or differnce in sound from my old coaxial cable.