Coaxial???? (1 Viewer)

[David.DJ]

if i use the regular red and white audio cable and connect one of them to the coaxial, what will happen to the cable and will it work. can you guys suggest where i can buy a coaxial cable that is under $20 not a cable that cost $100. thanks

 

[Vin]

Look here.

Another option would be to use a standard 75 Ohm video cable (with yellow RCA connectors on the ends) to connect your DVD player's digital coaxial output to your receiver.

Vin

 

[David.DJ]

how do i know its 75 ohm? and do you mean to use any regular video cable, the yellow cable one, and will the video cable or the yellow cable burn or overheat because i ask my friend if i can use a regular cable like what your talking about and he said the cable may melt. is that true?

 

[Stephen Tu]

Digital audio is quite robust. Over a short length the audio cables probably work fine. Ought to use a video cable though, since that's the spec. All regular video cables (often, but not always coded yellow) are 75 ohm. I wouldn't spend more than $1/foot; should be able to find 6 foot one for about $5. RCA branded cable is usually reasonably priced. Your friend saying the cable will melt is nuts.

Some years ago someone on the forum made a digital audio cable out of pair of coat hangers to prove a point. Still worked perfectly.

 

[Michael Reuben]

because i ask my friend if i can use a regular cable like what your talking about and he said the cable may melt

Sounds like someone you should avoid in the future when it comes to HT questions.

M.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

David: you have 2 "levels" of signals in your system:

Speaker Level - These signals are considered 'amplified' and carry watts of power. So we use thick, un-shielded speaker wire for these.

Line Level - These signals are 0-2 volt with no power behind them. We use coaxial interconnects to carry these because this encases the weak signals in a mesh/metal 'pipe' to protect them from interference. Generally, these all use RCA style plugs.

You should AVOID PATCH CORDS. These cables have RCA plugs, but the wire looks like Walkman Headphone wire. These are un-shielded and wont work well among the mass of cables behind your rack.

All your interconnects should be as thick/thicker as your CATV coax.

If you use a AUDIO cable for the coaxial-digital by mistake, it will appear to work! (no it wont damage anything). But people have reported that the sound on their movies drops out every few minutes. The problem was solved when they switched to a real video cable. (All video cables are made with 75 ohm coax).

And your friend, while not knowledgable, he's advising caution. Not a bad trait.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

As to WHERE to buy such a cable, BB sells AR cables, they are pretty decent, monster is a little overpriced, and of course, Radio Shack sells some very nice bargain cables. AR/Radio Shack cables would be like 20 bucks and would do plenty fine for a digital coax. Just look on the package, usually they sell the video cables for more $$, so just grab a so-called "digital" coax, check the package to make sure it's 75 ohms as explained, and you're set to go.

 

[Stephen Tu]

$20 for digital coax is already overpriced, IMO. $5-7 gets the job done perfectly. Cheap video cable is usually priced less than those labeled "digital coax". RCA/Recoton/GE make reasonably priced stuff.

Save the $15 and buy a DVD or rent a few instead; you'll get far more enjoyment out of that.

 

[SeanA]

Bought the ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AP071 Digital Audio Coax. (6 foot long) at Best Buy for $13. Its 75 Ohm cable with dual shielding. Does a nice job.

 

[WadeSc.]

Another good source of quality cables at great prices is www.pacificcable.com