coaxial vs fiber optic which is better? (1 Viewer)

[James Bondo]

i would like to know what opinions would be by using the fiber optic over the coaxial? near my a/v equipment i have a transformer for the complex and i believe it messes with the signal. i heard that fiber optic has a limited bandwith but i am more concerned about purity of the signal. unfortunately moving the gear will be out of the question for now. thankyou in advance

 

[Robert Cranwell]

I don't know about limited bandwidth with a video signal at 6mhz and fiber able to perform at Gigabyte level makes that a moot point. But there are pro's and con's on every forum about this. What ever works for you and your hook-up is what is important! Try both connections and see if you can hear a difference and that is what matter's most.

Rob

 

[James Bondo]

ok, i would like to take it a step further and let's say for experimental sake, can an optical cable carry an audio signal from 20hz to 20k hz? and if it can does it compare with lets say a 2 volt output signal on an rca cable?

and i was wondering about the same with the digital coaxial cable.

further if i was to run either a optical or digital cable next to a couple of 120 ac cords which is likely to have noise introduced into them?

again i am kind of new to this and i worked many hours to get where i am now with my gear, i can't afford a bad choice.

another thing i don't buy off the internet, i support my local dealers. i do let them know what i can find it on the net for and work with them.

thank you in advance

 

[John Garcia]

For all intents and purposes, there is no difference between the two. Since they are digital signal, neither will pick up any disturbance from near by A/C cables. Get a coax cable, save a few $$ and don't worry about it.

 

[Earl Simpson]

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PS/ I run my optical to my RCVR and my Coax to my audio on the back of my RPTV. That way I can listen to the internal amps on the rptv if I want to. I can't hear the difference. It is just a convenient way to do your cables.

 

[Chip E]

I use coax for everything whenever possible simply because it's more resiliant IMO. I use TosLink on my HD box because thats the only option. Either one works fine.

 

[Earl Simpson]

EH!!! Good post Chip!!!!! I never thought of that!

 

[Tan_N]

Hypo-Pathetically speaking.. both a digital coax and fiber optic cable sends the same signal so they should sound the same.. but what I have noticed is that this is not always the case... A true fiber optic cable is made with glass. a 6 feet cable should be able to bend a few inches. The fiber optic cable you buy can be wrapped arround your fingers because it is made from plastic or silicon. A another reason for the difference in sound could be that it takes 2 different decoders to process the signal. the light from the fiber optic has to be converted to electric signals in the receiver and vice versa in the DVDCD player. Digital coax has been around for a while and that technology has been refined in most systems. The fiber optic option is usually an option that is thrown into a system without much thought. The sound that comes from the 2 imputs are totally different!! you should plug them both in and switch back and forth and determine which sound you like better.

 

[Steve Wisniewsk]

I just thought I would chime in because I recently did a comparison of the two cables. I bought an Audio Source Optical cable about three months ago and have been quite happy with it. Three weeks ago I purchased a Monster Coaxial cable and I have not used the optical since then. I have a Sony DVP S-360 feeding a Marantz AV 9000 and the difference was incredible - night and day. Now what is hard to say is why the big difference?? Maybe its the way the Sony sends the signals - maybe its the way the Marantz receives the signals - maybe its the cables?? All I can say for sure is that the sound is much "Cleaner" with the Coax. More detail - less mudd - clearly audible.

 

[James Bondo]

whay do you think about running between different components such as marantz, krell, sunfire, etc...? do you think the digital cable can have a factor on the sound due to mixing up the components, like if i was to have all krell vs all marantz? kind of like car audio? if you mix up your gear you have the chance to pick up noise because the difference in ground potentials in the car and the input/output impedeances of different types of gear. i know it's not a digital signal, but analog, and i would like to know if the digital signal is as prone to the noise as the rca's in an automotive system.

i was thinking on adding a progressive scan dvd to a tft monitor.

thanks again

 

[John Garcia]

My Sony DVD to Marantz receiver via coax dig. gives me some audio-dropout issues, but sound quality is still excellent

My Panasonic via optical to my other Marantz receiver still has the same issue, though it is less noticable and sound quality is still excellent.

I have NO issue with my Marantz CD player to the receiver via coax dig. Since the CDP and receiver likely use similar, if not the same DACs, the sound is basically identical for digital or analog.

The brands that you mentioned are of higher quality and you should have no issues with noise. This is not car audio, and these units do not rely as much on grounding to the chassis of your car vs. a dedicated ground. With the car, as long as you keep the grounds short and go direct to metal, or even a common point if possible, noise should not be an issue either. IF you do get noise with your home gear, then you should only have to ground your components directly to an earth ground. I have seen this recommended for non grounded and even for video gear.