Digital Coax or Toslink

[jamison162]

What do most people use/recommend? I guess it's really a moot point in that my Denon receiver has 4 Toslink inputs and only 1 Coaxial input. The signal is the same regardless, correct?

[markw]

When the electrical/optical converter in the source is up to snuff, the best glass (not plastic as is common) is used for the toskink cable, the connectors on both ends are firmly and securely inserted into both the source and receiver in such a manner as to maximize the light transfer, and there are no great bends in the toskink itself, and the receiver's optical/electrical converter is up to snuff, the optical path can be just as good as that of a cheap 75 ohm coaxal interconnect.

It's beyond me why they don't put more coaxial connectors and less optical connectors into this equipment. They ain't doin' us any favors, believe me.

[paul_pci]

When the electrical/optical converter in the source is up to snuff, the best glass (not plastic as is common) is used for the toskink cable, the connectors on both ends are firmly and securely inserted into both the source and receiver in such a manner as to maximize the light transfer, and there are no great bends in the toskink itself, and the receiver's optical/electrical converter is up to snuff, the optical path can be just as good as that of a cheap 75 ohm coaxal interconnect.

It's beyond me why they don't put more coaxial connectors and less optical connectors into this equipment. They ain't doin' us any favors, believe me.

That's always frustrated me too why there are far fewer coxal than optical inputs, so my best guess is simply image and cache. For the consuming public, it is probably far more sexier to claim/use an optical cable than a digital coax, which looks like everything else you have. Just think, if you use optical you can say that you're lightspeed ahead of those caveman-like coaxers.

Jamison: Yeah, the only thing you might worry about it the tendency for optical cables to be more fragile than your run of the mill coax.

[Krazykaj]

there is no differnece between the two.
If you have more toslink inputs on your unit, then use them, but as mentioned above, just be careful you don't bend or cruch the cable.

Check out some of the articles here, for more info :) (http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/cables.htm)

[evil__betty]

You won't tell the difference. More than likely the reson for more optical inputs compared to coax inputs if because older audio things like CD players and DVD players only had optical out (and RCA).