Digital coax vs. Optical

[orgasmdonor]

I have never owned the optical cable always had the coax..I have heard through out the years differing opinions on this and when I have asked a "pro" they say there is no difference but the way it is transmitted. So why both options then? The only reasonable one that I have is for game consoles. Alot of them do not have the coax just the optical connection for dolby surround.

[edtyct]

If optical is the default, you can be sure that it's cheaper to implement. Back in the day, the high end sided with coaxial, but even then, the differences weren't terribly evident at the mainstream level. It's really a non-issue unless really long runs or ultra-resolution comes into play. Then testing of the various options may be in order. Personally, I feel more comfortable with coaxial. I've bent and trampled a few optical cords in my day.

[kexodusc]

Length of cable isn't an issue in homes usually, unless you have some absurd 50 ft runs or something.
Technically, there shouldn't be any difference between coax and optical.
The reason why coax is said to be better is simple. With optical cables, the data is converted one additional step. From electrical modulation to light modulation and back. This extra conversion step doesn't occur with coax.
No matters though. These chips don't make a mistake. It's a 1 or a 0, always. So there should be no advantage to either.

Coax used to be more durable, I think manufacturers have optical cables down pat now though.

[markw]

..is in a high EMI/RFI environment and electrical noise is a problem or there
s a ground loop fbetween the source/destination.. Other than that there's no difference in performance but coax is more flexible, has much more forgiving connectors, and virtually ANYcheapo interconnect will work fine.

Trust me, that light/time thing is pure BS.

[musicman1999]

a friend of mine and i tested two cable of about the same value and we could discover no real difference in performance.The big thing was the cable ends,the coax have a much tighter seal than the optical.I do think however as you get into expensive cables,coax performance will go up,while optical will improve if you use glass plugs instead of plastic.
thanks
bill

[markw]

I do think however as you get into expensive cables,coax performance will go up,while optical will improve if you use glass plugs instead of plastic.

if the 1's and 0's make it through the cable and to the error correction, it's all the same.

[GMichael]

These chips don't make a mistake. It's a 1 or a 0, always. So there should be no advantage to either.
though.

Optical "sounds" cooler though. If you tell your friends that you have optical cables in your stereo set-up, they say, "that's cool dude. You must have a great system!" If you tell them you have coax, they don't blink an eye.

Now there's something you can base a decission on.

For those of you who don't know me, this has been a joke. Please smile.