spdif vs toslink


any difference between RCA spdif and a plastic toslink connection? I am sending it from a computer to a DAC.
Pro's con's?....sound quality...effect of cables?
thanks in advance!
ntscdan

Showing 1 response by cosmic_void

Most audiophiles would consider a good coax better than toslink. If you read this forum often enough you will see plenty of evidence of that. Most of the audio magazines say the same thing. Having said that, what Sean says about electrically isolating your computer from your audio system is valid and as such I would use the toslink in your application.

The digital output will pass a digital audio signal only. I am unaware of any video signals being passed digitally from one device to another except for digital cameras and video cameras in which case you would be using an USB or 1394 connection.

I am using a Tara Labs optical connector between my DVD and my SRS receiver with good success however I will be going to coax as I want to hook my PS2 with the toslink as that's the only output on the PS2 and my receiver has only one optical input. This will be good in that it will isolate some of the electrical hash from the PS2 from entering the rest of the system. The added benefit is that the receiver has better DAC's than the PS2.