Has something to do with two factors: 1)the Toslink material (plastic) allows internal bouncing and reflections of the optical signal within the cable. 2) the interface at the cable ends and input/output terminals is really sloppy allowing for further degradation of the signal. These problem are minimized with the much higher quality AT&T Glass optical cable. This is what I have heard, but if I'm mistaken or there are other factors at work, hopefully better minds will set us straight! Happy Tunes!
Toslink vs. RCA
In virtually every review of DACs and jitter reduction devices, RCA seems to be better than TOSLINK for the transmission of S/PDIF. This seems strange to me considering that a whole host of nasties like EMI and transmission line effects can be eliminated with optical transmission. Does anyone know why RCA is better?