better quality? coaxial or optical spdif?

Question

which offers better sound quality coaxial or optical spdif?
it will be from my motherboard to the surround sound system?

also, does the coaxial spdif take regular RCA cables?

Thanks,

pls only stick to the question and mention your source, if any.

Answer 1

both will give you the same sound quality because they both transfer the audio signal in the digital format. the optical cable is better only in the respect that it is impervious to noise from outside sources (fluorescent lights, etc.). they will both give your home theater receiver the signal it needs to decode dolby digital (5.1) sound. for the coaxial cable, yes, any rca cable will suffice. however, it is wise to use one of a good quality and not overly long, to protect from radiated noise.

Answer 2

Well what I recommend is that you get the optical spdif becuase it's the only way that'll give you 5.1 dobly surround sound. Also, it's the bestest sound cable you could buy in the market today, there's nothing better than optical spdif. In addtion, I've tried it my self and you could hear a big difference between coaxial and optical spdif. To the second question you asked, yes, coaxial spdif take RCA cable. In fact any wire of the RCA cable would work. I've again tried it myself. Now you're probably wondering why do companies sell RCA cables and coaxial cables totally different prices. The fact is that they just want to make money and it's easier for people to figure which color goes to which thing.

Answer 3

both offer same audio quality

one thing that optical offers is electrical isolation between the computer and the sound system.



Computers use grounded powersupplies, create false grnds internally for their operation. One thing you will find when you hookup your computer to the surround system with regular audio (or possibly digital coax) is a ground loop - thats a humming sound of 60hz - basically between your computer and the stereo the grounds are at different potential - nothing serious except that hum



optical eliminates this as there is no electrical connection only light passing through a fiber