which A/V sound is better?

Question

the pioneer DVD I just bought at the thrift store has optical digital (little rectangle) and a coaxial?(RCA) audio connectors on the back
which is better for 5.1 or 7.1 sound?

the dish network HD boxes also have an optical digital connector.
do they make home theatre receivers with more than one optical digital input?

thanks

Answer 1

COAX and OPTICAL are the same type of sound connection DIGITAL / COMPRESSED



Theoretically there is no difference between them as far as sound quality. There are other differences like cost. Fiber optic cables are far more expensive than RCA cable (capable of delivering digital signals) but COAX/RCA cables are copper and capable of signal interference and loss thought not likely in a normal setup.



I prefer Optical simply because I know that its the only thing connected to the DVD player but still I get 7.1 channels of sound through a single red light.. fascinating.

Answer 2

Most decent receivers have several of each type of inputs- many satellite and cable boxes use optical only. There really is no difference in sound quality between them, they both deliver the same digital signal. The only real consideration is distance- optical is fine for short distance of up to ten feet or so...anything longer than that, use coaxial- it travels better. Also make sure there are no sharp bends in the optical cable- it is, after all, light and can reflect back. But this is pretty rare.

Answer 3

In general you're not going to notice a differance either way. If you want to get really nit-pickey with it (not always a bad thing :) ) i have read that for short distances optical is worse because there is processing on each end to convert it too and from the light signal, but for long distances it is better becase there is no interferance and much less signal loss. I would say unless you have super human ears, go with whichever you have an open connection for on your receiver.



As for multiple opt inputs, in my experiance most newer receivers have 2-3 and some have more, though many low-enders will only have one.

Answer 4

it's better to use an optical digital cable.

it's sad to say tht most receiver on the market only accept one optical digital input. so you have to connect your other device via the DigitalCoaxial or normal RCA(analogue).

Answer 5

Either coax or optical is fine for digital audio.

Yes, most AVRs should have multiple digital audio inputs.

Answer 6

they are pretty much the same quality. optical is sound converted into light and digital coax is copper metal