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Thread ID: 98954 2009-04-14 03:36:00 Digital audio, S/PDIF - I'm a bit confuzzled. wratterus (105) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
764878 2009-04-14 03:36:00 Recently picked up an Onkyo Home Theatre receiver for cheap, it's got three S/PDIF inputs. 2 digital optical, and one digital coaxial.

I've got the Xbox 360 running through one of the optical jacks, and the Freeview receiver through the other. Works like magic.

I'd like to use digital optical for the PC too, with the cables being a lot cheaper and easier to source, however the only digital jack left on the receiver is the digital coaxial input.

I'm now on the hunt for a cable, 3m or 5m, and there is a massive difference in cost between some seemingly identical cables.

Theres a few cables I've found on trademe, but I'm not too sure if all the cables are the same, or if some are going to transmit a lower quality sound, are there 'digital coaxial' cables and then others, that type of thing. Done some googling but can't really seem to find a solid answer.

Got my eye on one of these cables, is there a difference between them?

www.trademe.co.nz

www.trademe.co.nz

Thanks guys. :)
wratterus (105)
764879 2009-04-14 04:00:00 BTW - a 4 - 5m Belkin cable from ascent is looking to be around $100. :eek: wratterus (105)
764880 2009-04-14 04:05:00 Total ripoff. Just grab any old RCA-terminated cable from the $2 shop and you'll be sweet. As the signal is digital, it doesn't matter how crappy your cable is as long as the signal reaches the other end - it'll still sound perfect. Erayd (23)
764881 2009-04-14 04:06:00 Just use a normal RCA cable, works fine and you won't notice any difference as it is a digital signal.
It follows the same theory as the HDMI cables, the cheap ones work just as well as the $300 ones.

SNAP!
CYaBro (73)
764882 2009-04-14 04:10:00 In am home threatre advanced cables don't really make a difference over a short distance, so I wouldn't fret too much about finding the right cable

Look for the 75-ohm impedance when buying the cables, its the mininum for a good coxial cable.

the second cable you listed seems dodgy...no mention of impedance over distances.

Blam
Blam (54)
764883 2009-04-14 04:13:00 Just use a normal RCA cable, works fine and you won't notice any difference as it is a digital signal.
It follows the same theory as the HDMI cables, the cheap ones work just as well as the $300 ones.

SNAP!

But a simple analog RCa cable is unshielded...over 3/5m wouldn't there be a large amount of signal loss, and there could be interference from other electrical devices easily..
Blam (54)
764884 2009-04-14 04:16:00 Heh, awesome. Thanks guys!

I do have an ungodly amount of stuff running in that corner of the room, so if theres anything thats going to interfere with the signal, it'll be gaurnteed to do so. :p

Just had a look on Ingram Micro on the offchance they had something and a 3.6m 75ohm belkin cable is way cheaper than on trademe, so that's cool aswell.

I'll try a RCA cable tonight, see how that goes.
wratterus (105)
764885 2009-04-14 04:21:00 But a simple analog RCa cable is unshielded...over 3/5m wouldn't there be a large amount of signal loss, and there could be interference from other electrical devices easily..

Still doesn't matter, it's a digital signal - more than enough will get through to be decoded, and you won't lose any quality. And being digital it won't be affected by interference either. As I said earlier, as long as it gets to the other end, everything will work perfectly with no quality loss.
Erayd (23)
764886 2009-04-14 04:44:00 try cablesdirect.co.nz....i got a 5m rca cable for $4.72 the other day, cost $4 freight for next day delivered... SolMiester (139)
764887 2009-04-14 04:52:00 try cablesdirect.co.nz....i got a 5m rca cable for $4.72 the other day, cost $4 freight for next day delivered...

Cheers.
wratterus (105)
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