|   Which is better: optical cable or digital coax? | Shnit
Jul 11, 2002 12:51 PM | | I heard that digital coax cables can handle higher bandwidth than optical. Is that true? |
| re: Which is better: optical cable or digital coax? | Warren Warren
Jul 11, 2002 5:12 PM | | Bandwidth is irrelevant in this situation. If you are talking about an internet connection, Fiber has a much higher bandwidth than copper, but you are talking about a piece of audio equipment. Generally I prefer coax as you are removing 2 stages of signal conversion that have to occur using optical, but if you live in a high RF noise environment, optical may be a better choice.
WW |
| Not quite as simple as that... | MonstrousMike
Jul 12, 2002 12:15 PM | | Coaxial cables come in many different types. For example, RG-6 can handle 2 gHz for up to 200-300 feet.
Optical cables also come in a variety of types. If you a are specifically talking about the TosLink digital audio interface, then it has a max bandwidth of about 30 mHz and a maximum distance of 25-30 feet. Obviously, this is not as good as glass fibre optic runs which carry many gHz of bandwidth across the continent.
TosLink is used in home audio because it is infinitely cheaper than using a real fibre optic connection.
So in relation to home digital audio, I would say that most digital coaxial cables have a much higher bandwidth than TosLink optical cables. |
| re: Which is better: optical cable or digital coax? | Jason Monette
Jul 16, 2002 2:06 PM | | good quality coax for runs less than 100'
optical for runs over 100' |
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