Coaxal Vs optical

[punisher46]

Which one is gives the better sound quality?

Is there much difference?

[worthit]

I think the general consensus from these forums goes with co-axial. TBH I can't say at the moment, as I'm still waiting on delivery of my amp and am awaiting to buy some interconnects myself.

Which, BTW....Where is the best place to buy interconnects, if memory serves me, there was aplace in Preston that MikeK recommended but I can't remember the URL. Do they supply ready made stuff? (if anyone knows who I'm thinking of)

[kcxdev]

yeh, the last time this was asked (about 3 days ago), most went for coaxial as no conversion (to optical) is required at both the dvd and amp end, it's sent as electrical pulses. They're more sturdy as well.

As the the quality of coax, *apparently* just get the cheapest.

Now... why did I pay £35 for my optical lead! :o :rolleyes:

[Ragnar]

Originally posted by kcxdev

As the the quality of coax, *apparently* just get the cheapest.

Now... why did I pay £35 for my optical lead! :o :rolleyes:

Well I was conned into paying £65 for an optical lead & £70 for a coax one 4 years ago.:mad:

Oh for the benefit of experience & hindsight.:D

[Fozzybear]

If you have a system that isn't prone to interference (earth loops and such) then co-axial is purer, but you're going to be hard pushed to notice much of a difference in normal use. I've heard differences between CD transports (one on optical, one on co-ax) but can't rule out differences in the transport electronics being the cause*.


* it was a Pioneer PD-8700 player (opto) and a Cambridge CD2 (co-ax) into a Meridian 203 DAC running an Exposure VI/VII/VIII amp and Mission 752 speakers. The £150 Cambridge sounded much clearer than the Pioneer, but sounded rough using it's on-board DAC.

[BrynJ]

Originally posted by worthit

Which, BTW....Where is the best place to buy interconnects, if memory serves me, there was aplace in Preston that MikeK recommended but I can't remember the URL. Do they supply ready made stuff? (if anyone knows who I'm thinking of)

The company you're thinking of is www.cpc.co.uk. Just ring them up and ask to open a cash account and they'll send you their (2500+ page) catalogue :)

[worthit]

Thanks Bryn, I'll give them a ring tomorrow (Monday). Do you know if they supply ready made stuff, ie connectors already on? as I'm hopeless at DIY.

[MikeK]

Originally posted by worthit
Thanks Bryn, I'll give them a ring tomorrow (Monday). Do you know if they supply ready made stuff, ie connectors already on? as I'm hopeless at DIY.



They do both.

Obviously you can save a bit more cash by DIY, but their prices on made up stuff are still pretty good, especially compared with hifi dealers -
eg
Puresonic 9020A 1m pair PSOCC phono interconnects
Typical hifi dealer around £85 - CPC £16.49+VAT
Puresonic 5050A 1m pair OFC phono interconnects
Typical hifi dealer around £17 - CPC £6.09+VAT

And there is one optical cable they sell for £5.59+VAT, which I've seen on sale for £29.99, and that was at another website.

Still, once you get a catalogue, you can see for yourself.
It's quite an eye opener when you see how some companies are blatantly ripping people off on cables etc.

[worthit]

Thanks again (and sorry I didn't mean to hijack the thread :nuts: )

I finally plumped for a Denon 2802 and am awaiting delivery. The interconnects you mention, are they for amp - dvd player?

[w_n_s]

I usually buy my cables from http://www.ecland.co.uk they are very cheap, got a scart to 2 phono and s-video for £3.00 delivered, they do optical leads for £5 delivered and I think I bought my coax digital lead from http://www.beyondhifi.com for about £6.00!!! :clap: