CapnPickard,

There is no difference in sound quality between the two--zero, zip. The only advantage of an optical digital (Toslink) connector is that it is totally immune to hum pickup from AC fields where a connector crosses an AC power supply cord.

From a practical point of view, I've never had trouble with hum pickup using a standard shielded coaxial cable, but that does not mean it could never happen. Coaxials are usually less expensive.

Regards,

Alan Lofft,
Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)