Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Question regarding coaxial cable

I have been running rca audio connections from my DVD player to my T752. Today, I purchased a coaxial cable (Kimber V21) as a replacement. I just realized that this cable states it is for video.

Can I use this cable for audio?

No problem. All you need from a coaxial digital audio cable is bandwidth of up to MHz range. Video cables readily satisfy it.

But... why did you think you need to pay such an amount of $$$ for a digital cable???

It's not that I thought I had to spend a lot of money to get a decent cable. The fact of the matter is that I was in a hurry and it was the cheapest coaxial cable they had in stock.

Sushi,

Do you think I will notice much improvement in sound quality? I have yet to hook it up.

Improvement as compared to what?

Forgot to thank you, Sushi..so...thanks!

I went to the hi-fi store to listen to the new Wharfedale Opus 2's and to pick up some new speaker wire. I bought the speaker wire (Kimber) off the spool....twisted pair colored black/brown. I believe the wire was $1.80/ft. Hopefully, I didn't pay too much for the speaker wire.

As a sidenote, the Opus 2 sounded great.

Well, I am currently running RCA from the DVD to the NAD. I am certainly no expert at all with these matters, but I was under the impression that running a coaxial audio connection would improve the sound somehow. I am probably wrong, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. Thanks.

Mike, speaker wire should run about $0.15-$0.30 a foot, depending on the gauge you need. A coaxial cable should run about $5-$10, depending on the length you need.

Oh well. Live and learn.

In reply to:

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Well, I am currently running RCA from the DVD to the NAD. I am certainly no expert at all with these matters, but I was under the impression that running a coaxial audio connection would improve the sound somehow.

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Mike, I am confused... It sounds like both "RCA" and "coaxial" cables in your sentences above refer to "coaxial (shielded) cables terminated with RCA plugs" after all...

Anyway, digital audio transmission will either work perfectly or do not work at all (intermittent sound drops, obvious noise/distortions...). There is no such a thing as "subtle improvements" in sound quality here.

Well, I suppose I didn't explain matters very well at all. I am currently running analogue from the DVD to the receiver.

Aha! Now I understand...

As for the 2-channel stereo materials, I would predict that the sound quality will not appreciably improve if you use the receiver in the analog direct mode, unless your DVD player is very old. It is just a matter of doing D/A conversion on the DVD player vs. on the receiver. So, unless the quality of DACs are very different, you are unlikely to hear a difference. However, if you listen to stereo materials using matrix surround processing (such as DPL II Music) or using the receiver's digital bass management (for the subwoofer), then there is at least a theoretical advantage on the digital connection -- with analog connection, the audio signal has to go through the DAC on the player, the ADC on the receiver, and then the DAC on the receiver. With digital connection, you can skip the former two conversions. You may well hear a subtle difference here.

The major advantage of digital audio connection is, however, obviously the prospect for the Dolby Digital and DTS native multi-channel playback, which is simply impossible with 2-channel analog connections.