Any advantages of digital toslink for audio vs...

Any advantages/disadvantages of digital toslink for audio(stereo) vs. standard interconnects?

If you use analog interconnects, you're choosing to have your CD player to the digital-to-analog signal conversion and sending the analog signal to your receiver. If you use a digital connection, your receiver's D/A converter is doing the work.

Some people enjoy the conversion of one DAC over another. Try it both ways and see if you prefer one over the other. I tend to prefer the job that my receiver does. By the way, a coaxial RCA-type cable will do just as well as the optical toslink, and the coax is less fragile.

In reply to:
Some people enjoy the conversion of one DAC over another. Try it both ways and see if you prefer one over the other.

Thanks for that little bit o information, Badger! I was playing with my new stuff last night. I was playing CDs through my DVD player into my HK630 using the el cheapo red/white "interconnect" that came with some piece of equipment or another. You know the ones, everybody has at least one of them at home. I took the red side, plugged it into digital out on the DVD player and into coax 1 on the 630. It sounds beautiful. I was wondering if using an optical connectionn would be any improvement in sound? They're both digital, so they should be identical sounding. Unless, of course, the cheapo coax drops bits that some error correction algorythm in the the 630 needs to replace. Any thoughts?

In theory there's no difference between coax and optical Toslink. The advantage both share over analog is the signal stays in the digital domain, and your receiver's digital bass management, speaker distance, etc. can be used without a needless A/D then D/A conversion within the receiver. I personally use a generic Radio Shack optical cable.

Yeah, I made the mistake of buying "some premium" optical cable from a hifi store. Paid over 60 dollars for 3 feet of it when I could get the 6 feet length at radio shack for 20 dollars.
Anyways, thx for the info everyone. I think I'll stick to optical, it just looks really cool how it glows when you unplug it =P.

The "cool" factor of the optical cable is definitely there...

Until you notice one day after pushing your components back into the entertainment center that your digital signal keeps crapping out. You then look to find that the brilliant red on the other end of your optical cable is now just dull. Guess those glass fibers can break after all.

That's why you buy the medical grade and/or plastic ones!

That said, I use coax.

Speaking of SPDIF vs TOSlink...

Looking at a Yamaha RX-V series receiver, they have a digital coaxial input in only the CD position... since my DVD player (Toshiba SD-1800) has a coaxial but not a TOSlink output for digital audio, I'm wondering if this means I'll have to play around with settings - setting the video switch to DVD, but the audio program to CD. Anyone know?

Bren R.

That is one thing i tried to avoid while selecting a receiver and dvdp. One item having one hookup but not the other....

Just looking at the menus available to me, it looks like my RX-V1400 is pretty flexible (as far as reassigning inputs) that way.

My RX-V1400 has both Toslink and coax input for both CD and DVD. If you have an older model RX-V, my guess is this was enhanced in newer models.

The RX-V1400 can also do I/O jack reassignment and renaming. E.g. you can internally re-route (say) CD coax in to DVD in, or just rename CD coax in to "DVD".

In reply to:
The RX-V1400 can also do I/O jack reassignment and renaming. E.g. you can internally re-route (say) CD coax in to DVD in, or just rename CD coax in to "DVD".

Perfect, all I needed to know, picking it up in about 20 mins... thanks!

Bren R.

Or maybe next week... my salesman wasn't in.

Bren R.