Should I get Optical cable for my Z 5500 Speakers ???

[Zer0Cool]

Hello

I have a Logitech Z 5500 5.1 Speakers & I also have a Creative X-Fi Pro Sound card, and I want to connect them via Optical cable.

1st What's better Coax or Optical???
2nd Does optical cable really makes that big of a difference in performance?
3rd Is there Different types of optical cables in terms of performance? (If yes, what is it? And which one would be best for me? I would use it 4 games/music/movies)


If possible plz provide the links to the cable's ether amazon or newegg.

Thanks

 

[Äߧý∩†H♠H䎀]

Heres a post I found that may help you.

It's digital...as in digits. It's 1's and 0's. The DAC has a buffer to correct timing/jitter. 1's and 0's that encode audible high frequencies are not any different than the 1's and 0's encoding they low frequencies. An optical cable will not pass or dampen any specific frequency. You would have to send a lot of bad bit's down the cable to make an obvious audible defect. That kind of error rate just doesn't happen, and DAC's are designed to mask these errors anyway. A perfect digital signal is a square wave form. You can add a lot of noise and interference and signal degredation to the wave form and still accurately extract perfect 1's and 0's from it, a lot. Transfer of digital signals down optical cables is very very very accurate. If you've ever downloaded a an OS software update you've downloaded as many bits as encode a typical song on a CD. Those bits are transferred over miles and miles of optical cable and copper cable and maybe through the air, through zillions of switches and they arrive perfect. The whole modern world depends on the ability to transmit 1's and 0's flawlessly at much higher rates and greater accuracy than is required to perfectly recreate audio. One requirement of audio is that the bits need to be sorted out in a continuous stream with respect to time. The DAC does this, they have buffers and clocks. Better DACs (with better internal reclocking) do it better, but I'll wager it takes a very rare individual and system to hear it (the reclocking/jitter correction difference, I mean). Your transport also has error correction. Transports do this well too. If they didn't software would never install...

 

[BF2player]

1. I like the digital optical cable. Myself, I have edifer 9900 speakers, or something like that, and the optical works great with my ps2.
2. It doesn't make that much of a difference. Maybe at very high volume it might.
3. Yes, there are all types of optical cables, but they all do the same job. Just, the quality may change from brands. I got mine at radioshack and it works great for the time I've had it. (6 months)

 

[Zer0Cool]

Well I gat both cables yesterday & I tested them out. They sound almost the same, the optical one maybe is just a bit louder. Also for some reason the optical cable that connects to the speaker is very loose, its almost as if the hole is 2 big, and I tried 2 optical cables...the optical cable that connects to the sound card is very nice and tight, I mean the sound is still very good, but it just doesn't seem right to me..

Someone sad that there is no difference in 6 chan mod (3 wires option) and the digital option Coax & optical, well there is a BIG difference!!! Sound is louder and more clearer.

thanks all