Coaxial vs Optical - A subjective comparison

[rikhav]

I believe a 75 Ohm Coaxial Cable with BNC connectors is much suited for the this purpose.

Only with BNC you get true 75 ohms
That's what I have been told by many

 

[mpasanthosh]

Only with BNC you get true 75 ohms
That's what I have been told by many

Yes it is I would prefer BNC over RCA connectors for Digital Coaxial any day, going by the technicalities atleast.
I am not sure if the difference is so big that it actually makes a drastic change in sound signature or sound quality.
Unfortunately I do not have a BNC cable to test this, but will test and post my feedback as well when i get some time.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

In the past most of my transports had optical out, and when i compare them back to back with each other, every optical transport sounds different than the other, my understanding is that the way the circuit is implemented either coaxial or optical matters a lot.
The implementation in your DAC should be considered as well, ideally the transport outputs a signal that is being processed by the DAC.
There are sound quality changes between optical and coaxial, but i would prefer one that best suits my ear.
Sometimes I prefer the optical and sometimes the coaxial as well.
Optical cables when i used them in the chain, I felt the lows to be much better, but coaxial was much suited to my ears, a tad bit more cleaner and smoother as well.

You could try to find another transport that has optical out and compare it to your current transport as well.

There, you said it - optical better with the lows and coaxial smoother. I put it as optical better with rhythm and coaxial with melody. Similar thing.

Given that my transport (CXC) and DAC (CXN) are from the same manufacturer and same series - so I assume they are well-matched. I have tried other transports in the past (documented in another thread) but keep coming back to the CXC. This thread was to just document my differential experience using a coaxial (with RCA connectors) and optical cable, keeping everything else constant.

 

[balavignesh002]

i have a cambridge cxn i tried connecting them with usb to mac and via lan.
lan sounded better than usb or even the coax.
dont know why.
and i also had an improvement in sound when i changed the cable to a cat 6.
anyone care to explain y is this so.
shouldnt the usb or the coax sound better ?
usb cable i used was from audioquest. coax was from kimber while the lan both cat 5 and 6 are local brands.

Spdif uses multiplexing to send data over fiber or copper. So the implementation has its own challenges.

In LAN it's directly streamed. Cat 5 is thinner and has less twists compared to Cat6. Try cat 6A and cat 7.

 

[supersaiyan]

Spdif uses multiplexing to send data over fiber or copper. So the implementation has its own challenges.

In LAN it's directly streamed. Cat 5 is thinner and has less twists compared to Cat6. Try cat 6A and cat 7.

already ordered a cat 7. i though coax has the shortest signal path than RJ45 !

 

[arj]

I also have the Lifatec Optical as well as Yamamura millennium digital Coax as well as an ASI liveline digital Coax
Out of my Aries Mini streamer, the Coax has more instrument separation and gives the impression of more details while the Lifatec is more wholesome and not as etched as the digital

This will vary from device to device as well as the SPDIF as well as Toslink can vary depending on the OEM.

 

[prem]

Arj, this could be because of external factors. In the past I read somewhere that optical transmission is immune to external rf or emi, etc. Coax transmission gets affected. Which is why you could be hearing the differences. Generally the hash can result in a digital sound with a feel of more separation. Also when using coax, the transients can get blunted resulting in a more acceptable sound, especially if the recording is compressed.

My experience with both coax and optical is very very limited because I have always used AES cables for digital transmission. That’s what studios and broadcasters normally use.

 

[arj]

Arj, this could be because of external factors. In the past I read somewhere that optical transmission is immune to external rf or emi, etc. Coax transmission gets affected. Which is why you could be hearing the differences. Generally the hash can result in a digital sound with a feel of more separation. Also when using coax, the transients can get blunted resulting in a more acceptable sound, especially if the recording is compressed.

Thats quite possible prem and thats perhaps the reason it sounds more relaxed. There is also some impact of the electronics (avalable as OEM units) which convert the signal to an Optical which can vary.

Using a Good cable like Lifatec does make things better. in the past there used to be a AT&T Glass cable which was supposed to be superior to most but sadly not available anymore..would have loved to hear that

 

[prem]

Between my minimal experience with these transmission formats, I prefer the Optical, especially with good recordings.

Also as you rightly mentioned it depends on what dac you have. In some irrespective of what input you use, they all get converted. Whereas in some, each input has its own clocking and regeneration which makes it less immune to type of transmission used.

 

[rikhav]

But many dac designers even claim that technically optical as a medium has maximum jitter )

So follow your ears and choose what sounds best to you

 

[Jayant_S]

I'm loving this thread because I know so little of the technicalities !
The only digital audio sources I've got are two cd players stacked - ones connected via an optical and the other coaxial to my Cambridge audio DAC.
Both have become mute bystanders with vinyl playing most of the time at home.

However when I do listen to CDs it's almost always via the optical connection. Immediacy and a sense of vibrance is how I would describe the music vs the coaxial out.

 

[arj]

But many dac designers even claim that technically optical as a medium has maximum jitter )

So follow your ears and choose what sounds best to you

I remember reading that it depends on the Optical converting unit they use. eg at the lowest segment of cheap DVDps the Optical is better since the cheapest converter outperforms the Coax. as you go higher the coax starts getting better as many folks do not use optical and hence designers retain the cheaper optical.
Depending on the designer at certain points the optical units start getting better..and so on

My experience is also very similar to Prems but thats after I was recommended the lifatec cable by him several years back Before that I preferred the coax.

Myregret has been in not bagging a ST glass cable by AT&T many years back..those were supposed to be awesome but the connector was different. Wadia also used to have a glass cable used with their equipment much before they were sold off to a PE firm

 

[Deleted member 15865]

I also have the Lifatec Optical as well as Yamamura millennium digital Coax as well as an ASI liveline digital Coax
Out of my Aries Mini streamer, the Coax has more instrument separation and gives the impression of more details while the Lifatec is more wholesome and not as etched as the digital

This will vary from device to device as well as the SPDIF as well as Toslink can vary depending on the OEM.

That’s why I compared coaxial and optical cables in the same price range. In your case, both the coaxial cables (Yamamura and ASI) are five times the price of the Lifatec Optical.

My experience with both coax and optical is very very limited because I have always used AES cables for digital transmission. That’s what studios and broadcasters normally use.

@prem XLR or BNC?

However when I do listen to CDs it's almost always via the optical connection. Immediacy and a sense of vibrance is how I would describe the music vs the coaxial out.

@Jayant_S which make are the two cables (coax and optical)?

before they were sold off to a PE firm

Oh, that’s so sad! Difference between an entrepreneur and an investor.

 

[arj]

despite that, the optical is still preferred

 

[Deleted member 15865]

despite that, the optical is still preferred

I do understand that you valued the wholesome sound of Lifatec above the etched sound of the coaxials. I was referring to the impression of better separation and more details from the said coax cables. Could thatbe a function of the build/quality (itself a function of price).

 

[Deleted member 15865]

By the way, @Hari Iyer was over at my place today and listened to the improved sound (the Einstein Largo speaker cable from @jls001 has done wonders) as well as comparison between the optical (Lifatec) and coaxial (Nordost). His feedback also was clearly in favour of the optical.

Aside: We also auditioned the Primare A30.2 power amp in my system (in place of my regular Audiolab 8200A). It was a pleasure to see an otherwise equanimous Hari show a liking to its sound.

P.S. Acknowledgements are also due to @harry123456 for selling me the Lifatec and @rikhav for getting it to me. It opened my ears to the optical cables, which I had a bias against earlier (as being bright)

 

[Jayant_S]

@Jayant_S which make are the two cables (coax and optical)?

Both are generic Amazon cables. Didn't know any better when I got them.

 

[prem]

Sachin, AES is XLR. It’s a 110 ohm cable

 

[prem]

I used dual AES which I found superior to a single AES. In dual, there’s one for left and one for right channel. Very few transports and dacs allow dual AES though. I believe I2S is the best possible connection but I have never heard it since I never owned equipment which allowed I2S connection

 

[arj]

I used dual AES which I found superior to a single AES. In dual, there’s one for left and one for right channel. Very few transports and dacs allow dual AES though. I believe I2S is the best possible connection but I have never heard it since I never owned equipment which allowed I2S connection

AES is the best no doubt as it is the choice of audio professionals as well on those equipment where the AES is truly balanced. Apparently many use the same SE output into balanced

Double AES is a different league !

I2S apparently has its own challenges as the protocol was never meant for long distance transmission and if used needs to be kept short. I was told this by a DAC designer couple of years ago.