CAMEL RF

If you love audio, one of the major components to making your audio sound great are the audio video cables and connectors. While there are many types of audio cables available, here is a summary of the most common ones used.

Digital Audio Cables
Today’s audio equipment no longer uses analog signals to create sound, they use digital signals made from data, such as 0’s and 1’s. Analog is usually a term used for phonographs or audio cassettes. Digital media includes CD’s, MP3’s and DVD audio signals that are processed by a chip and usually create superior sound that lasts far longer than analog audio. Digital Audio Cables look to preserve and transmit the highest quality digital signal possible. They usually come in two distinct flavors; coaxial digital cables and optical digital cables.

Coaxial Digital Cables
Coaxial digital cables are the most common type of connection cable used for digital audio today. They look similar to the RCA cables that many people use and are familiar with. The only difference being is that instead of carrying analog signal it carries digital signals.

Coaxial digital cables look very similar to cable TV cables, except they have RCA connectors on the end of the cable. They are thicker than normal RCA cables, are shielded just like regular cable TV coaxial cables and are very affordable, usually costing about $10 for six feet of cable.

Coaxial digital cables transmit digital signals in pulses of electricity. They have a copper wire and are shielded from interference with the help of a surrounding aluminum wrap. They are then housed in a strong outer case. It is also important to note that Coaxial digital cables have 75 ohm impedance which means they can handle more energy, plus they have a larger bandwidth than a normal RCA cable. For an affordable digital audio cable that delivers premium sound, coaxial digital cables are an extremely attractive choice.

Optical Digital Cables (also called S/PDIF, for Sony/Philips Digital Interface)
The other type of digital audio cable is the optical cable. Remember, coaxial digital cables still use copper wire to transmit their data from one component to another, while this is an affordable and many times high quality solution, coaxial digital cables do have limitations that optical digital cables do not, making optical digital cables the premier choice for transferring digital audio signal from one component to another.

Optical digital cables do not use copper to transmit data, but pulses of light. Since there is no interference, the signal does not degrade over long distances and it does not weaken. With optical digital cables, you can get one of the best reproductions of digital signals available and while optical digital cables are more expensive (about 50% or more), for true audiophiles looking for the best reproduction of their audio signals, nothing beats optical digital cable technology. Optical digital cables do not use RCA style connectors; instead they use what are called Toslink (or EIA-J). The only disadvantage to using optical digital cables besides the price increase is that these cables don’t work optimally when bent. Unfortunately light can’t bend, so if you require a set up that has right angles or that snakes through a room, stick with the coaxial digital cables.

Choosing Between Coaxial and Optical
Many audio components allow both types of connectors, either coaxial or optical so you will need to choose the one best for you. It is important to note that for the most part, most listeners will not be able to tell the difference in sound. Both cables will provide premium sound and practically perfect transmission of digital signals. However, if you are a true audiophile and want the very best, stick to the optical cables. Usually optical cables are better in environments with lots of electrical interference. Optical cables are also great for long distance transmission. While 3 or 6 feet won’t make much difference, if you need speakers or components that travel 25 to 50 feet, optical digital cables are definitely the way to go.

If you want a great sounding system that is affordable, you can save with coaxial cables. Coaxial is usually at least 50% cheaper. Another reason to choose coaxial digital cables is if your installation requires you to bend the cable to fit certain areas. In this case, coaxial is possibly your only choice.

A note about HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) Ports
HDMI does provide a way to carry digital audio signals, however it is mostly used in conjunction with video, for instance with DVD’s, HDTV’s and high definition DVD players. While it is possible that HDMI ports are included in ultra high end audio components, the vast majority of audio components such as CD players do not include this option.