wwp8

OPTICAL OR COAXIAL??

which gives the best quality?



now another question,

my TV only has 2 rca (phono)output or headphone port

my HT set (z260) has digital optical, mic, digital coaxial and scart input (for audio)

is there anyway i can get 5.1 surround using those ports?

i looked into RCA to mic kenable - for cables, networking and peripherals

or rca to scart SCART to Phono IN Adaptor > Maplin
High-Performance Twin Phono Interconnect > Maplin


or headphones to toslink (optical)
TOS (TOSLink) to Optical Mini Jack Plug (MiniDisc) Digital Audio [ 189602 ] - kenable - for cables, networking and peripherals

is there any other options?

i heard i can only get stereo and not 5.1

except the last item
TOS (TOSLink) to Optical Mini Jack Plug (MiniDisc) Digital Audio [ 189602 ] - kenable - for cables, networking and peripherals

but not too convinced,

GC8

As it is a digital signal (a set of zeros and ones essentially, converted to analogue sound by a digital to analogue convertor) they will both be equally good. If the digital signal gets though then the DAC oputputs the correct sounds and the cable quality cant improve this.

corradoboy

Theoretically identical, however optical converts the electrical digital PCM signal to light, then back to electrical and so is more open to interference and corruption than coaxial in my opinion.

what would scooby do

^^ I agree, that's what I was told a while back

..and yes re the previous poster as long as the 1's and 0's get to the end device without corruption then any old cable will do..

wwp8

the main reason i'm doing this is for the wii,
it is connected via component to tv,


so how would you connect it?

corradoboy

Component is an analogue connection.

wwp8

thats ok

picture is fine, and sound is coming out of TV
is there a way to get 5.1 from TV to the z260

rca/phono can only output stereo so its not too good,
what about headphone port from tv to either..mic, optical or coaxial of the z260?

stara

you'll never get 5.1 with a pr of phono leads as it is a stereo analogue signal. the only way to get 5.1 is either optical, coaxial, or hdmi. also the Wii cannot output 5.1 anyway, only 2.1 (which is via stereo phono). as has been said there is no differece between optical or coaxial, the digital signal is there or it is not, theres never enough degradation to cause audible interference, and even it it were, you would have 'gaps' in the sound. no hissing etc like analogue signals.

corradoboy

The only way to get multi-channel audio is either pre-separated in 6 individual analogue phono leads, or a suitable digital output (coax/opti/hdmi). If your TV has none of these, nor the necessary onboard processors for surroundsound, then you'll only ever get stereo out of it. Your AV processor may have a try at matrixing a reasonable surround effect from 2ch stereo (ProLogic IIx, DTS Neo6 etc) but it isn't a proper multi-channel signal.

wwp8

awwwwwwww

why did nintendo do this to the wii?

stara

cost

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

EITHER optical OR coaxial could provide marginally better sound, depending on your system.

Both will transfer 100% of the 0's and 1's from one component to the other with no errors - however, the exact timing information, which is used to drive the DAC at the receiver, may be better determined by one or the other. There is NO definitive answer as it depends entirely on the design of the particular components you're using.

Unless you have a very high quality system then you won't hear any difference.

If anyone really wants to know why they might be different, see the explanation I gave on an audiophile forum here.

Also note that the hi-fi fraternity doesn't seem to react well to actual science for some reason - there is a LOT of b.s. around, and many people who don't understand the science behind how a communications link actually works nevertheless think they do and write as though they do. See above for examples.