Digital Coaxial or Rca Cable

[denny]

just purchased new jvc reveiver used regular rca jack instead of buying digital coxial cable dolby digital & dts signals come in sounds ok to me would i get a better sound from digital cable?

[jerohm]

quote:

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Originally posted by denny:

... sounds ok to me would i get a better sound from digital cable?

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many mass market cable manufacturers use 75ohm stock for all their audio, video, and digital cables. Unless you are cursed with 'golden ears', don't expect to hear much (READ: ANY) difference. Construction and durability generally increase with price, but in digital applications, YOU WILL KNOW when there is something wrong. If it sounds okay to you now, just stick with it.

[zandern]

I don't think you can get DTS with out using a digital out. I think your listening to stereo sound or 5.1 stereo sound(what ever you have) and not the DTS. Is there a DTS indicator light, if its not on when its playing its not working.

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I like my bass like I like my women, deep and tight.

[boa12]

right zan. you can't get 5.1 digital sound without either a digital connection or hooking up the 6 analog outs of the player to 6 direct inputs (&assuming your player has DD & dts decoders). & using the latter you can't take advantage of the receivers dsp processing & dacs if thay're superior. usually easier just using a digital connection but which sounds better is up to the

above in each device.

sounds like you don't have or aren't using the 6 direct

inputs on the receiver denny. do whichever is best, but you can't get 5.1 using only the stereo analog inputs if that's what you're doing.

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[jerohm]

quote:

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Originally posted by zandern:

I don't think you can get DTS with out using a digital out

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I 'read' his question that he used a standard audio interconnect in place of a cable specifically sold for digital use. Of course you are correct that the only way you are going to hear AC3/DTS is with a digital signal or multiple (5, 6, 7) analog ones

[Ray Garrison]

I read his question the same way jerohm did.

Denny, just to be sure we're answering the right question, I think you said that you just got this new receiver, and instead of buying a pricey cable sold as a "digital interconnect" to connect the digital output of your source (CD / DVD / Satellite) to the digital input of your receiver, you're using a "regular old patch cord" to connect the digital inputs and outputs. Your question was would you get "better sound" by buying a cable specifically designed (er, marketed?) as a "digital cable" rather than the, uh, non-digital ( ) cable you're using now.

If that's the question, my answer is that while there *MIGHT* be some perceptable differences if you switched to a different cable, due to better impedence matching reducing jitter induced at the interface or some such thing, any differences are probably going to be very, very minor. At least, most folks find them so. I certainly would NOT spend money for a "digital cable" unless it came with a 30 day money back guarentee. Most online vendors provide a "buy it and try it, if you don't like it send it back" policy where you only pay for shipping. Given it can't cost a heck of a lot to ship an interconnect cable, don't see how you could lose.

Ray

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Music is art

Audio is engineering

Ray's Music System

[boa12]

depends what denny means by "regular rca jack". i just

answered to cover all the bases in conjuction with jerohms's answer. sorry if i stepped on your toes jerohm.

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[denny]

Thanks for the replies. to clarify the question on the back of the receiver i can use a digital coaxial cable or digital optical cable i used aregular rca patch cord instead of buying the pricer coaxial cable the dts signal light comes on when playing a dts recorded disk on some receivers you may not be able to interchange but on the jvc it sounds ok to me so why would the instruction book say it has to be digital coaxial cable?

[dougdrake]

Denny - I would say JVC is just covering themselves, in case the patch cord that someone happened to use was of such poor quality that it couldn't properly transmit the signals.

I'm using good quality video cables for my digital interconnects with no problems that I can hear. And by good quality, I'm only talking about Radio Shack Gold or Acoustic Research ($10-$15 cables).

Doug

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[boa12]

yea like doug says. the makers use the term "coax" as a catch-all term to differentiate from optical as far as digital connections go. i doubt they're really concerned at all on which specific rca interconnect is used. they pretty much leave that up to us and/or our cables advisors (unless they have some financial interest beyond the rca jack(s)). jmo

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[zandern]

Opps. Sorry I guess I misinterpreted your question. I would use any radio shack or acoustic research cable and not bother buying the expensive digital coaxial cable. One with gold ends will work fine. Sorry for any confusion.

[boa12]

yea i was gonna add that my min requirements for any "coax" rca interconnect are good quality & construction, at least double-shielded & a solid core conductor. just me & i'll leave it at that.

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[InventiveAudio.com]

A good digital coaxial cable is around 15.00. You can spend more but I doubt if you could hear the difference. For 20.00 why not buy a better cable with more shielding.