Jason Northrup

Do I really have to pay about $40 for a 4-foot Coaxial Digital audio cable? I'm going to be getting two of these and would like to minimize as much cost as possible without losing very much quality. They'll be used for DD/DTS on a Kenwood HTB-503 system.

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ruedog311

i just bought one, but i used amazon gift certificates and got it for free

electronix_kid

How is the kenwood set? I've been looking at the Reciever of that set (Vr407)... is it working okay? no problems? I heard you can use regular RCA cables if ya want, but not sure about the quality...
I asked a similar question in an earlier post: http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/003831.html

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Toshiba SD-2109, Luxman Amp. NEC Pro-Logic Processor... I want 5.1!!!
HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN A 14 YR. OLDS' BODY!!!!!!

[This message has been edited by electronix_kid (edited July 02, 2000).]

El Kabong

Of course you COULD use rca cables, but you're only going to get stereo so what's the point? (unless you're using 3 sets of rca from a player that has the 6 seperate outs- but the cost of 3 quality rca cords would probably be more than $40) If you want 5.1 you're going to have to use coaxial or fiberoptic. $40 seems about right. I'm using fiberoptic from my dvd player & HDTV and I think they each cost about $60. Wait till you get Colorstream component video cables. I got the top-of-the-line Monster component cable & it was $200 for a 6 foot cable (I **** you not). Just my Monster Home Theater reference power supply cost $160 & all it is is a glorified power strip (although it filters out any interference & surges). Once you start to build a serious home theater you'll find some accesories cost more than a cheap dvd player, but when the HDTV costs $7000 it doesn't make sense to get any inferior cables. And I would highly recommend getting component video as soon as you have a tv that has them. The progressive Colorstream gives you a MUCH better picture on an HDTV (especially for non-anamorphic). After you hear the sound difference (I'm guessing you didn't have 5.1 before) $80 won't seem like that much to pay.

AW

You can use any composite video cable (i.e., the cable with the yellow RCA plugs) instead of a digital coax cable and probably you will be happy.

JM

Although I just posted a similar answer in a previous thread, here goes...

Coaxial digital cables are really just regular RCA composite cables. Get one that is of video quality (75 ohm) and well-shielded. Also, an optical cable is no better than a quality coaxial cable. Unless you have a special need for one, you are wasting your money. Also, I have read that coaxial is actually preferable to optical cables because optical cables are not very durable and sharp bends etc. can disrupt the bitstream. Remember folks, either way we are talking a digital signal (1's and 0's), so as long as none of the bits are dropped (not likely with good cables of either type unless they go over long distances) the sound will be the SAME. Monster-brand cables can't make 1's and 0's sound any better than quality Radio Shack ones.

HN

how 'bout somewhere in-between all this? I bought a 6-foot Acoustic Research coaxial digital audio cable for a the low low middle price of $20.00 at Sears. How's that?

--HN

Patman

Jason, I wouldn't spend over $6-$10 for a "digital" audio coaxial cable. Just go to Radio Shack and get a 75ohm, shielded, coax (composite video) cable with gold RCA connectors on them, especially if you're only going to be using it with a Kenwood all-in-one setup. This crap about it being "digital" is marketing hype, and once you realize it's only passing low voltage levels that get translated to either a 1 or a 0 by the DD/dts decoder, it doesn't make sense to spend over $10 for the cable, use the $30 you saved on some DVDs instead!

$60 for a cable is for those people who have high end gear, and want the "peace of mind" that they don't have a weak link in their setup, but it's been proven that you can use a coat hanger or two with RCA connectors and the thing still works for passing the digital audio bitstream quite competently with no dropouts.


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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs


[This message has been edited by Patman (edited July 03, 2000).]

4KRG

Jason

Follow Patmans advice - I couldn't have said it better myself!!

BEC

Another vote for Patman's advice: IMO, the money would be better spent elsewhere. A high end digital cable will probably be the very last link to worry about in a sound system.

Some rough figures for the effects of various elements in a sound system at a reference SPL level of ~75 dB:

IF you had an optimized room and speaker placement (10-15 dB effect), IF you had performance speakers (< +/- 3 dB), If you had a performance receiver (+/- 1 dB), IF you had good quality speaker cables (.1 - 1 dB), THEN you might want to think about upgrading the digital cable (

electronix_kid

quote:<HR>Originally posted by El Kabong:
Of course you COULD use rca cables, but you're only going to get stereo so what's the point? (unless you're using 3 sets of rca from a player that has the 6 seperate outs- but the cost of 3 quality rca cords would probably be more than $40.)<HR>

I think you got a little mis-understanding. We mean that you use RCA cables instead of Coaxial Digital Cables that go into the Coaxial in/out of the DVD/Reciver, not use RCA cables for the red/white/yellow plugs.

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Toshiba SD-2109, Luxman Amp. NEC Pro-Logic Processor... I want 5.1!!!
HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN A 14 YR. OLDS' BODY!!!!!!