which cables to buy?

[Infiltrator]

I wanna hook up the new gateway 7500's speakers that I ordered (if they ever come ) and was wondering which rca cable to buy so I can hook it up with my standalone dvd player via the coaxial.

Should I go for the expensive stuff like THIS or just grab some $2 rca cable....is there really that much difference?

Cheers for any help

[Poddy]

There can be a difference, but only when you are using good enough gear so the cable is the limiting factor. Sadly with the gateway speakers the cable is not going to be the limiting factor just go the cheap cable.

[Steve]

its a digital signal, so the cheap cable will be just as good.

[Chronos]

Originally posted by Steve
its a digital signal, so the cheap cable will be just as good.

not always...

when it comes to home audio (im not too sure with the bostons because u get quite a bit of loss with ur soundcard) if u use crappy coaxial cable for SPDIF you get loss. i would recommend using a 75ohm OFC cable for digital streams otherwise you lose a bit of bass (dont ask why)

when i got a new thick OFC 75ohm cable for my DVD to reciver link, i noticed the diff straight away! theres no need to go over board, but a good coaxial cable helps

with optical it doesnt really matter cuz light is light

[Entrepreneur]

I'd go the expensive cables... they last ages and you never know

Plus what's 15 bucks anyway

[Daemon]

Originally posted by Chronos


not always...

when it comes to home audio (im not too sure with the bostons because u get quite a bit of loss with ur soundcard) if u use crappy coaxial cable for SPDIF you get loss. i would recommend using a 75ohm OFC cable for digital streams otherwise you lose a bit of bass (dont ask why)

when i got a new thick OFC 75ohm cable for my DVD to reciver link, i noticed the diff straight away! theres no need to go over board, but a good coaxial cable helps

with optical it doesnt really matter cuz light is light

Can someone explain to me how when a signal either gets there or doesn't that it can be affected by signal loss????

I'd have thought that with 1's and 0's that it wouldn't matter, as long as it got there. It's not as if you can have stronger 1's and 0's. I'd also like to know how a digitally encrypted signal can "lose bass"?????

[Chronos]

well thats what i thought as well, 1s and 0s.....but ive used diff kinds of cables with my home setup and there IS a difference. thats a fact!

if u dont belive me, go to any good home entertainment dealer and look at what kind of cable they use when hooking up SPDIF links between say a reciever and a dvd drive

also the BA7500Gs have only a 3.5 minijack connector on the back. no point getting a RCA cable then converting it on both ends

[Daemon]

I still fail to see how it can make a difference, unless it's some "placebo" branded cables.

I've tried quite a few cables, all sounded the same. The only problem I had with the cheaper ones is that they were prone to electrical interference (ie the sound cut out when the TV turned on).

HiFi stores would use dearer cables, as it's more profit for them when they are sold.

[blyall]

Originally posted by Daemon


Can someone explain to me how when a signal either gets there or doesn't that it can be affected by signal loss????

I'd have thought that with 1's and 0's that it wouldn't matter, as long as it got there. It's not as if you can have stronger 1's and 0's. I'd also like to know how a digitally encrypted signal can "lose bass"?????

I'm not sure... but this isn't the first time I've heard it. The guys we get all our stuff from have said that same thing in the past, and not just about co-axial... they mentioned they had a problem with an optical cable hook-up... not so good sound... like it was lacking... switched it and straight away they could notice an improvement.

Not sure if the encoded bit stream has any error detection/correction, so that could be the problem.

Ben.

[Daemon]

AFAIK PCM, DD and DTS have no error correction, and it's all a one way signal. When this signal is cut, the sound cuts out for a moment until the flag is sent again, and the amp decodes the signal again.

[Xizor]

Yep, i agree with Daemon. I suppose there could possibly be a difference depending on the interface/connector type, it's quality etc. But again...this is a digital signal, not analogue. It isn't prone to the same weaknesses.
My computer is connected to my Amp, one coaxial cable. All audio sent is via a Digital Signal. Now i noticed an immediate huge difference between that and when i was using an analogue connection to my amp. It was very clear exactly what was happening to the signal along the way. Now i can stick 40mini jacks on the arse of my SBLive and the signal will still sound the same, because the data telling the amp how to reproduce the audio is still being received. Everything is either in contact and being transmitted, or if it's not...no audio. Unless there is some unique type of interfearence which can disturb the datastream being sent along the way and actually damage it....then i really don't see what else could be possible.

[blyall]

Originally posted by Xizor
Yep, i agree with Daemon. I suppose there could possibly be a difference depending on the interface/connector type, it's quality etc. But again...this is a digital signal, not analogue. It isn't prone to the same weaknesses.
My computer is connected to my Amp, one coaxial cable. All audio sent is via a Digital Signal. Now i noticed an immediate huge difference between that and when i was using an analogue connection to my amp. It was very clear exactly what was happening to the signal along the way. Now i can stick 40mini jacks on the arse of my SBLive and the signal will still sound the same, because the data telling the amp how to reproduce the audio is still being received. Everything is either in contact and being transmitted, or if it's not...no audio. Unless there is some unique type of interfearence which can disturb the datastream being sent along the way and actually damage it....then i really don't see what else could be possible.

Sure... what you've said makes sense...

Daemon says that the signal has no error correction... not disputing that, but if it also has no error DETECTION then bit errors can be introduced, making the sound quality deterioriate, because we are no longer decoding the source, but something slightly different from it.

Perhaps this is where the difference occurs.

BTW... this is all speculation, but I've been assured by people I know and trust that they've encountered sound degradation when using cheaper cables and a digital connection.

Ben.

[Xizor]

Yes....alot of sense. Bit like other posts.

[Daemon]

Originally posted by blyall


Daemon says that the signal has no error correction... not disputing that, but if it also has no error DETECTION then bit errors can be introduced, making the sound quality deterioriate, because we are no longer decoding the source, but something slightly different from it.

PCM would should be a bit more forgiving with errors, as it's just raw audio. The thing is, errors on CD's (which are digital) come out as "blips", not as "less bass" etc.

DD and DTS are an encoded stream, and they drop out if there is an error, only to start again once the signal flag is sent.

I'm not saying I'm correct or anything, but what ppl are telling me sorta defies common logic, hence I'm trying to find out the truth.

Surely there's an audiophile lurking here to explain the truth?

[blyall]

Originally posted by Daemon


PCM would should be a bit more forgiving with errors, as it's just raw audio. The thing is, errors on CD's (which are digital) come out as "blips", not as "less bass" etc.

True enough, but this is a different situation, since CD's do have error correction information.

I don't know enough about DD and DTS... and from my experience the decoder does just stop, only to pick up again when things are back to normal. This has happened when a DVD has been scratched etc... so you're almost certainly right on that point I'd imagine.

From what I've heard I'm not sure if the difference was as quantifiable as "less bass"... it was just an overall impression from the guy doing the install, and when he swapped the cable it made a noticable difference.

Apparently they also did a check and turned the lights off in the room with the optical disconnected from the receiver and you could see more light leaving the end of the cable than with the cheaper cable.

*shrug*... it's all stuff I've been told, I don't have any empirical evidence of my own.

Ben.