As I have been browsing the internet over the last 2 -3 weeks in preparation for my purchase of the Outlaw gear I just ordered, I came across some forums and articles where it was said that the Digital Coaxial cable was better than the Optical (TosLink).

They are both digital except with one being an electrical connection and the other an optical one. I don’t see why one would have any difference over the other unless they are using a different type of digital protocol for transmission.

In the networking world optical is the best, especially over distance, because you don’t have to worry about interference on an optical signal.

Is this true and if so can it be explained to me why?

I am putting some plans together on how I will be hooking up my 950 and I have used optical in the past because I never could tell the difference between coaxial and optical.

Thanks…

my understanding is that the coax digital is preferred over optical but is also virtually immune to interference,i use both and get very good signal transfer but can't do a comparison because none of my sources have both outputs,i'd like to do some research on this when time allows,now i'm gearing up for the race

GO GORDON!!

i guess the "theory" is that optical requires changing from electrical to light and then back to electrical, whereas coaxial stays the same...

i use both, mainly because my old digital cable box only had digital coaxial. my new cable box has both connections (dvd player too for that matter) and i have checked them both vs each other and they are the same.

a drawback to optical is that the connectors sometimes dont fit snugly into the component.

i have read the crap about the differences as well, but for home theater use it makes no difference. if you were planning on running your digital signal from the attic to the basement, then id use optical though...

They are the same quality as far as home audio is concerned.

That is what I thought from some testing I have done... I could not tell the difference in sound between optical and coaxial...