2. digital
  3. 135137-1464

max length of toslink or coaxial digital cable without signal degradation?

I hope this is a fairly straight-forward question and doesn't involve too much subjective opinion.

I have an Oppo 203 in my video stack, quite separate from my audio stack.  If I were to use the Oppo as a transport for a (hypothetical) DAC (sitting in the audio rack), I'd need perhaps an 8' cable to connect them.

Would that distance lead to signal degradation?  Is one transmission mode superior to the other for these kinds of lengths?

128x128twoleftears
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears OP
5,318 posts
 

OK, so three posters and four answers.  Isn't the internet great!

-optical

-HDMI

-XLR

-coax

Back of the Oppo unit.  I don't see XLR.
https://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-203/blu-ray-udp-203-Images.aspx

As for HDMI, Google tells me inputs are rare on stand-alone DAC's.  Essence and NAD M51.  What else?

Any other votes for optical vs. coax, assuming modern, highly-engineered, jitter-rejecting DAC?


loomisjohnson
1,943 posts
 
opinions vary, but the majority view is that optical is better over long distances--less prone to emi/rf interference. if you think about it, carriers use fiber optic to connect between cities and countries.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
Its true that optical fiber is better for long distance signal transmission but that requires the use of high quality glass fiber - as opposed to plastic, which means a more expensive cable. Also watch for the bending radius.   
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

Just get one of these in the length you need.  Better than glass.

https://btpa.com/TOSLINK-XXX.html

If you are really worried about degradation, put a reclocker like the Synchro-Mesh in-line.  Then its a don't care.  The reclocker will also provide galvanic isolation as well as upsampling to 24/96.

Always use at least 1.25m length for coax:


Steve N.

Empirical Audio

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