SPDIF cable same as coaxial cable?

if you are running optical spdif the key, an absolute key, is to get a true glass fiber (not plastic) cable - with this, the sq gap is equalized to electrical spdif

there are some reasonably priced ones out there, just search

but know that alot of the ’audiophile’ toslink cables marketed out there as such are still plastic conductor...

Digital Coaxial is considered the better way to go, at least from all I’ve read. So that is what I use. However, to be honest, I’ve used toslink or photo optic cable prior and can’t say I notice an apreciable difference in sound quality. Same thing with the silver cables (silver plated) VS copper speaker cable debate.... they both sound good to me. I like my Qed silver anniversaries....however, when I can afford them, I will grab a pair of auditorium 23’s....

Does SPDIF just take the I2S format and just change into a single connection instead of 5 connections.

Does SPDIF just take the I2S format and just change into a single connection instead of 5 connections.

No, they are two different formats.  The main difference is that I2S contains both data and the clock (separate wires), while with S/Pdif you have to extract clock from the data stream (one wire).   Yes, you can have multiple devices on I2S bus, but the main reason for it in audio is to have better (less jittery) control of the clock.