Real men would use AT&T glass (ST) optical, anyway. I use S/PDIF over coax since it's tough to find decent inexpensive players to use as transports that have anything better, like AES/EBU over XLR, I2S, or I2S enhanced (13W3 connector?), or whatever that format Ed Meitner is using. and in the inexpensive realm I, too, think coax sounds better than toslink. Plus you have all of the supposed audiophile predispositions [i]against[/i] toslink, so every newbie under the sun drops toslink since he is out right told it is better (where or not he can hear a difference).
For the most part, I agree with you. Some marketing exec decided that toslink just looks so much more 'advanced' and 'like more digital' since it shoots a red beam like a laser, so it is just marketed that way.
Though, as a benchmark, I would think any interface (in audiophile implementations) would have to be better than AT&T glass, else just use glass. but for the most part is seems that AES and coax are pretty much at that point. And some would argue that glass still may be 'blacker'but AES or coax would have the edge in musicality. Who knows. I'm just an armchair quarterback, err, audiophile. :-)
For the most part, I agree with you. Some marketing exec decided that toslink just looks so much more 'advanced' and 'like more digital' since it shoots a red beam like a laser, so it is just marketed that way.
Though, as a benchmark, I would think any interface (in audiophile implementations) would have to be better than AT&T glass, else just use glass. but for the most part is seems that AES and coax are pretty much at that point. And some would argue that glass still may be 'blacker'but AES or coax would have the edge in musicality. Who knows. I'm just an armchair quarterback, err, audiophile. :-)