Optical (Toslink) cables can come in plastic or glass. Sometimes you will see Quartz (glass) written on the box. I believe all of the Toslink cables at Radio Shack are plastic. Wireworld offers a very nice glass cable for about $135.00. I used this in my system for quite some time before I tripped over it and broke it.
I contacted The Cable Company for another one and I got a replacement (www.fatwyre.com) and they also loaned me an Audioquest Optilink which sell for close to $500.00. the difference is minimal but noticable. I now own them both.
Once you have your glass cable in place it is not wise to move it around too much as slight cracks in it will degrade the music. Also, if you can get a really bright light on black print you can see the outline of the words by holding one end of it against the typeface and looking through the other end.
I contacted The Cable Company for another one and I got a replacement (www.fatwyre.com) and they also loaned me an Audioquest Optilink which sell for close to $500.00. the difference is minimal but noticable. I now own them both.
Once you have your glass cable in place it is not wise to move it around too much as slight cracks in it will degrade the music. Also, if you can get a really bright light on black print you can see the outline of the words by holding one end of it against the typeface and looking through the other end.