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Suggestions for toslink cable?

I'm connecting my Sony cdp changer via toslink to an external Adcom dac. (Yes, I know that source arrangement is suspect and lacks audiophile class, but its the best I can do right now - I have a bar exam to pass and a law office to start up first - I'll get a 'proper' cdp when I have the $$.) The Sony only has a toslink digital out. Does anyone have any strong feelings on a proper cable? Seems there are quite a few of them out there ranging in price from $5 on ebay to over $100 in the stores. No sense in overkill, but I'd hate to ruin the addition of the external dac with a lousy cable. Thanks for your help.
webnick
reubent
6,973 posts
 
OK guys, I'm gonna let you in on a secret.

The Wireworld and the Sound Professionals cables are the ones that get all the press at AudioAsylum. There is a review of both as mentioned in a previous post.

However, there is a guy on e-Bay that sells the same cable as the sound proefessional one, but sells 1.5M for $29.95 instead of $59.95. According to the AA review, the cable is a steal at full retail. For $30, it might be just the ticket. Check it out.

Enjoy,

TIC
danvetc
527 posts
 
Hello,

I have used 3 different toslink cables between my DVD player and Bel Canto DAC, and I did not notice a difference...they all sounded fine. They ranged in price from $25 to $150. The Acoustic Research is the cheaper one, and I don't think you would go wrong with it.

Good luck,

Charlie
webnick OP
21 posts
 
Thanks, folks. Great advice.
sean
6,231 posts
 
I was surprised at how good a Toslink can sound after experimenting with a few. The two that i had the best luck with are the Glass Toslink's on Ebay or a DH Labs plastic model. Quite honestly, i don't know if i could hear any difference between the two as i did not have the two cables handy at the same time to make an actual comparison. I will say that the DH Labs was better than a few other plastic models that i had tried. It also sounded better than the Silver / Teflon coaxial cable that i was previously using on this set-up.

As a side note, i think that "cheap" ( read this as most inexpensive CDP's and the majority of DVD's ) MAY sound better using a Toslink as compared to a coaxial cable. Obviously, this will depend on the optical transmit and receive circuitry in the player itself and the DAC being used. My thoughts are that the reduction in jitter that one gains are more noticeable than the degradation that occurs from the extra conversion steps that are taking place. Those that are running a coaxial cable between their DVD and Pre/ Pro or their DVD / DAC might want to check out one of the above cables for themselves and see what works better in their specific systems. Sean
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webnick OP
21 posts
 
Thanks a lot everyone. I bought the ebay glass connector. Now if only that DAC would arrive . . . but that's another story for another thread.
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