06-25-11: Monterey
so the cd player connects to the DAC via a toslink and then the dac to the preamp(yamaha) via RCA?
Monterey (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
Yes, that's correct. Some also have a coaxial digital output that looks like a regular RCA line level cables(just one for stereo). If both have the RCA coaxial,plus Toslink, some like this(coax) as the preferred hookup, a lot of the time. The Toslink may be better for around TV's and other electronics that can cause electrical interference. This interference might cause something like harshness, or some other problem sound wise that you may not know, without doing an A/B between the two types of digital connection that are used. Also the quality of the DAC. A typical DAC that has been around for years, may just do CD's, and possibly two channel if your cable/satellite box if it has the proper output and settings. A DVD may not work through some of them(most likely in two channel) . A CD has only a 44.1 khz output. But some DAC's are capable of decoding more sources, that run at higher frequencies. I'm not up to date enough to give info for that. Google what you can, and ask here, and someone more up to date might be able to answer those questions. Also, if you use a coax digital cable(looks like regular RCA hookups), there are preferred lengths that work better. Someone else would give a better answer. I think mine is 1.5 meters, but can be wrong. The RCA type is made for digital, and using a regular RCA interconnect(for coax) like your using now, may not work right. I'll leave that for others. Wiki link for basic, and others might have better links. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to-analog_converter]