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Toslink Survey / Please Participate

Digital interconnection, IMHO, has always held many myths.

When I first began delving into outboard D/As, jitterbugs, and transport combinations, very few component manufacturers (for some stupid reason) were actually providing coax RCAs (75ohm SPDIF). Interconnection, in many cases, was acheived through the use of Toslink.

Now most of here already know that I am quite an extreme advocator of balanced interconnection including, digital signal. I personally use AES/EBU on XLRs for my 2 channel system.

Out of necessity, I have had to hook up my home theater DVD player to HT receiver using the Toslink (Denon DVD 5000/Denon 3300). And after listening for an extended period of time, I have to ask, (because I obviously must be forgetting),....... Why was Toslink so bad? Why do many people say it sounds like crap?

The system sounds fine. Very natural and "undigital". I won't mention the Toslink cable manufacturer, but it is glass, and the cable costs $39.95. No "Break-in". No "cryo" no crap, just hook it up and go.

When you think about it, many issues associated with interconnection are negated. Balanced????? No Need. RFI, EMI ????? Trivial. Impedance mismatch????? None. Adverse environmental conditions????? Irrelevant. Overall, a very easy, inexpensive, and sonically acceptable interconnection. I don't know about 2 channel usage, but if this any indication, I'm sure it would yield acceptable results?

Can anyone comment? Is anyone still using it for 2 channel? Even if just out of necessity, or otherwise. Does anyone find Toslink unacceptable?

128x128buscis2
prpixel
826 posts
 
Buscis2,

No wonder you can't here a difference, the cable box is not a great source. Even the digital music channels are only good for background music. Big time Compression.

I do agree that the DVD5000 has wonderful dacs. I owned one for 26 months. It died 4 times in that time period. Three times they replaced the entire transport and logic boards under warranty. When it died for the 4th time, and wasn't under warranty, it went away. However, I got one of the first units off the assembly line, so....

Later,
upgrade1394
49 posts
 
Hi all: there was an earlier thread on this (maybe 1-2 years ago) and I am strongly in favor of TOSLINK. Most negatives are from reviewers, commenting on the "loose connection" that I sometimes wonder if these guys use the toslink cable to suspend/move the components! In my system (Krell HTS2, Sony SCD1, SAT200 HDTV receiver among others) I prefer to use toslink (AQ or Monster Cable) if possible. Unfortunately most so called "high-end" manufactrures tend to be miserly with the toslink I/O (on one hand they talk about how cheap this connector is and then they do not offer enough!) and I may occasionally have to resort to a coax digital connection but never spend more than $40-50 for the cable. My 2cents worth.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I tried a glass toslink against a cheap homemade 75 Ohm coax (RCA terminated) and preferred the coax. The Toslink didn't sound nearly as good. That said perhaps my cheap transport (Marantz CD67SE) is to blame ?
buscis2's avatar
buscis2 OP
468 posts
 
Prpixel. I agree. That's why I had mentioned a compression issue somewhere. Although some years back I was using (for my 2 channel system) A Sony CDP-555ES as a transport into all kinds of crazy digital processing. This Sony was a flagship CD player in the same league as the Denon. Separate power supplies, chassis dampening, 35 pounds, composite feet, I mean, it was a brute. BUT, Toslink out ONLY! Go figure. Ultimately, for it's time, it was considered reference quality and it sounded great, again, for it's time. But no RCA.

I think you might be surprised at how great this combination actually sounds. I would have to assume that using the Toslink out of the Denon DVD into the HT receiver might be a more accurate indication of it's sonic potential? I'll let you know.

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with the Denon. I know of several of us using them without issue. Obviously, your unit was built on Friday, 10 minutes before closing the plant for the weekend. :>(
prpixel
826 posts
 
Buscis2,

Either the Denon was built on Friday or at 9:02 AM on a Monday. I also purchased a DVD9000 that died within about a week of purchase. I took it back to the dealer and demanded my money back. I also had problems with a DVD2800, DVD2800MII and a DVD2900. I think maybe I'm cursed when it comes to Denon DVD players. However, I've owned quite a few Denon CD players and they were all realiable (1500MII, 1520, 1560, 3500, 3520, 3560).

I'm using a Kimber or Cardas (can't remember off the top of my head - getting old) toslink between my Motorola HD cable box and my Anthem AVM20. The problem I have is that every once in awhile it just falls out of the back of the unit. I tried a cheapo glass cable with the same problems. It could be that the poor connectors on Toslink is contributing to higher levels of jitter. Manufacturers tend to favor Toslink over coax and analog outputs because it's cheap and easy. It's a lot easier to explain to Joe Public how to hook up one cable than multiple cables.
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