Amazon Basics Digital Optical Audio Toslink Cable, 6 Feet, Black

Product Information

In addition to our overview above, people often have specific questions about optical audio cables and connections. Here are some of the common ones. Are TOSLINK, Optical Audio, and Digital Audio All The Same? If you already have this problem with your existing equipment, there are a couple of solutions that may work: Both optical and coaxial digital audio are called S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) connections and send the same quality audio. Some TVs will pass through Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and not DTS – or vice versa. Alternatively, others may downmix all external audio to stereo.

Although optical audio cables are available with a variety of different connectors and profiles, they primarily feature a TOSlink design. Often called TOSlink, Toshiba-link or just Digital Optical Cable, optical audio cables are the only audio cables that are optical. These types of audio cables are usually limited in length for reliable transmission, without the need for a signal booster or a repeater How fast are Optical Audio Cables? Cheap: thinner and more prone to breaking if you regularly reconnect them. Fine for short connections. The likely reason is that your TV doesn’t support passing through the 5.1 audio from the DVD player to its optical output – and it will only downmix the sound to stereo. Switch on the TV and amplifier. Ensure the TV’s output is enabled, and you select the correct input on the home theater system. HDMI can transmit all uncompressed stereo and surround sound audio and eliminates the need for a separate audio connection.

If you look carefully, you will see that this matches the shape of the port on your device. So be careful when inserting the cable into your device. Coaxial connections commonly support 24/192 resolution audio, so higher resolution audio formats may be one reason to choose coaxial over optical audio. You won’t get extra special audio by overspending on a cable. Just buy a good value, well-made brand – and note the emphasis on well-made. Some optical ports have a protective cap over the hole, which you must remove before you plug in the cable. You can see an example of this below: Optical output with a protective plastic cap

Surround Sound/Home Theatre - Many high-quality sound systems use a digital optical cable to connect a subwoofer to a receiver. This makes the sound quality getting through the subwoofer significantly higher than it would be comparing to only connection with speaker wire. Portable Devices - Many portable gadgets are equipped for transferring data to another segment through digital optical cable.

Types of Optical Audio Cable

Optical audio cable, also referred to as TOSlink, is a type of cable that is used to transfer data, usually audio or video, from one source to another. Optical audio cables utilise fibre optic to transfer signals via light rather than electrical signals by wire, as found with standard audio cables. At RS you will find a selection of high quality optical audio cables available in a wide range of lengths, colours and profiles to suit your needs. Types of Optical Audio Cable The consumer version of the TOSLINK standard has stayed stable for decades. A TOSLINK optical audio cable from the 1990s will work just like one you buy today. For example, you might have an optical output on your Blu-ray player but wish to send audio directly into your amplifier – which only has a coaxial digital audio input.