I have noticed there is an optical cable output (TOSlink?) on the back of my Sony CDP-CX350 and a matching input on the back of my Sony TA-F450ESD amp. I assume there is a DAC in the amp that I could optionally use for the CD player. I don't know if is will be an improvement or not but would like to have a listen to see for myself. As long as the plugs on the cable fit the sockets on the units are they all pretty much the same? Prices for a one metre length vary from about 5€ to 30€.
I guess since nobody has commented the use of a digital optical cable is pretty much unknown in the general community. I have ordered one and will report back when I have had a chance to try it.
Yes, what you propose there is not uncomon and should work fine. I'd be surprised if you heard any difference at all but if you do it's more likely because you are bypassing some analog equipment in both the player and the reciever, don't assume it's just because a different DAC is in use.
Thankyou for your comments. If that is the case I'm struggling to work out why they go to the expense of providing both analogue and digital outputs on the CD players. Maybe it's just another case of adding bells and whistles to jack up the price.
The idea was to be able to bypass the DAC in both if needed, keep the signal digital until needed.
There are problems with dust, and other sheer foolishness.
Try it, and tell us what happened.
The price varies due to country of origin, fiber optic bundle quality and termination quality.
The cheapest are plastic, then doctor grade glass, used to light up surgery areas.
Top quality cable in an outdoor / underground grade sheath is the most expensive.
There are problems with dust, and other sheer foolishness.
Try it, and tell us what happened.
The price varies due to country of origin, fiber optic bundle quality and termination quality.
The cheapest are plastic, then doctor grade glass, used to light up surgery areas.
Top quality cable in an outdoor / underground grade sheath is the most expensive.
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This idea was once to create a possibility (and a market!) for external DACs that were supposed to be better. DAC technology was developed fast then. Whilst this may be true, the Toslink interface is the worst of all commonly known classic interfaces and it suffers from absurdly high jitter in many cases. Only relatively recent devices have been developed that use technology to counterattack the often hundreds of picoseconds of jitter Toslink introduces. This is far from standard in the "normal" price range and not available in older devices.
The chips inside the CD player are connected with various short connections and talk a special language. To be able to talk to the outside world SPDIF via coax/Toslink was developed with all signals multiplexed. This conversion introduces also less perfection. At the receiving end this stream must be demultiplexed. That is 2 conversions and you will know what that means. That the classic receiver chips also suffered from jitter adds up. Of course there were solutions for that then but these were not commonly used.
So your amplifier with possibly (check yourself) better DAC may perform worse when choosing the Toslink interface. SPDIF coax often (but not always) is the winner. Then the benefit of a better external DAC may be clear. IF the external DAC really is better.....
A seasoned audiophile often remarks the same after serious comparing. So, the 1 box approach is generally the best approach with classic CD players unless one spends a lot of money on a current technology external DAC or .... replace the internal DAC for a new DAC board which is something for the experienced DIYers. But why? Then a streamer device with femto clocks, internal storage and a very good internal DAC may be more complete, better sounding, smaller and cheaper.
Of course you should try it out as your setup may be the odd exception.
The chips inside the CD player are connected with various short connections and talk a special language. To be able to talk to the outside world SPDIF via coax/Toslink was developed with all signals multiplexed. This conversion introduces also less perfection. At the receiving end this stream must be demultiplexed. That is 2 conversions and you will know what that means. That the classic receiver chips also suffered from jitter adds up. Of course there were solutions for that then but these were not commonly used.
So your amplifier with possibly (check yourself) better DAC may perform worse when choosing the Toslink interface. SPDIF coax often (but not always) is the winner. Then the benefit of a better external DAC may be clear. IF the external DAC really is better.....
A seasoned audiophile often remarks the same after serious comparing. So, the 1 box approach is generally the best approach with classic CD players unless one spends a lot of money on a current technology external DAC or .... replace the internal DAC for a new DAC board which is something for the experienced DIYers. But why? Then a streamer device with femto clocks, internal storage and a very good internal DAC may be more complete, better sounding, smaller and cheaper.
Of course you should try it out as your setup may be the odd exception.
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There are two issues, the first is common to all external DAC:
The data stream is carried over a single channel. At the receiving end there is a clock recovery circuit that separates data from clock. This circuit is usually built around a PLL. The name suggests there is phase manipulation, and phase variation is the dreaded jitter.
The issue with the optical interface is that there is double electrical-to-optical and vice versa conversion. The fast signal transients are smeared during conversion, which in turn again increases jitter. This plastic core optical cable is not the same high speed glass fibre version used in data centers.
The data stream is carried over a single channel. At the receiving end there is a clock recovery circuit that separates data from clock. This circuit is usually built around a PLL. The name suggests there is phase manipulation, and phase variation is the dreaded jitter.
The issue with the optical interface is that there is double electrical-to-optical and vice versa conversion. The fast signal transients are smeared during conversion, which in turn again increases jitter. This plastic core optical cable is not the same high speed glass fibre version used in data centers.