Labarum;358878 Wrote: > Please explain more. > > If I connected by coax that would free an optical input - ideally I > need one for the Virgin Box and one for the Shuttle PC that hides > behind the telly.
Well, In general many folks prefer coax over optical. In my experience this is highly system dependent. Optical has the advantage of providing complete galvanic isolation between connected components so they are electrically isolated. In some systems this is a big win. However, the SB is not connected to mains earth so there is no difference in this respect between using optical vs. coax....but, The quality of the optical interface is governed by the whole chain. It's all very well using a high-quality toslink cable but if the interfaces you are plugging that cable into have "issues" the whole thing is compromised. Ultimately, Toslink is just an LED going on/off very quickly and some plastic or glass in between! In my view, where galvanic isolation is already present, a coax connection has the potential to provide a higher quality solution. There are many other issues of course: 1) NO RCA/phono based is truly 75 ohm impedance so there will be some signal reflection at the plug/socket interface. 2) Reflections MIGHT play a part and they are a function of the frequencies involved, the nature of the cable/plug termination and the length of the transmission line. Now, experts will leap in and disagree with me here, but again in my recent tests I have found myself preferring a 1.5m coax to a 0.5 or 1m one (couldn't hear any difference between the 0.5m and the 1m). As mentioned by others, the Beresford is an interesting product because of its flexibility. However, there are many (more expensive) DAC's that will sound "better". But, before you go there (or to a Transporter, which I also fully expect to be better than the SB+Beresford, but I haven't heard either) you should try and hear your present equipment in its best light and I think that the digital cabling is a cheap area to try and improve. The other area is mains conditioning which is a whole different thread... Also - for free - make sure the drive units in your 20-year old speakers are still tight - check the nuts/screws that moun the drive units to the cabinets. I had some Tannoys that needed tightening every 6 months... -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal...SB3+Stontronics PSU - Altmann JISCO/UPCI - TACT 2.2X (Linear PSU) + Good Vibrations S/W - MF Triplethreat(Audiocom full mods)- Linn 5103 - Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Kimber & Chord cables Outdoors: Boombox+Creative Sub (If I remember to turn it on...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=54947 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
