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Is "Digital Out" the same as "Coax?

Can i use an rca cable for coax digital?

  • i wanna hook up my cd player via coax digital. im wondering if i could use a white or red or video rca cable to hook up the digital coax.

  • Answer:

    The simple answer is: give it a try, it can't hurt anything. If you notice any problems with the quality of the sound, then change it, but since you probably already have the RCA cable it cost you the length of 1 movie to find out, plus the minute it takes to run the wire. That being said, there are a few things to consider; A) Cable length - The longer the cable is the more difference you'll notice. B) The equipment you're using - If you're using cheap speakers that cost $100 or less for a whole surround set you probably won't notice the difference. C) Who's listening - Working as a sound engineer in theatre & recording studio, I'll notice things that you won't, then you have my sister who can't tell the difference between the speakers built into her computer monitor & external specialty speakers. D) Coaxial cable uses solid wire & better insulation - The biggest difference is that the non-coax is made of lots of strands of fine copper wire, whereas coax uses solid copper wire, this carries the signal better. Coax is the type of cable that you use to hook up your cable/satellite and was used to network older computers, these just have RCA ends instead of an F-Type (screw-on ones) that you're used to. That being said, I have used standard RCA cabling before without problems, but I'd recommend finding the thickest one you have, it'll probably be either a yellow one for composite, or one from a RGB line, (a good use for an old RGB that one of the lines has gone bad). I found a site that give you a simple, easy, way to make a cheap digital coax that'll work well, (But if you try the speaker cable also on the page, be aware, they say to run 2 cat5 lines, one for each channel, you want to do 2 lines but one side of each twisted pair on each terminal (all solids from both runs together on one & all stripes from both on the other) http://www.avtruths.com/budgetcables.html Hope that helps

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Other answers

Yes, you can. If the SPDIF output in your Cd player uses the RCA type output, then almost any RCA cable will do.

Sidalicus

Yes, It will work... but the point of coax audio cable is that it has the appropriate sheilding. Regular rca cable is designed to carry an analogue signal only. In digital signal transfer, there is more information and this information is different from analogue... and require a sheilded cable + some different materials to transfer the digital signal properly. Will you hear a quality difference?? - maybe, maybe not - depending how long the cable is and how much emi there is around the cable. Hope this helps!

R

You should use the Yellow/Video cable. The SPDIF connection calls for a 75 ohm coaxial cable - all video cables are 75 ohms. Your red/white cables MIGHT also be made with 75 ohms coax - but you cannot tell by looking at them. It wont hurt to try but using the wrong impedance cable can cause the sound to cut-out every so often.

Grumpy Mac

Hello Yes you can use any coaxial cable as a digital cable but there is a difference in the quality of the cables you use. Digital signals really need a high bandwidth cable to get the best performance, so if your looking for a inexpensive option use a coaxial video cable as these are generally designed to handle higher bandwith video signals. Don't let anyone tell you there is'nt a difference in digital cables there is its just weather your system is of good enough quality to show you the differences. There are definitely inexpensive dedicated digital cables and generally they are designed for digital sources. Kevin 35 years hi-end audio video specialist

Kevin L

An RCA cable is not a coax cable, so I don't think it would even fit. If it does fit, it's probably OK to try it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't work - coax cables are shielded better than regular RCA cables, so there might be too much interference or signal loss for the digital signal to come through.

Pearls Before Swine

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