For the purposes of this article we will discuss which one is better optical vs rca.
Optical cable vs hdmi for sound.
To clarify the official term for optical cables that are used solely for audio is toslink.
If the sound system is solely set up for audio and music either cable will perform the same function.
An optical digital connection uses the medium of light to transmit data through a cable s optical fibres which can be.
In fact some have claimed that digital optical cables relay slightly better sound than an hdmi cable.
The coaxial cable has better bandwidth than the optical cable and offers support for up to 192 khz.
If you watch movies frequently with a home theater system use the hdmi cable.
These types of cables work through using a pulsing wave of light to relay audio signals from a source to a receiving device.
Coaxial vs optical vs hdmi which is the best audio connection to use.
The vast majority of consoles and displays support hdmi.
A digital optical cable also referred to as an optical cable will produce a reliable and consistent sound.
Both hdmi and optical pass digital audio from one device to another.
Most tvs do support optical cables but it s not nearly as popular as hdmi.
As you can see from the chart above hdmi is the best type of audio cable format available compared to optical digital coaxial and rca cables.
Both are better than analog the red and white cables.
This is why between hdmi and optical the simplest advice is to go hdmi as much as possible.
Then there s the threat of damage if an optical cable is bent too tightly.
So what should be your preferred connection option.
Hdmi is superior to both but if you were to choose between only them for various reasons then keep on reading.
The basics of hdmi vs.
Rca and optical debate for speakers and sound systems.
The digital optical audio cable is one dimensional and only puts out the sound.
The optical port format also known as toslink or toslink is the format.
However the coaxial cables make the audio sound better than the optical digital cables to a greater extent.
Optical on the other hand can only transfer the audio from one device to another with no video support.
If you can t optical is decent enough for your audio or sound needs.
Although consistent and high quality it lacks the edge provided by the hdmi for video.
Both can pass multi channel audio like dolby digital.
When comparing hdmi vs.
Optical audio cables for sound quality hdmi is better than optical.
The optical cable on the other hand can only support up to 96 khz.
