Ian Molton wrote:

On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 22:27:59 +0100
"Arild Ingebrigtsen" wrote:

I am about to invest in a high-end Toslink optical cable, and I have
narrowed the field down to these cables: Supra X-ZAC, van den Hul
Optocoupler Mk. II or Transparent High Performance TosLink.
Does anyone have a view on which cable is the better one of these?

Neither. They are both junk.

but did you know that long TOSLINK cabling can 'stretch' the digital bits?
this stretching has a terrible effect on sound quality. You should try to
stick to a shorter length, using an opto-dynamically compensated cabling
run.

It just so happens that I have a three meter run of such a cable here
which I purchased for only 48,000 pounds (and 99 pence).

I'd be happy to let it out of my hands for offers around half that amount
- bearing in mind that I have regularly cleaned the contact area with oil
of ophidia in order to ensure the absolute crispest of digital
reconstruction at the far end of the cable.


You also need to be very careful how you set out the cable. You *must* have
an even number of left/right bends in it else the stereo image loses
definition, and if you have perfect pitch make sure the start and finish of
the cable are at *exactly* the same height. because of the high speed of
light compared to the speed of sound, a fraction of a mm can make all the
difference.

Ian