Comparing coaxial and Toslink, there is actually a measurable
difference between what you get at the other end of the line. The
archives of rec.audio.pro have discussions of this phenomenon, though
it's been a number of years since I've kept up with this subject.
The issue is "transport jitter", where the timing between the bits
varies by some amount (in the range of 5 to 500 picoseconds, if memory
serves). The bits received are in fact the same as those that were
transmitted, so if you are transporting the bits with the intention of
storing them (i.e., on a CD or an MD) it doesn't make a difference what
you use. However, when you feed these timing variations into a D/A
converter, it can affect the output waveforms.
Inside single-box setups, clocking tends to be fairly jitter
resistant. It can be a bigger issue if you put together systems with
separate transport and D/A sections (e.g., a home theatre surround
decoder fed by DVD). It's also an issue for pro audio setups where
they have to transport audio around the studio or remote recording
location for monitoring. There may have been advances in the past few
years that reduce such effects; I'm not sure.
Anyhow, Toslink tends to exhibit greater amounts of jitter than coax or
other fiber optic media. If you don't hear a difference, don't let it
bother you.
Romain Kang Siemens Info/Comm Products, San Jose R&D
[EMAIL PROTECTED] formerly Pyramid Technology Corporation
Disclaimer: I represent myself alone, except where otherwise indicated.
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