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van
den Hul Optocoupler - Toslink vs. S/PDIF Cable Comparison
at 6Moons.com
November, 2002
The Debate
What follows was inspired as much by purely selfish reasons
as it was intended to serve your edification. You see, during
the review of the Birdland Audio Odeon-Ag, I felt inspired
to investigate its Toslink interface. Why? Because this brand-new
reference DAC allots two of its four inputs to this allegedly
fatally flawed interface. Perusing designer Gilles Gameiro's
website, I noted that in his personal reference system, he
tosses the link to the Odeon himself. This stopped me cold
in my deeply entrenched, warm'n'fuzzy tracks of Toslink slamming.
If this optical connection was as inferior to RCA-carried
S/PDIF as common consensus has it - why did Mr. Gameiro choose
it for his personal reference system when he had a choice?
What did he know that I didn't?
To identify superior Toslink cable -- not something I had
ever bothered with before -- a quick query on Audio Asylum
generated three strong recommendations. Two of them I could
procure: The WireWorld SuperNova III+ and -- compliments of
the very supportive Robert Stein of The Cable Company --
Van Den Hul's Optocoupler.
Inmates who owned either felt they were among the best of
their kind. Hence the cards of today's poker session wouldn't
be unfairly stacked, as could be concluded if some el-cheapo
excuse for a proper Toslink got badly trashed by my resident
Acoustic Zen "squared" or TARA Labs RSC.
To push the envelope, audio gentleman Robert Stein included
one AudioOne Reference Toslink. On the house side of the card
table, he dropped off an Ensemble Digiflux.
Then my site's wonderfully inspired graphic design mistress
Nobuko got hip to this wired get-together. She FedEx'd over
her personal NBS Signature-2-D, Siltech Golden Ridge and Cardas
Lightning backup 75-ohm digital links. She also included a
skinny black KimberKable Toslink in her digital care package
before daring me to pronounce that one of my affordable Toslinks
would dethrone or at least call to bluff one of her dear designer
cables.
Last but not least, Chris Sommovigo's new BNC/RCA i2digital
X-60 cable sold not through his Stereovox dealers but on-line
direct became available just in the nick of time. That slightly
delayed publication of this survey's findings. However, considering
that Chris -- with his original Illuminati cables -- created
the now ubiquitous 75/110-ohm standard for digital interfaces
meant that his newest affordable statement in this arena just
had to be included.
The Play Station
During the Birdland review -- and for a first toe-dip into
these squirrely waters -- I somewhat more casually than dead-set
had compared the Zen RCA to the WireWorld Toslink. At the
time, I couldn't really latch onto any easily discernible
differences. If angels were meant to dance on pointy needles
for today's session, I reckoned that the highest-rez possible
setup on my side was mandatory to do the job properly.
My reference Cairn Fog V2.0 with 24/192 upsampler card omits
RCA-carried S/PDIF for a single optical port. In my recent
past, this connectivity issue alone would have precluded a
purchase. Must have a proper single-ended digital out, yessir!
Or so my brain-washed conditioning would have insisted.
Thankfully for my ears and wallet, I now know better and the
Cairn ain't going nowhere. But - for the purposes of this
review, I had to employ my indefeatable Marantz CDR 630 recorder
instead. It sports both necessary ports, RCA and Toslink.
I used the Bel Canto DAC-2 as the push-button comparator between
either.
From there, the signal would
flow through Analysis Plus Solo Crystal interconnects to the
Unison Reseach Unico tube/Mosfet hybrid integrated and arrive
within an inch of my ears via the custom Stefan AudioArt cable
and AKG K-1000 headphones. Hi-rez and convenient? Definitely
the lazy man's guide to enlightenment in this scenario. One
could certainly question the use of the Marantz as a state-of-the-art
transport - but it's what I had on hand so no argument from
me on that count. If things were gonna get hairy -- hair's
width differences impossible to tell apart when dealing with
room acoustics and added complexities -- I felt as prepared
as a deaf but conceited reviewer could be.
Disclaimer
Today's survey makes zero pretensions at being conclusive.
I merely wanted to test -- from a limited sampling within
a single system context -- how much, if any, sonic headway
S/PDIF-RCA may still brag about over S/PDIF-optical. Put differently:
If your player lacked RCA-S/PDIF but sported an optical digital
jack, should you feel disenfranchised, disadvantaged and condemned
to second-rate sound when going off-board?
Here's some quick technical background as garnered from Kevin
Halverson at Muse: Compared to analog RCA, Toslink fiber as
a medium -- transmitter, cable, receiver -- is bandwidth-limited.
24/96 remains within its scope but 192 doesn't. Optical's
lower ultrasonic headroom spells reduced native jitter rejection
- 75/110-ohm RCA/XLR enjoys the clear advantage. On paper.
Flip the coin to appreciate why perhaps only on paper. RCA
runs the risk for ground potential riding atop the signal.
Both chassis (transport and DAC) are electrically linked.
Toslink's optical conversion eliminates this interference
completely. Talking also with John Stronczer of Bel Canto,
at least two respected digital engineers acknowledged that
today's D/A chips, sample rate converters and phase-lock loops
exhibit inherent jitter rejection far superior to what was
possible just a few years ago. Hence RCA's touted jitter advantage
should play out as less of a real boon. If a plastic or glass
fiber optical link were properly engineered, one should indeed
expect smaller rather than greater differences. Added variables
of course remain: Cable connectors, dielectric absorption,
conductor geometry and purity, impedance mismatches and concomitant
internal reflections, noise rejection and cryogenic or proprietary
wave treatments. Did I mention fairy dust and different levels
of braiding skills?
One last item before today's train leaves its station, on
ramp 9¾ toward Hogwash where not all is as it seems.
Cable comparisons are a drier business to conduct than sampling
bad wine. They're even less fun to read. No usual tie-ins
with music samples today that always serve the double purpose
of introducing you to worthwhile software. For today, only
condensed snap shots of individual comparisons between more
different wires than I want to see again any time soon.
[MSRP prices are included by Eugene Hi-Fi. We feel it's
important to recognize the drastic differences in prices between
the reference S/PDIF cables and the Toslink cables being tested.
This is an essential part of the analysis. For some reason,
pricing was omitted from the original review. Since most of
these cables have been either updated or discontinued (it's
from 2002), prices for current versions are listed .]
Toslink Cables (1 meter length)
*AudioOne Reference Toslink - discontinued
/ no information available online.
*van den Hul Optocoupler mk. II - $119
*Wireworld Super Nova 5+ - $125
S/PDIF Cables (1 meter length)
*NBS Signature II-D - discontinued / NBS
digital cables range from $800 - $8000
*Siltech Golden Ridge - $1000
*Ensemble DigiFlux - $300
*Acoustic Zen MC2=Zen - $298
*Cardas Lightning - $255
*i2Digital X-60 - $240
Wireworld SuperNova III+ Toslink vs. Siltech Golden
Ridge S/PDIF
A smidgen more HF extension on the Siltech - that's all I
could detect. And smidgen just about sums it up. Switching
midstream, I wasn't sure at first that the DAC had, in fact,
switched. There was no seam. No time lapse, no clicking noise,
no fractional interruption, no change in timbre or tonality.
The sound continued unchanged. Eventually, this very small
degree of upper frequency energy with the Siltech stood out
as the only sign of "otherness". It created the
expected illsusion of a bit more resolution, which really
was nothing more than either more extension or some excess
energy on top. You do the math. Estimate what you think it
means financially.
Wireworld SuperNova III Toslink vs. NBS Signature-II-D
S/PDIF
Reverse the tables. The NBS was a mite thicker and more midrange-heavy,
the Toslink more open on top and a bit "faster".
A somewhat larger differential than above - easier to detect,
but by no means drastic. I'd call the NBS leaning towards
the subtly warm side if the SuperNova were neutral. Else,
the Toslink would be just a touch lean while the Signature
embodied the neutral Swiss referee.
Incidentally, the NBS handled like a just-sated snake filled
with undigested rats. It was stiff enough that it would have
shorn off the player's output jack had I insisted the cable
bend rather than move the DAC. This certainly wasn't an aural
performance handicap. But add expense plus inconvenience and
it's nice to know of other options, especially if your transport
lived on the lower slopes of mount CEC and weighing it down
with a dumbell or Ziploc bag of shot conflicted with your
interior design aesthetics.
Wirreworld SuperNova III Toslink vs. Ensemble DigiFlux
S/PDIF
This one was easy. No difference at all. Nada. Not that easy,
really. The powers of suggestion are strong. In a scenario
like this, you feel under the gun. As a keen-eared audiophool,
you want to hear a difference. Well, as much as I wanted and
tried, I couldn't. I failed. Miserably. Sniff. Where are my
ear drops?
Wireworld SuperNova III Toslink vs. Cardas Lightning
S/PDIF
On balance, the instrumental outlines with the Cardas had
that tiny micron of enhanced definition, those sharper edges
that the guys with the pyramids and always-fresh razor blades
are into. It's the kind of difference you sometimes notice
when the noise floor drops to also reveal shortcomings elsewhere.
Things turn crisper, leading edges are just a bit more acute,
but -- depending on your system tuning -- you may also miss
a certain organic warmth. There's a fine line between resolution
and coldness.
Wireworld SuperNova III Toslink vs. Acoustic Zen MC
Squared=Zen S/PDIF
Another ego buster, another no-show - of improvements or even
so much as a hair of difference. Does that mean the Acoustic
Zen and Ensemble DigiFlux sound the same, too?
I admit that by now a sense of foreboding began to engulf
me. Was I engaged in a Quixotic adventure of futility? My
eyes roamed over the skinny, cheaper-looking Kimber and AudioOne
Toslinks. Would possible redemption lie in their performing
poorly enough so I could finally drive the stake through the
Toslink heart and regain my composure and self-confidence?
van den Hul Optocoupler Toslink vs. Acoustic Zen MC
Squared=Zen S/PDIF
Honesty hurts. I got stood up again. At first, the Van den
Hul seemed to enjoy the edge in transparency. Hope flared
up so I stuck it out to confirm whether I was wishing things
that weren't there. And indeed, the longer I compared, the
more sure I became that this was indeed another write-off.
Both Optocoupler and SuperNova are exceedingly flexible. However,
the Dutch connectors lock into place like a Neutrik XLR. It
takes a pit of a push, then snap, and you're talking a super-high
integrity connection that quite exceeds the looser fit of
the WireWorld connector. This didn't seem to impact the SuperNova's
audible performance. Still, superior detail engineering does
deserve mention. The VDH plug makes a better fit, period.
At least I got something to report.
van den Hul Optocoupler Toslink vs. Cardas Lightning
S/PDIF
Was the silvery wire from Oregon a sliver more immediate and
direct? This question cropped up repeatedly, as did an eventual
suspicion that it also sounded a bit harder - more chiseled,
less organic. On a different note, Nobuko -- whose front-end
is the acrylic-top Krell CD/preamp unit and thus presumably
in a different league from what I used -- hears what to her
are very significant differences between her personal Siltech
and NBS leads and doesn't consider the Cardas even remotely
in the same league.
Looking at my own commentary, we may now conclude one of two
things. 1/ Her hearing is better (being a beautiful woman,
I'd grant her that in a heartbeat). 2/ My setup's inferior
resolution leveled the playing field by obscuring performance
gradations and rendering them too minute to significantly
upset the scales of balance. If the latter were true and your
personal equipment status equaled mine, I'd predict that you'd
have an equally hard time differentiating between these wiry
contenders. Or, if you did discern minor degrees of shading
as I did on occasion, you wouldn't care enough one way or
the other - about such seemingly immaterial changes. Now,
if the first point were true, perhaps I should study the classifieds
for a new vocation?
Wireworld SuperNova III
Toslink vs. i2Digital X-60 S/PDIF
When I was once again confounded to hear a difference with
my customar fare of WorldBeat and exotic vocals, I pulled
out -- not my hair but --a stack of Classical CDs. I was hoping
that some offset in instrumental timbres, in image specificity
or intelligibility during convoluted passages would prove
that my ears hadn't rusted yet. All I can say is that I tend
to discern cable-specific contributions to the overall sound
with relative ease. I currently have NBS Black Label and HMS
Gran Finale in-house. Their presentations are clearly unique
and readily qualified. But by now, I seemed to rather predictably
fail with today's task. This was another draw. Does that make
me an analog guy or simply the slowest gun in the SouthWest?
van den Hul Optocoupler Toslink vs. i2Digital X-60 S/PDIF
More of the same, from which you can rightfully conclude as
I did: Both Van den Hul and WireWorld glass-fiber Toslink
cables are performing identically - or close enought to where
I couldn't draw the line. Given how affordable they are when
compared to some of today's other entries; and given how flexible
and easy to use especially when juxtaposed against the ritzy
NBS and Siltech offerings - I don't see how you could possibly
go wrong with either. Unless you were color-blind, the pale-white
Van den Hul gets my nod over the garter snake from Florida
for being more unobtrusive and offering the better-fitting
terminals. Into which equation of high recommendation we must
also include the equally flexible and affordable X-60 whose
BNC terminals are fitted with a removable RCA connector for
a highly convenient 2-1 assault on whichever of those jacks
may be hiding on the business end of your player.
AudioOne Reference Toslink vs. i2Digital X-60 S/PDIF
Finally an immediately obvious difference. The X-60 was clearly
fuller-sounding, more developed overall, with stronger tonal
colors, weightier impact, enhanced presence. The AudioOne
sounded comparatively thin. As though the signal was trickling
at reduced rate through a constricted pathway whereas it flowed
at much higher pressure through the X-60. This didn't so much
fall into an intense vs. laid-back preference as mount into
a rapid "the X-60 is clearly superior" conclusion.
Worth noting on behalf of the AudioOne? Its plug snapped tightly
into place as you'd expect from a good contact pressure fitting.
Kimber (no further identifiers
on jacket) Toslink vs. i2Digital X-60 S/PDIF
Another case of instant gratification - for the X-60. The
-- if looks tell the truth, clearly highly affordable -- black
Kimber Kable Toslink brought home some case evidence about
what might have contributed to the bad reputation of Toslink
in the first place. Compound the previous mild constipation
of the AudioOne to a case of extreme cessation of bowel movements.
What did come out wasn't very pretty. There's no need to trounce
further on a loser except to say that it was so obviously
inferior that I quickly pulled it out of the system as unusable.
Grande Finale
In keeping with today's modest aim -- to ascertain the width
of the chasm separating good Toslink from good RCA terminated
digital cables -- the answer is truly far more of a question.
What chasm? In fact, what puny crack in the dry dirt?
Both Van Den Hul Optocoupler and WireWorld SuperNova III+
hold their own against far more expensive non-optical (blind?)
RCA-S/PDIF cables. The differences that do exist don't proclaim
one or the other the victor based on clear superiority. They
simply operate inside system compatibilty effects and those
of personal preferences. And true, "bad" Toslink
does most certainly exist. If it's bad, it's clearly bad.
What makes it so? Seeing that both VDH and WireWorld eschew
plastic conductors in favor of glass fiber, one could conjecture
that the former is not appropriate for High-End applications.
Until, that is, one were to come across a superior Toslink
that did use plastic conductors. It'd throw that theory out
the window for yet another example of how a precise understanding
of cause-and-effect relationships in audio remains -- mostly
-- vexingly elusive.
What's far more relevant and important to consider? Simply
this. Don't base your purchase decisions for a new CD/DVD
player, stand-alone transport or DAC on the kind of socketry
it carries on its rear panel. Toslink jacks are not automatically
inferior. In fact, based on Audio Asylum commentary of listeners
who have performed their own comparisons, some clearly prefer
glass-fiber Toslink. Perhaps that's due to creating a true
stop gap against interference from ground problems.
Secondly: If your current or dream player offers a choice
of either hookup, don't limit your search for the right cable
to the single-ended standard. You could obtain as good or
better for considerably less by exploring the Toslink route.
If your local dealer won't play, contact Robert Stein at the
Cable Company for some sample loaners. Just don't call him
if you're not truly in the market and just want to kick his
tires. He'd give me a hard time for suggesting it. Rightfully
so. The man's running a business, not a lonely heart's club
for bored audiophiles.
Lastly, if you had Toslink and RCA sockets, you could use
both outputs to feed two highly resolved systems from one
transport/player. The choices are dizzying. And good choices
they are, too. Life's peachy in affordable audio land.
PS:
When I visited with John Stronczer of Bel Canto during CEDIA
2002, he experimented with both the WireWorld Toslink and
an Analysis Plus regular digital cable. While he expressed
sincere shock at how good this particular Toslink cable performed;
how subtle the remaining difference were - he did prefer the
standard RCA interface in his personal reference system by
a slight margin.
When I called him a few days ago to order my new PRe6, he
confided that he had since rewired his system with WireWorld's
finest. In this new context, he now clearly preferred the
SuperNova III+ Toslink to the single-ended digital RCA cable
and commented on how his entire system had gone up a few notches
in performance since I had heard and described it a few months
ago.
What does that mean? I'm not sure. I will, however, volunteer
once again that coming to hard and fast conclusions in audio
tends to backfire sooner or later. Keeping an open mind seems
the best antidote - and being curious while having fun!
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