Digital Coaxial Cable?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In article <1127431801.614301.51230@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
Sseadoubleyou <Sseadoubleyou@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Can you use a 'regular' left or right composite cable to make a coaxial
>connection or do you have to get an actual coaxial cable? I wasn't
>sure if the coaxial cable was wired or made differently inside then the
>audio composite cables were.

To clarify things a bit...

- There are "audio" cables, such as are used for the left and right
channels in a stereo hookup. These are usually of a coaxial design
(i.e. a center conductor, surrounded by an insulator, surrounded by
a shielding braid or foil). They're usually quite flexible.

Their characteristic impedance is usually not specified, and may
vary from one type of cable to another.

They *can* be used for digital-audio (S/PDIF) hookups, but they are
not the best choice.

- There are "composite video" cables. These are also coaxial, and
they're constructed in a way which causes them to have a specific
characteristic impedance of 75 ohms. They're usually quite
flexible. They're commonly identified by the use of yellow plastic
or yellow markings on the RCA plugs at the end.

These make very good digital-audio hookup cables.

- There are "antenna" cables. These are also coaxial, and also of
75-ohm characteristic impedance. They're often designed with a
very stiff inner conductor (something like copper-coated steel).

You can use these as digital-audio cables, but they're not a good
choice because of their stiffness.

- There are specialized "digital audio" cables. These are often just
composite-video cable stock, marketed under a different name at a
higher price.

A basic-quality composite-video cable, tipped with yellow-marked RCA
plugs, is all one really needs for a digital-audio coax hookup.

--
Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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