What has better sound quality?

Question

I have a 1200 watts Pioneer surround sound and my parents just bought a HDTV for the basement were my suround sound is. Since it is a HDTV my parents want to get a HD box down there. my suround sound has coaxial digital slot open and a optical digital slot still open my question is witch one has better sound quality?

Answer 1

They're both digital and will give very very similar results. Use the one you already have the cable for or whichever one is a less expensive cable (digital coax should be the one)

Answer 2

ide go with digital optical, just because it uses light and you will get a clear clean signal from it, however i still cant tell the difference between coaxial and optical

Answer 3

HD signals can only be transferred using a HDMI cable. High Definition Multi Interface cabling is your only option. If you do not have an HDMI output on a video source ( TV, Blue Ray player, etc. ) , you're out of luck as far as a hi def signal.

Answer 4

They are both digital so they will sound the same. I prefer optical just for the fact that coaxial cables use copper wiring that is susceptible to RF and EM interference.

Answer 5

Technically, if you are running digital wires that are less than 20 feet, it should not matter. Digital bits are the same (zeros and ones). The difference is the Coaxial digital cables have a better connector than optical (optical connectors can come off with slight pull). If you are running like 50 feet or so then the optical connector will have a slight advantage because it uses light and therefore will be consistent in long distances. Digital coaxial cables tend to be cheaper than optical. Check out the HD box that you have, as far as I know, most HD cable boxes have optical connectors so the decision is done for you.