All about Digital Audio Cable:
With the passage of time and evolution of technology we are coming across not only newer and better video connections and formats but also across audio connections and formats. But with this betterment there are certain disadvantages as well and one of them is lack of understanding of all these formats. What will you do if you come across an audio format about which you have never heard before? In this article we have tried to minimize this problem by discussing different audio connections and formats.
One of the biggest questions that you will find yourself asking would be which audio connection to use? As a general rule, the best audio connection that you can create between two devices must depend on the connection that the two devices have. One example that you can consider in order to understand this is the home theatre system which mostly uses RCAs (Red and White) for analogue connection and Digital Coaxial for digital audio connection. These days the digital audio cable offers better performance than an analogue connection since the digital audio cable is less likely to catch interference. But the sad truth of the matter is that not all devices in the market have digital audio option.
There are many convertors available in market that can convert Digital signals to Analogue signals. These are most commonly known as DAC or Digital to Analogue Convertor. Let us suppose that your DVD player comes with a digital audio connection whereas your TV is equipped with analogue audio connection and both of these devices are separated over a distance of 50 feet. The best digital audio cable to connect both of these devices over this distance will be a 50 feet long fiber optic from the DVD player. The fiber optic can then be connected to DAC to convert the digital signals into analogue. You can also use RCAs (Red and White) but then you must be prepared for higher interference.
Most of the newer systems are now equipped with HDMI which has combined digital audio with digital video. This technology is said to be capable of giving DVI technology a run for its money. The biggest advantage of this is that the connector is lot smaller in size than the DVI as well as transmits the audio signal over the same cable without compromising the video quality.
Different Types of Digital Audio Cables:
Given below are some of the most commonly available types of digital audio cable:
· 3.5 mm connectors are ideal for walkmans, sound card on computers, MP3 players
· 6.3mm connectors are older connectors but are good for TVs, receivers, surround systems.
· Digital Coaxial Cable are good for CD players, DVD players, surround sound amplifiers, receivers
· Digital Fiber Optic can be used with the same devices as Digital Coaxial Cable
· Stereo RCA (Red and White) are good to be used with VCRs, CD, DVD, Cassette players, HDTV receivers and many others
· XLR connectors can be found on sound board, microphones, and mixers.
Different types of audio format:
· 5.1 Surround sound
· 6.1 Surround sound
· 7.1 Surround sound
· Dolby Digital (AC-3) Surround sound
· DTS (Digital Theater Sound) Surround sound
· Pro-Logic Surround sound
· Stereo
There are other audio formats also in use but these are the ones that are most commonly found in our devices these days.
Audio Oddities:
Q. Which gauge speaker wire is the better option?
A. 14 or 16 gauge is better at working. The thickness of the gauge depends on the number, the gauge with lower number will be thicker e.g. 14 gauge will be thicker than 16 gauge but 10 or 12 gauge might be too thick to be used with speakers.
Q. Does converting analogue audio signal into digital audio signal also improves the quality of sound?
A. This is not true, the quality will remain the same and the only difference will come in the type of signal that is being transmitted i.e. digital signal instead of analogue signal.
Q. Will transmitting analogue signal from a VCR over a digital coax or fiber optic convert it into a digital sound format like Dolby Digital or DTS?