[Walt]

Arny Krueger wrote:
"Gary A. Edelstein" wrote

So, does anyone know of an A/B double blind test between
cheap and expensive toslink cables? Does anyone really
think they can hear a difference? I don't. I agree that
a cheap toslink may be more easily damaged, but if it is
working OK, it won't matter.

Basically if it works reliably, the sound is
going to be as good as it gets.

Yep. All the cable is doing is allowing a stream of bits to go from one
box to another. If the bits arrive intact, there is no difference in
sound, regardless of what the snake oil salesmen may try to tell you.

That said, a crappy cable may introduce dropouts that cause the bits
*not* to arrive intact - then the input device's data correction /
interpolation kicks in, which *is* audible. Although a cable exhibiting
this sort of behavior is better termed "broken" than merely "crappy".

//Walt