Optical cables, sometimes called TOSLINK, are optical fiber cables which are commonly used for audio equipment nowadays. Digital optical sockets in home theater setups and other audio electronics utilize such cables to carry audio signals to each other. These cables enables digital audio to be streamed from the source to the output hardware, enabling users to experience high quality and uncompressed digital audio.

Nowadays, the S/PDIF standard is almost the standard for audio streams. DVD players, gaming consoles and even laptops and computers utilize such sockets. This enables users to stream audio from their digital gadgets to DTS or Dolby Digital decoders. With such, high quality audio streaming can then happen between this gadgets. Over the past years, these cables have evolved mainly with the information and streaming speeds that they can achieve.

When it first came out in 1983, optical cables were only capable of carrying speeds of up to 3.1 Mbit per second. Today, they are able to have bandwidths of up to 125 Mbit per second, clearly showing that they indeed have evolved. Fibre optic cables are utilized.

Home theater setups typically use these digital optical audio cables. They may run from the source to the decoder, which then decodes the signals and projects it to the speakers. Such cables were originally limited to only 20-bits at 48KHz. Today, they are developed to support every modern audio format. Dolby Digital and DTS formats are some that they are able to support.

There are many manufacturers of optical cables nowadays. Optical fibers are coated with resin, and then a plastic jacket to reinforce its strength. These layers do not interfere with the fiber optics, as they only protect the cable itself. Generally, fibers inside are made of thin and transparent plastic or glass. Such cables transmit light which is then encoded or decoded into audio streams. Each end of the cables have connectors which go in optical audio ports found in players and encoders.

Some computers nowadays have optical audio outputs so users can stream audio to their encoders and be heard in 5.1 or 7.1 sound systems. This enables home theaters to surface, with easy setup and installation for surround sound systems. Audio cards and even external sound processors can easily hook up to computers, effectively upgrading your rig’s sound system to be able to stream high fidelity audio.

Investing in good cables and equipment can truly give you unparalleled audio experience.

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