Which connection is better:i-link or coax digital cable?

[Franchot]

I have a receiver which allows me to connect my DVD player to it through i-link, toslink, coax digital, and analog rca cables. Out of all of these which one will provide the highest quality sound and why?

(I've heard people touting how wonderful i-link is, but I really can't hear much of a difference between it and my coax digital connection. I've only started using i-link so maybe I haven't used it long enough to appreciate its superiority? And, also--if I use i-link I can also do away with my toslink and coax cables. Correct? (I've already disconnected the rca cables and put them into storage.))

[greywolf]

Except for analog RCA, all the others use the digital bitstream and will provide identical results. The same ones and zeros will be transfered over the connection. You only need one of them to do the job.

[Franchot]

^^^^^greywolf,

If you hit this thread again, THANKS for the reply! (One less cable and connection to worry about :) )

[mark65]

You can easily start an argument over this whole topic. The big advantage to i-Link is that it will pass SACD. Optical and coax wont, and you would require six analog connections to do it.

[Franchot]

I've got the analog cables already in place and the clutter doesn't bother me. I want to know if there's any advantage sonically to passing the signal over i-link rather than analog. A couple of people swear that an i-link connection is the only way to go. But I've heard other people say I should stay analog. Anybody else's facts, opinions, ideas?

[greywolf]

Dolby Digital cannot be carried on analog. You'd be stuck with Dolby Prologic PCM. DD will have 6 discrete signals on 5.1 material. DP has the 2 front, matrixed center, and limited bandwidth, identical rears with non distinct bass.

Analog source music is about the only medium that is often preferred with analog connections. Some also prefer analog for stereo CD PCM originals though.

[emcgrath]

As GW said, the analog rca is only going to give you stereo audio. If you have only two speakers then that is worth considering but if you have full surround setup you should use digital.

If you have only two speakers then it depends on which has the better analog electronics, the DVD or the Receiver. I did a test recently with my preamp and two DVD players (an older but state of the art Sony with great analog circuitry, and a newer excellent, bargain Panasonic with great picture and digital circuits but just ok analog). For stereo audio the older Sony worked way better with the analog outputs, while the Panasonic was way better with the digital outputs. Comparing the Sony/Analog to the Panasonic/digital was a matter of taste-both good but different.