Cheep cable deals: to good to be true?

[JT3_Jon]

Hello everyone,

I'm just curious if these type of cheep cable deals from places like amazon are "to good to be true." For example: http://www.amazon.com/Fiber-Optical-Toslink-Digital-Interface/dp/B0002MQGOK/ref=sr_1_1/104-0029704-8280775?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173953969&sr=1-1

Now I know they make some of the "sale" back in shipping (as one user stated a $3 cable cost $6 to ship) but even at that price, $9 vs $15-20 at other stores seems like a good deal, no? But is it too good to be true? Are the cables good enough for home theaters, but not good enough for audio work, or is a cable a cable? Anyone have any experience with these "bargain" cables? Do you hear a noticeable quality difference? Any other great deals out there?

[Robert Kooijman]

Agree with Stephen.
You would be wasting money by paying more for a 6 foot cable.

[Steve_Karl]

I've gotten similar good deals on eBay and the cables I got were fine.
The ones you posted looked thick and that means that they've got some good insulation on them and will not kink up easily.

[JT3_Jon]

Thanks guys! much appreciated.

[JT3_Jon]

The ones you posted looked thick and that means that they've got some good insulation on them and will not kink up easily.

How much does cable thickness play in the sound quality? I ask because I found this deal for a 10ft cable, but "thin": http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-10FT-TOSLINK-DIGITAL-THINTOS10/dp/B00016W6ZK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-0029704-8280775?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1174090728&sr=8-2

BTW, I just found a seemingly great place to get your cables/adapters. I haven't checked much of their store yet, but what I have seen seems very well priced. Weird name though :D

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

[Steve_Karl]

How much does cable thickness play in the sound quality? I ask because I found this deal for a 10ft cable, but "thin": http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-10FT-TOSLINK-DIGITAL-THINTOS10/dp/B00016W6ZK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-0029704-8280775?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1174090728&sr=8-2

BTW, I just found a seemingly great place to get your cables/adapters. I haven't checked much of their store yet, but what I have seen seems very well priced. Weird name though :D

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

I can't be sure, because of limited experience. I have about 10 optical cables and 2 of them are very thin and I don't use them anymore because I was always worried about breaking them. I'm also not sure if the optical part is the same size and it's just a difference in insulation size between the 2 types I have.

I never noticed any sound difference.

I just know I prefer the thick ones, and they were actually much cheaper, getting them on eBay as opposed to the original 2 thin ones I bought at a music store.

search = fiber optic cable

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=fiber+optic+cable&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=15206&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1&fsoo=1



search = fiber optic cable 12 foot

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&catref=C6&from=R10&satitle=fiber+optic+cable+12+foot&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=15206&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=


12' - thick - $6.45 delivered:
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-Foot-Digital-Optical-Audio-Toslink-Fiber-Optic-Cable_W0QQitemZ180097232192QQcategoryZ64594QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem

[Richard Berg]

The only thing that matters is bandwidth (or more precisely, attenuation per foot @ high freq). 15' toslinks I bought at Ratshack were fine for SPDIF but didn't work at ADAT frequencies; ones from CableWholesale.com worked fine. They also stayed in the jacks more securely -- a common tripping point for toslinks, no pun intended.

Best part is, the CableWholesale ones were cheaper.