Optical Cables
An optical cable is one of the easiest ways to connect your devices together to transfer a digital sound signal. Also known as SPDIF or Toslink, an optical cable consists of a fibre optic that transfers light rather than an electrical signal as a digital coaxial cable would for example. There are many different types of cable available, and which one you choose really depends on what you will be using the cable for.
Sky+ Optical Audio Cables
Sky+ and Sky+ HD boxes come with an socket for an optical cable which means that if you have a surround sound system or home cinema amplifier, you can connect them together and get the full benefit of immersive surround sound from TV as well as DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.
The Fisual Digital Optical Cable - Pro Install Series is probably the best choice for everyday Sky+ applications and is available for only £4.99 for a 1m cable from Amazon, but up to 5m cables are also available.
Read our article and view more optical cables suitable for Sky+ »
Home Cinema Optical Cables
Offering a much higher quality than an analogue RCA/Phono cable, optical cables are ideally suited for home cinema applications when you want to gain the full benefit of Dolby Digital and DTS sound.
The Lindy Premium Gold is one of the best optical cables available for home cinema use with its gold plated connectors and robust build providing the highest possible quality. Price start at £11.75 for a 1m cable so are good value too.
Read our article and view more Home Cinema Optical Cables »
PS3 and XBOX 360 Optical Cables
A specially designed cable for gaming, will help bring and involving and immersive surround sound experience to your gaming sessions
Specifically designed for the demanding high quality gaming environment, the Exspect optical cable is suitable for both the Playstation 3 and XBOX 360. Available in 2m to cope with the often different position of games consoles, the Exspect is great value at only £7.99.
What Optical Cable Do I Need?
An optical cable performs the same basic function no matter what the brand. Some cables have been designed specifically for certain equipment such as a PS3 or XBox 360 to offer audio advantages, and also to match the colours and style of the console. Any decent optical cable will be able to do the job though.
Advantages of Optical Cables
Because the digital audio signal is transferred by light rather than an electrical signal, this has the advantage that they are less susceptible to interference from nearby electrical sources. It also means that the cable is thinner and so can be easier to hide under carpets. They are also more flexible and simple to run between your devices such as your DVD Player, Playstation 3, XBox or Sky decoder. They are available in numerous different lengths from 0.5m right up to an incredible 50m and are especially suited to longer cable runs as they perform slightly better than a digital coaxial cable for example.
Where to Buy, and How Much to Spend
One of the best things about optical cables is their relative cheapness, with prices for a decent cable starting at around £4. There are plenty of places to buy them in the High Street, but online shops provide not only the best prices, but also a much wider selection from a some of the most respected cable manufacturers such as Ixos, QED, Lindy and Fisual to name but a few. General retailers like Amazon and Maplin stock a good range of optical cables, but also specialist cable retailers like Lindy and TV Cables.
Does Quality Matter?
There are some people who think that a more expensive branded cable offers a higher sound quality, but in our opinion they most important thing a branded cable can offer is the higher build quality. This is especially important with optical as the cable itself is quite thin and you ideally want the toughest you can get. Whilst you don't want to compromise the thinness benefits of optical cables, it is always advisable to go for a cable with a decent sleeve thickness to prevent any potential damage.
What is Toslink?
Some people refer to Optical cables as 'Toslink' and it can get quite confusing when you hear the different terms used in similar circumstances. Basically, the term 'Toslink' was created from the words "TOShiba-LINK" when Toshiba first developed the standard back in 1983. Because 'TosLink' is a a registered trademark of Toshiba, they are normally refered to by other manufacturers as an Optical Cable, but they essentially mean the same thing.
What is SPDIF?
SPDIF is a digital audio format used for transporting digital audio signals between home cinema devices and games consoles and even computer sound cards. You will often see an optical cable referred to as an 'SPDIF' but in reality all optical cables these days will be SPDIF compliant so you don't need to worry too much that your cable will be capable.
Further Reading
If you want to learn more about the way fibre optic cables work and how they are constructed, there is a very good article on Wikipedia that should provide all the information you need to know. There is also a specific article of Toslink cables which may be of interest.
Save Money
If you want to save a bit of extra money on your purchase, there may also be some Discount codes available.