I have a Sony STR-K760P receiver with 6.1 channel surround. I'm feeding my DVD in through digital coax, but my DirecTV and XBox both supply Dolby Digital 5.1 via optical output only. While these cables seem a bit delicate (I certainly wouldn't want to step on them, and I was careful not to bend them around sharp corners during setup) they work perfectly! Digital is all-or-nothing, either you get the full signal or you don't. There's no need to buy $20 - $50 digital optical cables from Monster or any other manufacturer, these will work great. My XBox sounds amazing when playing DD 5.1 games. 3 FT Digital Audio Optical TOSLink Cable Optic 3ft
OK, you have been shopping for cables to finish off your new home theater system and time after time a salesperson tells you about MONSTER cables. Well, when it comes to HDMI or Red/Blue/Green component cables, getting something nice with gold fittings is the way to go but spending big bucks to buy the MONSTER brand name is way over rated. Search our some similar but way cheaper cables on Amazon.com. Now regarding these optical cables. Brand means nothing. Transferring a light signal is transferring a light signal. A gold fitting means squat. As long as the optical cable you buy delivers the light signal from a cable box to your TV or audio system, you good to go. Example, I purchased a MONSTER Cable on sale for $38 bucks before I saw this cable on Amazon.com. Glad Circuit City has a 30 return policy with receipt because I sure used it. Once my less then less than a buck optical cable arrived and I saw that it delivered a light signal just like the MONSTER cable with the MONSTER price did, I returned that overpriced cable faster than you can say jack rabbit. When installing your optical cable, look close at the shape of the fitting and the shape of the whole it goes in. Kinda trick to make sure you are placing it in correctly and push it in snug. Do not jam it in without lining up which side is up. Also, do not crimp the cable. You are dealing with fiber optics here so keep the cord from bending at a sharp able to keep your light passageway from getting blocked. ENJOY AND SAVE BIG BUCKS.
Watch for the seller's name when you're buying these cables. I bought these 3-foot optical digital cables from Cmple, and a longer one a few days ago that came from Eforcity. It seems that those two brands and a couple of others come up randomly as sellers for this and similar items. Well, my Eforcity cable is good quality, has the gold ends and snug plugs that click in, and looks like the picture in the listing. The ones from Cmple are thin, no gold ends, no click. They look completely different. I posted a picture above in "User Pictures." They do work, but for how long is the question.
Compare this cable to a $20 dollar cable (same length) sold in a fancy box with a equally fancy brand name, then ask yourself if you notice any difference.
It will cost you $24 total to compare, then you'll start ordering all of your audio cables from parts express and you'll save a ton of $$ in the future.
I rarely write a review, but this product warrants one. I warn you not to buy it. I don't know about the quality of the optics but I had no complaint about the sound transmitted. However, when I removed one end of this thread-like cable from an optical switcher, the covering of the optical fiber tip broke off and remained in the switch. Besides leaving the cable's fiber denuded and exposed, this made it impossible to place another cable end in that receptacle of the switch. It took me over an hour and a trip to a hardware store (to purchase a miniscule screw) to successfully remove the broken plastic cover without damaging the switch.
This whole experience is exactly the reason not to do what I did, which was to save a few dollars on a piece of s___ and end up almost ruining a valuable component of my AV system.
I recommend the TOSLink cable supplied by Amazon for about $6 or $7--that is dirt cheap enough, right? It does the trick and is of much better manufacture.
These cables are very thin. Two of the tips broke off in side my units optical receptacle. They broke when I removed them. Very flimsy construction. I do not recommend using these in quality units. I threw them away.
3 FT Digital Audio Optical TOSLink Cable Optic 3ft
Sold by: Cmple.com, Inc
I broadly figured all optical cables were born equal. Not so. On unwrapping and inserting the cable to my system the protective covering broke off inside my device. Not only is the cable worthless (zero sound), the device I plugged it into is also useless, as it has the ring of cover of the fiber optic suck in it, such that no other cables can be plugged in. Learn from my mistake, spend a little more and get a better cable.
This product works great if you plan on plugging a unit in and leaving it.
For me I take my headset systems every where, so I'm constantly unplugging and replugging it.
Eventually the plastic covering the optical signal broke off and got stuck in my optical switch and in my Xbox.
The quality is not good so I would stay away from this product. - Optical Cable - 1080p - Digital Audio - Digital Cable'
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