Audigy2 ZS + Optical Cable is there a diff?

KraXed112 · Mar 9, 2005, 09:08 AM

I've had a Audigy2 with the logitech Z-680's using the regular analog cables.

But i just bought a Monster Optical Cable, and i was just wondering if there is a noticible diffrence in sound.. all i do is play music and movies, and gaming.. nothing extreme
I wanna know b4 i open the package i guess.. dont like dealing with restock fee's

So the quesiton is there a diffrence between the 3 analog cables vs the 1 optical cable for sound?

Thanx

**dj_stick** · Mar 9, 2005, 09:24 AM

yes there is
3 analog equals 5.1
1 optical equals 2.0, unless the original source (ie DVD) is encoded in 5.1

KraXed112 · Mar 9, 2005, 10:42 AM

so gaming wise it would be better to go with the analog cables?

**dj_stick** · Mar 9, 2005, 07:51 PM

yep

Zelig · Mar 9, 2005, 08:17 PM

Some thoughts:

Yuck, monster cables are waaay overpriced, I'd stay away from them in the future.

I prefer analog myself... digital cable is overhyped IMO, since it's all analog by the time it gets to your speakers anyway.

Games are also going to be only 2.1 unless they're encoded to 5.1... assuming you don't have some sort of real-time upmixing happening, which I'm not a fan of either. That's up to the listener though, I've just come to dislike hearing stereo sounds coming at me from more than two sources.

**dj_stick** · Mar 9, 2005, 10:10 PM

monster cables: blergh
twice the price of an equivilent product

in many cases, the DACs on your soundcard will be better than those in the speakers

Mar 9, 2005, 09:08 AM	#1
KraXed112 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 90 Rep Power: 0	Audigy2 ZS + Optical Cable is there a diff? I've had a Audigy2 with the logitech Z-680's using the regular analog cables. But i just bought a Monster Optical Cable, and i was just wondering if there is a noticible diffrence in sound.. all i do is play music and movies, and gaming.. nothing extreme I wanna know b4 i open the package i guess.. dont like dealing with restock fee's So the quesiton is there a diffrence between the 3 analog cables vs the 1 optical cable for sound? Thanx __________________ AMD 4800 X2 / ASUS A8N-SLI Premium 2024 Corsair PC3200 CPT BFG Tech 7900 GTX 512 Pioneer A04 DVD/RW 1 x 120GB Western Digital Caviar Hard Drive (8MB Cache, 7200rpm) 5 x 200GB Western Digital Caviar Hard Drive (8MB Cache, 7200rpm) Soundblaster Live 5.1 Platinum, Logitech Z-680 Antec TrueControl 480W, RAIDMAX 420W Coolermaster CM-Stacker STC-T01 Case (Crossflow Fan + Extra 4in3 Module)

Mar 9, 2005, 10:42 AM	Thread Starter #3
KraXed112 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 90 Rep Power: 0	so gaming wise it would be better to go with the analog cables? __________________ AMD 4800 X2 / ASUS A8N-SLI Premium 2024 Corsair PC3200 CPT BFG Tech 7900 GTX 512 Pioneer A04 DVD/RW 1 x 120GB Western Digital Caviar Hard Drive (8MB Cache, 7200rpm) 5 x 200GB Western Digital Caviar Hard Drive (8MB Cache, 7200rpm) Soundblaster Live 5.1 Platinum, Logitech Z-680 Antec TrueControl 480W, RAIDMAX 420W Coolermaster CM-Stacker STC-T01 Case (Crossflow Fan + Extra 4in3 Module)

Mar 9, 2005, 08:17 PM	#5
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Some thoughts: Yuck, monster cables are waaay overpriced, I'd stay away from them in the future. I prefer analog myself... digital cable is overhyped IMO, since it's all analog by the time it gets to your speakers anyway. Games are also going to be only 2.1 unless they're encoded to 5.1... assuming you don't have some sort of real-time upmixing happening, which I'm not a fan of either. That's up to the listener though, I've just come to dislike hearing stereo sounds coming at me from more than two sources. __________________ --