Your cart is empty.
Your cart is empty.4.0 out of 5 stars
- #307,015 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
- #3,505 in Fiber Optic Cables
hile, thanks to HDMI, Toslink is not so often used to connect a DVD player to an A/V receiver, Toslink connectors are common on cable-boxes, TV sets, subwoofers, all sorts of products. And now, the 3.5mm Mini Optical connector, also somewhat incorrectly known as Mini-Toslink, is everywhere ... from the 3.5mm dual-purpose headphone jack on a Mac laptop, to inputs on some of the finest portables.
For these many reasons, AudioQuest has refined and renewed our line of serious high-performance OptiLink cables. All models and all lengths are now available Toslink- Toslink and Toslink - 3.5mm Mini Optical.
When the question is "how can a fiber-optic cable change the sound?" ... the answer is easier to explain than for almost any other type of cable. If the light source were a coherent laser, firing into a vacuum, all the light would stay straight, arriving at its destination at the same time. Even if the LED light source in a Toslink system were coherent, the light entering a fiber-optic cable is scattered and dispersed by imperfections and impurities in the fiber. This can be measured as a loss of amplitude ... but amplitude is not the problem, a 50% true loss would have no effect on sound quality.
The problem is that the dispersed light does get through the cable, but only after it has taken a longer path, like a pool ball bouncing off the side-rails, causing it to arrive later. This delayed part of the signal prevents the computer charged with decoding this information from being able to decode properly, or even at all. The inability to decode shows first at higher frequencies (not audio frequencies, this is a mono stream of digital audio informa-tion), so reduced bandwidth is a measurable signature of light being dispersed by a fiber. The punch line: The less dispersion in the fiber, the less distortion in the final analog audio signal presented to our ears.
D. Johnston
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2021
3 out of 5 stars... the numeric equivalent of the following...a word: adequatea color: beigea letter grade: Ca vehicle: Toyota Priusa country: Canada (just kidding Canadians)Audioquest is widely considered the gold standard in cables, the go-to brand for those of us pretentious enough to self-appoint ourselves “audiophiles” (people rather obsessed with high-quality audio, continuously in pursuit of that ever-elusive “perfect” sound system).So the million dollar question: is it actually worth it....?SHORT ANSWER:...yes, though that conclusion is a bit complicated.The Cinnamon tends to fall roughly in the middle of Audioquest’s line of cables, which— considering the quality and cost of my own sound system— seemed to make the most sense.(For reference, I’m usually listening to AIFF audio files (an uncompressed audio format offering CD-quality sound), decoded by a Schiit Audio Bifrost DAC, amplified by a late model (though high-end) Anthem receiver, and heard through either a pair of Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers (705 S2) OR a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro headphones).In other words, an audio system transparent and capable enough of revealing clearly any sort of flaw or weak link in the system. And while my ears are discerning and particular enough to distinguish between a WAV, FLAC, AIC, and AIFF file VS an MP3 (320kbps), I admit it’s not so glaringly obvious as most audiophiles would like to pretend — though perhaps I’m more of an audioRUBE than PHILE... I don’t know.I only go into this level of detail to provide a sort of baseline. That way, when I attempt to articulate the difference/improvement in sound quality from switching to the Audioquest Cimnamon, you have some frame of reference.I spent roughly 30 minutes performing a series of A to B comparisons between a generic $5 cable and the Audioquest using the same :15 sec of three separate audio tracks.Unlike other reviewers (and I suspect like you) my generic cable presented no “cracks” in the audio and performed without issue. And when I listened to the Audioquest: not an iota of discernible difference. And I’m confident enough that this lack of discernible difference isn’t user, but equipment-based and wouldn’t hesitate to wager the cost of my entire sound system that any pretense of there being some significant improvement is wholly subjective and impossible to notice or identify in a double-blind test.I admit, I very well *could* be wrong. Perhaps there does exist a pair of Skywalker Sound-level ears, stationed in some audio lab at Cambridge or MIT, that are ultimately capable of hearing what I could not. I simply doubt (to the point of near-certainty) that’s you, me, or any mere mortal who’s ultimately still relegated to purchasing the $50 (not $500) cable.So then, why the 3 stars...? Why do I still claim it’s worth the money...?CONCLUSION:2 reasons...FIRST, that extra $40 gets you vastly improved aesthetics, build quality, and longevity. It may not *sound* better, but it sure as hell *looks* better while undoubtedly lasting longer.SECOND, piece of mind (and I’d argue piece of mind is substantially more valuable than any fractional — and most likely only theoretical —improvement in sound. You don’t purchase a Ferrari only to then fill it up @ “Gary’s Gas-O-Leen.” Chevron may not offer any uptick in performance, but you don’t buy the best only to then fill it with the worst... it simply doesn’t match.Hope this helps!!(if not at least mildly entertaining for a review of a bloody cable)PS: please excuse picture, was only included as proof of ownership
David Luschnig
Reviewed in Germany on October 18, 2020
absolut schnelle Lieferung, auch wieder die Ablage vor der Wohnung wie gewünscht.Das Cinnamon Kabel von Audiquest ist im Grunde wie seine Brüder, USB und Koax in Klang und Qualität top.Man weiß zuvor was man an Sound und Wertigkeit bekommt, top
Martin_R.
Reviewed in Germany on July 2, 2018
Das OptiLink mini von audioquest sieht ordentlich aus und wirkt wertig.Der klangliche Fortschritt bleibt leider aus.Ich betreibe bereits ein solides und wertiges Kabel von Inakustik. Dieses kostet nur einen Bruchteil und bietet keine schlechtere Qualität als Dieses hier.Ich habe das Kabel leider zurücksenden müssen, da der hohe Preis nicht gerechtfertigt ist.
PaulC
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2018
Wonderful improvement over stock rca cord. Used to hook up with my dac in a Parasound halo amplifier from the Chromecast Audio dongle. This allows me to throw YouTube Red and Tidal music from my phone to my home stereo. Beats a dedicated music streamer by a country mile.
James Taylor
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2017
Mac mini or Astro Mixamp. Great.
Mark
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2017
First off the photo is definitely deceiving, this cable is so thin it's untrue. Next the important part, I own many optic cables expensive and cheap this one is all mumbo jumbo no difference whatsoever compared to cheap £5 ones with tests a plenty on high res audio. There are cables out there that do make a difference this not being one of them sadly. It's just a scripted bit of hype this cable masked in a high price.
Stuart
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2017
Product arrived but the connections are different to the ones shown so you need an adapter for it to work.Cable is corded and looks great with polished connectors.Fitted into a PS4 the connection is not quite as tight as it could be but is fine.
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2017
I had high end RCA to 3.5mm but this is next level. MacBook Pro to Nad T775 makes my Flac and DSF files sound way better on my Rosebud speakers. And the cable is HALF the price than if I were to buy it in Canada!
Dave J
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2016
I can't believe I heard a difference with this Toslink cable, but I did, within the first 30 seconds of playing Patricia Barber's Nightclub, track 1. What I noticed was more shimmer to the cymbal and brush work, the sound decay of the events was enhanced. The overall sound seemed more polished than my cheap $10 C2G toslink cable. My system is now reasonably resolving, on a lesser system it may be more difficult to hear, but for $65 to make a small but noticeable improvement in SQ sounds like a great bargain to me now.Definitely recommended.System:NHT VT-1.2 speakersSchiit Bifrost 4490 DACMarantz NR-1403 ReceiveriMac 27", 250GB SSD, 3.2GHz Core i5 running iTunes w/ BitPerfect pluginAudio quest Cinnamon Toslink to Mini optical cableSignalCable Classic speaker cables (8')
Dave Camp
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2015
WASTE...The cable is ULTRA THIN, makes me nervous. I like a thicker shielded cable.Yes, I am one of the few that can see and hear the difference in cables. Here is the best part, I bought this cable, plugged it in and it did not compare at ALL to me $10 black rubber shielded cable. With optical its all ones and zeros. In fact, there were skips in the audio, loss of low end too. The cable is so thin, not good for maximum transmission. Not to contradict myself, I love Audioquest HDMI cables!!!
Steven Gai
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2015
Works good and sound good.
Forrest33
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014
I've tried five different optical cables over the last couple of weeks in my secondary audio system. I was surprised at the differences in audio quality. The Audioquest Cinnamon far exceeded the other cables (most were much lower cost and one was the Audioquest Forest). The cinnamon delivers an immediate increase in upper frequency smoothness, greater layering of the music, and significantly improved bass definition. Well worth spending the extra dollars above the price of the Audioquest Forest.
Recommended Products
