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is it possible to use an rca cable for digital coax?

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Joe

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i just got my surround sound and my ati AIW on my computer has a digital coax output so i was wondering if i could hook my comp up to the receiver with a regular ol' rca cable? also, could you use a regular rca Y-adaptor for multiple digital coax inputs?

sort of related: its an onkyo receiver and when i go thru all the channels and change the individual dB's of each channel it doesnt save the settings when i turn off the receiver and turn it back on. anyone know how i can fix this?
 
Joe said:
i just got my surround sound and my ati AIW on my computer has a digital coax output so i was wondering if i could hook my comp up to the receiver with a regular ol' rca cable?

Why even bother asking the question, just try it and see. Your sound system isn't going to explode.
 
Yes to the 1st question, not sure about 2 & 3.

You shouldn't need to worry about buying a decent coax cable unless you run it over a long distance. If it's less than say, 8 feet, your ok. Hell, use lamp cord if you like (i've heard good things).

Seriously though, it's a digital signal. People who spend $100 on a four foot monster coax cable/toslink boggle my mind.

You might as well upgrade your IDE cables to round ones so your mp3s sound 'smoother'
 
xabre said:
Why even bother asking the question, just try it and see. Your sound system isn't going to explode.
because i dont have any cables and i need to what to buy.....

and thanks for replies burger.
 
Joe said:
because i dont have any cables and i need to what to buy.....

and thanks for replies burger.

NP, and I suggest reading the manual regarding problem 3, and about those coax inputs, does your reciever just have the one ? Why do you need more ? Can you use optical ?
 
Newer, quality cables are always good.

But follow Burger's advice - don't buy into the $100 monster crap. Those are really just overpriced novelties with neato colored plugs.

The most you should pay for any cable is $30 - and the only cable really worth that is the Gamecube component cable. Anything else should be below $15, maybe up to $20 if you get a long cord.

Oh yeah, and stay away from Radio Shack, to whom I say: $20 for a 6' USB2 extension? Bite me.
 
ive got 1 coax, 1 optical. i plan on having 3 digital audio inputs on it (cable box, xbox360, computer).
 
You could cheap out and use a Y splitter, but it could be unreliable, and one unit would have to be off for the other to work (no good if you wanted to use your computer and your xbox).

Best bet would be to pick up a cheap switch box.

Oh and I agree regarding the gamecube component, the only reason that thing is so expensive is because it has a built in DAC.
 
Burger said:
You could cheap out and use a Y splitter, but it could be unreliable, and one unit would have to be off for the other to work (no good if you wanted to use your computer and your xbox).
Would that also leave the receiver open to overload/damage if both devices were on and sent signals at the same time?

Oh and I agree regarding the gamecube component, the only reason that thing is so expensive is because it has a built in DAC.
Really? I did not know that. Neat. :)
 
im doing a little reading and im not sure but it seems like the ATI AIW's only output from the s/pdif during dvd playback? if so, that's dissapointing.
 
I believe they are supposed to be an different Ohm cable, so you should get one that's meant for digital.

I believe RCA are 75 Ohm, I can't remember what digital coax is.
 
Lhadatt said:
Would that also leave the receiver open to overload/damage if both devices were on and sent signals at the same time?

Most likley not, all (good) recievers have signal overload protection. I've seen my old reciever flash up *PROTECTION* sometimes (often I'm abusing it).
 
Lhadatt said:
Oh yeah, and stay away from Radio Shack, to whom I say: $20 for a 6' USB2 extension? Bite me.

Eh, every now and then you can find great deals at Ratty Shack. I loaded up on 6-foot optical toslink cables for about $3 a piece the other day, and they had a really nice remote-programmable 6-port optical selector for $30. Their normal retail prices suck, but you can find some really great clearance stuff sometimes.
 
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