Help with Audio Coax cables

**Lex** · 05 February 2007, 12:22 Monday

First, establish fact one, I am the Cable Guy, owner of this forum, and CAT Cables.com, our sponsor cable company.

1. Yes, DD or DTS audio signals are passed over the digital stream. Coax or optical is required. Forget optical at lengths of 50 feet, not doable with consumer gear.

2. Coax could be done at 50 feet, but I'm not sure I've sold anything that long before.

Let me understand this, the DVD player and TV will be in a room, 50 feet from receiver. But speakers also have range 50 feet wires going to receiver from same room, right? Man, that's a lot of signal flow. I've never personally tried this. Timing issues are possible with a 3 foot video cable, and 100 feet of combined coax/speaker cable. We have some engineering types here that can comment on this, but if you want to do it, I can help you do it. I'm still not sure I understand why you want to do it this way. I personally would rather see the receiver come to the system and shorten everything if possible.

3. no comment on the big M, except to say, decide what you want, and I'll give you some options, I think you'll like them even at 50 feet. I have some fairly affordable coax on hand, that's well built structurally, and has a lot of pluses for this length.

Welcome hunter.

Doug

**timetohunt** · 05 February 2007, 13:07 Monday

Yes, thank you. I'll take all the help I can get. Maybe with some re-arrangement and the cables. Here is why the setup is as such: The viewing and listening area is comprised of a large playpen style couch but faces a wall that has little space for not much more than the TV stand.

The reason for this is that there is a woodstove on one side (I'm keeping everything at least 4 feet from that, and then the outside wall is fairly close on the other side of the TV area. There would be no room for an additional audio cabinet and main speakers in this area. I could put components in the lower tv shelves, but I hate reaching so low and as I said main speakers will not fit here either.

I'm much bigger on music than movies. We also get up and dance around like nuts alot while we are jammin out (its the hippy in us). So I thought that having the main stereo speakers and receiver on the other side of the room (where there is more space), might be fine. I wired the walls and put speaker posts in outlets around the room for later 5.1 expansion. My main bank of speaker binding posts is where the receiver is.

My intention was to connect my mains directly to the receiver and then I could grow the room from there. The DVD player is near the TV and the CD player sits with the reciever. Would it be better to move the DVD to the speaker cabinet, then I would need a 50 ft S-Video cable to the TV rather than a 50 coax. How would the 50 ft S-video work? Maybe you can make sense of this and provide some help.
THANKS.

**timetohunt** · 05 February 2007, 13:30 Monday

Oh - and by the way. The couch is the constant factor. We are not changing its location. Just FYI for anyone who wants to help figure this out for us. Thanks again.

**aud19** · 05 February 2007, 14:42 Monday

Originally posted by timetohunt

Would it be better to move the DVD to the speaker cabinet,

That'd be what I'd do....

**whoaru99** · 05 February 2007, 19:58 Monday

Originally posted by timetohunt

#2. I need one of the coax cables about 50 feet in length. This is because my receiver will not be near one of my DVD players (most of my stereo equipment is far away from my TV/DVD player because I don't have room for an audio cabinet where the TV is. Is there is a problem with running a cable this long? (its going to be hidden in the drop ceiling).

I have 48ft of cheap Radio Shack A/V cable (a 24-ft pair split and coupled end-to-end) connecting my PC on-board sound to my processor. I get absolutely no dropouts or ingressed noise that I can detect. Whether or not a more expensive cable would sound better I can't say because I've never tried one.

Also, I use two runs of ~35ft of RG-6 coax with F>RCA adapters between my STB and DVD player and processor for conveyance of the digital signals. It sounds fine to me - no dropout or noise problems with this arrangement either.

I have my gear at the opposite end of the room because I don't like the distractions of component lights and other busywork going on up near the TV.

**Brandon B** · 06 February 2007, 00:11 Tuesday

Originally posted by Lex

2. Coax could be done at 50 feet, but I'm not sure I've sold anything that long before.

Lex, I made a belden 1694/Canare RCAP spdif coax that works fine at 50', although not with all source, that is works with my old Bravo D1 but did not work reliably with an oppo 971.

So it might work at that length.

BB

**timetohunt** · 06 February 2007, 13:20 Tuesday

OK, very helpful information all. Thank you. So to boil down and firm up my questions:

1. Since I care much more about sound quality, I move the player and go with shorter coax audio cable, and longer video cable (just to be on the safe side, noting that others posting have noted no problems with the long coax run)? I'm assuming it has to be one way or another, since the TV/DVD is in one place and my audio cabinet is in a distant other location. The DVD player can be moved but not the TV. Do I got right ?

2. Just for my curiousity: Still did not get an answer on this: Does the coax improve audio sound in 2 channel (as opposed to standard audio cables)?

thanks again.

**aud19** · 06 February 2007, 14:29 Tuesday

Originally posted by timetohunt

2. Just for my curiousity: Still did not get an answer on this: Does the coax improve audio sound in 2 channel (as opposed to standard audio cables)?

thanks again.

That depends on wether your player or your receiver has better DAC's and to a lesser degree, the quality of cables you use. There's no definitive answer there.

One question for you...what type of TV are you using? (Just wondering if you should be using a better cable than S-vid?)

**whoaru99** · 06 February 2007, 14:36 Tuesday

Originally posted by timetohunt

OK, very helpful information all. Thank you. So to boil down and firm up my questions:

1. Since I care much more about sound quality, I move the player and go with shorter coax audio cable, and longer video cable (just to be on the safe side, noting that others posting have noted no problems with the long coax run)? I'm assuming it has to be one way or another, since the TV/DVD is in one place and my audio cabinet is in a distant other location. The DVD player can be moved but not the TV. Do I got right ?

2. Just for my curiousity: Still did not get an answer on this: Does the coax improve audio sound in 2 channel (as opposed to standard audio cables)?

thanks again.

I'm not so sure about #1. Video might be a higher frequency/higher bandwidth signal and that is harder to send over longer distances than a signal at lower frequency/less bandwidth.

2. As mentioned, it depends. You have to try it both ways to know with your gear. Just be sure you listen at the same volume because a louder source almost always is perceived as sounding better.

RG-6 coax is some really good stuff - quite handy. It can be used to convey darn near every signal an HT enthusiast needs with only a few exceptions. It can be used for analog audio cables, video cables (composite, s-video (w/breakout harness), and component) digital audio cables, antenna/CATV cables, etc. I've even heard of people using it for speaker cables - although I'm not so sure it's a good thing for that job.

**timetohunt** · 06 February 2007, 20:39 Tuesday

Originally posted by aud19

That depends on wether your player or your receiver has better DAC's and to a lesser degree, the quality of cables you use. There's no definitive answer there.

One question for you...what type of TV are you using? (Just wondering if you should be using a better cable than S-vid?)

Its a Toshiba with ColorStream not component video. I think this may have been a one-off of component video. It has the three terminal like component but I don't think its the same.

**aud19** · 06 February 2007, 20:46 Tuesday

Originally posted by timetohunt

Its a Toshiba with ColorStream not component video. I think this may have been a one-off of component video. It has the three terminal like component but I don't think its the same.

It's exactly the same, just different terminology

**Brandon B** · 06 February 2007, 22:13 Tuesday

Also known as "marketing". I had a Tosh with Colorstream, same thing.

BB

**timetohunt** · 07 February 2007, 07:23 Wednesday

Wow - thanks about the Colorstream info. It is my fiance's TV and when I read the manual it did not say a word about component video plus the symbols near the terminals are different from component. I thought it might have been a proprietary standard that quickly died or something. Thanks.

**Lex** · 07 February 2007, 08:33 Wednesday

Now we are talking, if you've got component, you could try leaving the DVD there, short component vid, and try the long coax to audo rack. Then if that approach doesn't work, you can reverse and try long component and short coax.

Help with Audio Coax cables

Help with Audio Coax cables

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