Optical/Coax SPDIF vs 6 channel RCA
03-22-2019, 12:23 PM
#1
Optical/Coax SPDIF vs 6 channel RCA I have been looking at different EQ/Crossover options, and noticed that Alpine has one that has an optical and coax SPDIF input. Seems like that would be much better than running 6 RCA channels.
Anyone have any experience with SPDIF instead of RCA?
Anyone have any experience with SPDIF instead of RCA?
05-07-2019, 12:55 PM
#4
SPDIF or Digital Coax would definitely be better than regular analog over RCA. Problem is, the equipment is usually much more expensive. You'd need a headunit with a digital output and at least an EQ or amp with a digital input. In home theater this is almost ubiquitous now, but in cars it's not yet the norm it seems.
05-07-2019, 01:47 PM
#7
TECH Resident
Optical is great for home audio. It's probably 10 years away for car audio. Plus with all the streaming tech that's coming optical may never make it to car audio. Any day now we'll be hearing about wireless car speakers and the entire game will change.
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05-07-2019, 02:49 PM
#9
I wouldn't hold my breath. Bluetooth doesn't have the bandwidth for high quality audio and WiFi introduces a whole other set of potential issues. The only point of wireless would be installer convenience and you'd still have to wire your speakers (power and ground instead of audio signal) so you really don't gain anything there. In a home, yes - there are power outlets everywhere and pulling wire in the walls can be really inconvenient. But not in a car.
05-07-2019, 02:50 PM
#10
I wouldn't hold my breath. Bluetooth doesn't have the bandwidth for high quality audio and WiFi introduces a whole other set of potential issues. The only point of wireless would be installer convenience and you'd still have to wire your speakers (power and ground instead of audio signal) so you really don't gain anything there. In a home, yes - there are power outlets everywhere and pulling wire in the walls can be really inconvenient. But not in a car.
05-07-2019, 02:51 PM
#11
05-07-2019, 08:26 PM
#13
TECH Resident
That's one of the things I don't understand about people streaming music from their phone to the hu. The signal compression through Bluetooth has to be undone or you get worse than fm quality sound. People seem to be ok with it though because it's a popular option.
05-07-2019, 10:48 PM
#15
Launching!
Most people aren't audiophiles and wouldn't notice the difference if the the drummer hit them in the face. So highly compressed lo-fidelity music w/ bad engineering built in rules.
As far as running digital, it could be a toss up. you're adding another layer of ad-da conversion which can introduce noise.
Higher quality components along w/ higher voltage output on the HU's goes a long way to getting a good clean signal. 4v and 5v rca outputs will be better than 2v, And be sure the rca's are run away from power or other electronics that can introduce noise.
As far as running digital, it could be a toss up. you're adding another layer of ad-da conversion which can introduce noise.
Higher quality components along w/ higher voltage output on the HU's goes a long way to getting a good clean signal. 4v and 5v rca outputs will be better than 2v, And be sure the rca's are run away from power or other electronics that can introduce noise.
05-07-2019, 11:32 PM
#16
Most people aren't audiophiles and wouldn't notice the difference if the the drummer hit them in the face. So highly compressed lo-fidelity music w/ bad engineering built in rules.
As far as running digital, it could be a toss up. you're adding another layer of ad-da conversion which can introduce noise.
Higher quality components along w/ higher voltage output on the HU's goes a long way to getting a good clean signal. 4v and 5v rca outputs will be better than 2v, And be sure the rca's are run away from power or other electronics that can introduce noise.
As far as running digital, it could be a toss up. you're adding another layer of ad-da conversion which can introduce noise.
Higher quality components along w/ higher voltage output on the HU's goes a long way to getting a good clean signal. 4v and 5v rca outputs will be better than 2v, And be sure the rca's are run away from power or other electronics that can introduce noise.
05-08-2019, 08:06 AM
#17
No, not really. Wireless Android Auto uses WiFi so it doesn't have bandwidth limitation of Bluetooth connections. However, you may still have sound quality issues depending on the source you're using. Internet streaming has it's own limitations so unless you have the source material locally stored on you phone, you may not get the best quality sound.
05-08-2019, 10:22 AM
#18
Launching!
Honestly I don't think you're as likely to pick up noise from the rca's as you are w/ grounding problems. And a lot of the problems people have had w/ rca's introducing noise were either bad cables or poorly run cables, running them next to computers or near ignition boxes.