Is a subwoofer cable the same as a coaxial

You want to have the best subwoofer cable for home theater but don’t see the difference between subwoofer cable and coaxial, right? Read the following.

This type of cable is divided into two types: cables designed to transmit a digital signal in the form of electric current (“digital coaxials”) and to transmit a digital signal in the form of light (fiber optic or, more simply, “optical” cables). Let’s start with the first.

This cable externally practically does not differ from an ordinary “analog” interconnect. Outwardly, the difference is only in the absence of a second connector. That is, the “digital coaxial” is just one cable with connectors at the ends (usually these are RCA connectors). Or, more simply, the cable will be called “1 tulip – 1 tulip.” A “digital coaxial” is manufactured only according to a coaxial circuit (from which the corresponding name is also used), and, unlike the “analog interunit”, the “digital coaxial” must have a wave impedance of 75 Ω.

It is also highly desirable that the connectors also have a wave impedance of 75 Ω, but this (desirable, but not mandatory) condition is only satisfied when manufacturing quite expensive “household” and almost all professional cables.

And finally, fiber optic cables. Everything is simple: the digital signal is transmitted in the form of light through a flexible optical fiber, which can be made of a special polymer (in relatively inexpensive cables and cables of an average price category), and of special flexible glass (these cables are already more expensive).

Optical cables have several advantages over electrical “coaxials”: ​​firstly, potentially “optics” can transmit a greater amount of digital information. Secondly, fiber allows decoupling along the ground between two components (this is especially true when connecting the system unit of the computer to the receiver).