What is the difference between coaxial and rca cable

When it comes to connecting devices like TVs, players, and sound systems, RCA cables are pretty common. It is sometimes easy to confuse RCA with coaxial cables. RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America, the name of the company that developed the standard, which is a paired connector that is typically used to connect audio and video equipment.

On the other hand, coaxial cable is just one type of cable that has a basic structure. It basically consists of an inner conductor, surrounded by an insulator, which is then wrapped in a secondary conductor, then a final insulator. A cross section would reveal a set of concentric circles with alternating conductor and insulator. RCA cabling uses the coaxial cable. A center conductor connects to the conductor at the core of the coaxial cable while the circular metal ring also contacts the secondary conductor on the outside perimeter.

The secondary conductor on the perimeter is often used as the ground or as shielding for the signal passing through the center conductor. I also compared the analog outputs of the Toshiba as well. I haven't decided what I think between the Toshiba, digital out, analog out and the old Yamaha analog out. I couldn't tell much if any difference between the Toshiba analog and digital out. It's was a mid level player when new so the DAC is fine I'm sure, the Denon was expensive in it's day, it's a AVR, but it I haven't determined if the DAC seems to sound better, they sound pretty much the same to me.

Just curious about the cables. I said "true" digital cable, meaning labeled as digital vs standard RCA. In other words, I'm asking between a cable labled as digital, that has an RCA connector on both ends not a toslink and a standard audio cable with RCA connectors on both ends.

Last edited: Dec 21, Now, if you try to run it into another apartment, well Messages: 2, Location: Portland, OR. The primary difference between "digital" coax cable and ordinary audio cable which is also coax, btw is heavier shielding and a 75 ohm impedance.

Whether you use a 1M, 2M or other length cable, the total impedance of cable and connectors is supposed to be controlled at 75 ohm over the entire intended bandwidth. This kind of load standardization isn't usually applied to audio cables because audio is a much narrower bandwidth than digital or RF the other application where 75 ohm matters.

But for more or less average 1M cables, decent quality audio and "digital" coax will be probably be interchangeable most of the time. A "typical" audio cable may have a shield constructed of several bare wires wound in a spiral fashion the entire length of the cable, over an insulated center wire.

That would mess up a signal that has a wide range of frequencies way above audio , the longer the cable the more "scrambled" the signal might become. Many digital systems use some type of error correction and are "happy-est" with a low rate of errors.

If a "marginal" quality cable is used, there may be digital errors introduced with-out the user knowing about it the errors are automatically being delt with OK, so any cable should work right?

As the system corrects for the "cable" errors, it has less ability to correct for any additional errors dirty disk, external noise, etc.

Rather than use "any chunk of cheap wire" to connect your digital devices, do this- Use a good quality 75 Ohm cable when required by the type of signal you are carrying, this way you keep the error rates down, maintaining a good "headroom" to deal with possible "source related" errors and their correction, and keep the "digital stream" as pure and error free as possible. Unlike analog, when you run out of correction "headroom", digital really crashes badly!

Mark T. Splatter Pak likes this. A cross-section would show a set of concentric circles with switching between insulator and conductor. RCA wiring utilizes the coax cable. A core conductor connects to the conductor at the center of the coaxial cable whilst the circular metallic ring contacts the secondary conductor on the external perimeter as well.

The second conductor on the perimeter is usually utilized as the ground or as protection for the signal reaching through the middle conductor. Apart from RCA cables, coaxial has previously seen an extensive array of uses, particularly for RF Radio Frequency purposes as it offers excellent protection against external noise. A great example of this would be old analog cable TV systems and ham or CB radios. It also saw extensive use in telephone and computer networks but has been replaced a long time ago.

In the fast-evolving and modern world, both RCA and coaxial cables are already on the accelerated decline in houses. This can make it a little easier to know what coaxial cable you should end up opting for. One of the most important things about any sort of cable is the length.

For most people and for TVs , an F-type cable will be the connector that you need. When you choose which coax cables to use with your HDTV, then it makes sense that you get the best coax cables that you can. This is just a basic rundown of both RCA cables and coaxial cables.

If you want a general run down of the different types of cables available, then this is currently one of the better more informative articles available online;. Are RCA Cables still used?

Why Coaxial Cables are still used now As I said, coaxial cable are still used nowadays. Easy installation — Coaxial cables are extremely easy to install, which we can easily see from how easy it is to wire a tv aerial. Capacity — Coaxial cables are capable of transferring good amounts of data, which makes them a good choice for a basic cable. Optical Cables Optical cables can transfer both audio data and video data, which makes them a little different to the majority of other cable types out there.

Quad-shielding aluminum foil and braid shielding can minimize crosstalk,suppress noise,and protect against electromagnetic interference EMI and radio frequency interference RFI.