The SPDIF or S/PDIF optical audio output has generally been underutilized by the general public. Only audiophiles give it the attention it deserves, but if you're interested in improved sound quality, whether for gaming or home theater, you'll want to know how this cable works.
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Definition of SPDIF
The acronym "S/PDIF" stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format , as they hold the rights to this audio output. Internationally, it is known by its IEC 958 type 95 code. SPDIF is a hardware-level protocol for transmitting PCM-modulated digital audio signals between stereo devices and components. This allows digital sound to be sent directly to a receiver without undergoing an analogization and digitization process, thus preventing any loss of quality.
S / PDIF is a version of the standard AES / EBU protocol. It has been adapted for use in commercial applications, with some differences that make it less expensive to produce the final components and more accessible to home users.
Simply put, SPDIF is a fiber optic cable that allows you to connect one digital sound source to another without losing quality in between. It is a connection that is little used, and is highly undervalued by users. But that does not mean that a home user can take advantage of it despite the fact that it is almost in disuse.
How to get better sound quality
The SPDIF coaxial audio output allows for higher sound quality from the original source. This is achieved by eliminating the need for the audio to be converted from digital to analog via a jack cable, and then to another digital device that would then convert the analog audio back to digital. This is particularly beneficial for a home theater sound system, as less information is lost in each digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion.
It's also useful for sound engineers at concerts and other high-end sound systems . Since sound quality is important, this connection is always used whenever possible if the source is digital, instead of using jack cables to connect to the audio interface.
However, this doesn't mean there aren't S/PDIF adapters to other connectors. For ease of use, there are jack adapters for mixing consoles, mini-jack adapters for small home audio systems, and even XLR adapters for professional mixing consoles. Some of these converters result in a loss of quality because the signal is first analogized and then digitized from the source to the receiver, which can lead to a noticeable drop in quality. However, they are useful if you don't have your own receivers.
SPDIF in the domestic market
We have mentioned that it is a relatively unused connection, but that does not mean that if we know how it works and we have the equipment, we can use it. Many televisions or sound or multimedia devices have an optical sound output, which is the SPDIF connection. Since today's flat-panel TVs tend to skimp on speaker quality to make themselves flatter and more affordable, their sound quality becomes poor and volume is low.
Sound bars have become quite popular to solve this problem for flat televisions. Although many soundbars are simply left with a minijack connection to connect through the headphone port. We must check in the box if the indications of the sound bar include optical sound input. If so, we will be in luck and we will simply have to buy said cable.
Currently, neither the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S, nor PlayStation 5 have an optical audio output . The Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, and several Xbox One models do. It's possible that future PlayStation 5 models may include an optical audio output.
For PC users, many motherboards have an audio output for connecting speakers and sound systems. If yours doesn't, you can buy a sound card with S/PDIF input and output and connect it to the motherboard. This will give you better audio quality and less latency when watching movies, TV shows, or playing video games where reaction time and sound quality can give you a competitive edge.
[amazon box="B08MVNM9CR" title="S/PDIF Input/Output Sound Card" star_rating="none" template="table"]Sales and drawbacks of SPDIF
Advantages
- An better sound quality by not having to convert the sound into analog and reconvert it to digital sound, with which less information and details are lost.
- Less delay. We already discussed it in the previous point, but since SPDIF requires fewer steps to convert sound from digital to analog and from analog to digital, fewer milliseconds are lost in the transfer.
Disadvantages
- If the S/PDIF cable is coaxial and not optical, it will be necessary for the cable to be of quality to have better sound quality.
- The best sound quality is difficult to verify. Because trained sound, clean original audio and high-quality sound equipment are needed so much, we may not appreciate the quality improvement. If the movie we are watching only has two audio channels, or if we are listening to music via streaming with a data saving mode or with a slow internet connection, we will hardly notice that it sounds better no matter how much S/PDIF cable we are using. .
- Requires the right equipment. If we use a low-quality sound system, be it a motherboard that is not up to par, an almost obsolete sound card or bad speakers, it will create a bottleneck and we will not be able to hear quality sound.
- It is in relative disuse. Since it is not a widely used connection in the home environment and is designed for the most demanding users, we may have some problems when it comes to finding televisions, motherboards, speakers, sound bars or home theater systems that do not have it. . We already commented that of the current consoles, only those of the last generation have it, and the most expensive version of the Xbox series, the Xbox series X. The PlayStation 5 does not have SPDIF output, although a future model could have it, and they never have had Nintendo consoles.
The reason for the deprecation of S / PDIF
S/PDIF has never been widespread among the mainstream public, and its use may not increase outside of audiophile circles. It is difficult to appreciate its quality if the original sound does not have a very high quality with which to appreciate the different nuances of sound. There is also the need for the right equipment so as not to bottleneck sound quality. For many users, the quality provided by the minijack ports, jack ports or HDMI is sufficient for their day-to-day audio needs, so this sound output is reserved for the most demanding and professional environments.
It's also true that consoles and video games in general don't utilize high-quality audio. With the increased bandwidth of HDMI and DisplayPort , and the fact that games generally have compressed audio, that improved sound quality isn't noticeable.
Currently, the best option is to consume multimedia audio from high-quality sources such as Blu-rays or 4K Blu-rays , or uncompressed movies and TV series. There are also video games with high-quality sound, but they are few and far between, since increasing the game's installation size isn't worthwhile for a small percentage of players.
