What's better Optical or 3.5mm?

[juniiflow]

Which one is better? also does optical means only surround sound and can't be switched to stereo?

I am using a new Astro Mixamp, so i was wondering, however i could also use the USB.

 

[hwc1954]

Are you talking about a 3.5mm audio output or headphone jack?

The two are completely different. The optical (or coax SPDIF) output is the raw digital signal as encoded in the digital file (MP3, MP4, etc.) or DVD/Blu-Ray. This digital signal gets decoded and converted to an audio signal by a digital to audio converter. The 3.5 mm output is a fully decoded analog audio signal. It's already been decoded and converted by the D/A and processors on the sound card or sound chip. Alternatively, you can send the original digital signal from an optical output to an external decoder and D/A converter (such as a home theater receiver).

The original digital signal can send stereo and Dolby Digital encoded surround data. The menus on the DVD/Bluray and the surround processor/decoder will determine which one you get. Some sound cards have Dolby Digital decoders built in. Some don't. If you are sending the original digital signal to an external processor, then it doesn't matter what your computer sound card can do. That's entire bypassed.

Generally speaking, sending the raw digital audio signal to an external processor and D/A converter is going to provide better performance, mostly because the amplifiers and audio circuitry is probably better than what's built into a sound card. But, that depends on the equipment. The actual decoding of the Dolby Digital signal is done with pretty standard chipset packages and is likely to be the same either way. It's the preamps, amplifiers, and so forth that will be better in an external processor.

 

[VTkm]

Hi,
               For your info i had tried Creative Sound blaster Zx and Zxr for both 3.5mm and optical and both 3.5mm and optical using onboard sound chip Asus S1220 Asrock ALC892 Gigabyte Core3D.
               Speakers are simple Logitech Z906(SGD$600+ when i bought) Year 2011 Made and Panasonic SC-BT205(SGD$1300+when i bought)Year 2010 Home Threatre system(For my PS3 At That Moment aka ATM) Both are pretty cheap system compared to those professorsss in audio dealing in $5-6 digit crazy concert hall or mansion hall trumpet style Gamophone.
The results are as followed=
              Onboard creative core3d marketing bullshit 3.5mm custom hi-fi cables - Core3D was better than most Realtek ALxxxx quite a match with s1220 series on quality and clarity.
Onboard creative core3d marketing bullshit Glass fibre optical 2.5 feet - So much better than 3.5mm .First Movie .2nd Music . 3th Games.All just much better than 3.5mm.Quality and Hz wise just sounded clearer and much more in sync with my monitor 1ms in game no lag totally you hear it as what you see in game i could felt much in sync with the screen than slower 3.5mm.
              Creative SB ZxR and Zx - I borrowed it (ZxR) from the shop  After a 2 days trial i went back and purchased a Zx.I read alot comments commended by Unknown expert ,Not Certified Dr,So called Professor who don't try, trial,experiment or review but bluntly gave their answer out of their brain OH EARTH IS DAMN ROUND!!! GOD DAMN MADE IT ROUND! and i couldn't quite listen to it . So i followed my instinct as im very puzzled in the "Sound field" of a damn PC system .SO!!!!! Yes! 

                The 3.5mm by Creative ZxR perform much better than onboard Realtek ALC , S ,Creative SB Core3D and not to mention even better with optical from my opinion especially if you tinker tinkle winkle their SOFTWARE and IN MOVIE MUSIC GAME you could felt it sounded much better than bloody 3.5mm.Only analog cable i think better at playing music will be 6.5mm !!! For best 3.5mm in the whole wide earth vs optical, i would say take the fibre glass optical !!! Its better for game due to refresh time for sync with screen is much quicker than 3.5mm and movie!!! For music wise GREAT CUSTOM 3.5mm come close to optical however with software in my opinion if i custom i felt and i feel that optical is my pick . MOVIE GAME Optical is big YES over 3.5mm. Music depends on me and yrself!!! I just felt optical onboard and optical Creative without any touch on the software its already a clear better clarity!!! With the software the PCIE Creative is definitely Big Bang YES for the Game and Movie on optical over onboard! For 3.5mm wise Big bang on Movie Music Game PCIE Creative over onboard!!!

             I purchased the Zx in the end as i got nothing to buy that i need from the shop somehow I wanted to let the sales person earn some money . Mod the Zx to Black and green LED for my future build atm and i prefer less connection since ZxR optical is not on main PCIE slot card that is link to another sister card.

               The preference comes from the fact that the OPTICAL “light pipe” is totally immune to any electromagnetic noise you may have in your home, like wash machines changing cycles or air conditioners starting up. The transient electromagnetic noise generated by the home appliances can sometimes cause interference in the signal on the coax or USB cables which result in a short loss of sync with the source and thus a short music dropout (usually less than one second).
           Please do not be an expert that mix all Digital type connection!!! Optical is not like USB or Coaxial!!!