Fiber Optic Audio Cable - Using Light To Create Sound

A fiber optic audio cable has optical fibers inside which transmit data from one audio component to another through light pulses.

The fibers may be made of glass or plastic, and in both cases must be handled with care.

Fiber optic technology was first tested in the 1840’s in France, in experiments to study the guiding of light by refraction. Over the next 100 years, many scientists from many countries throughout the globe worked on perfecting the transmission of light within a thin tube of glass. By the middle of the 20th century an optical fiber had been perfected which could transmit light impulses. Bundles of these fibers were then developed, which could transmit whole images and similar complex data. The major breakthrough happened in 1965, when two British scientists proved that fibers were a very practical and effective medium, which could be used to satisfy the ever increasing needs of the communication sector. By trying different materials, a long list of scientists repeatedly proved that by using this technology, they could reduce the loss of decibels per kilometer, each one bettering the one before him. The world was soon ready for optical fiber telecommunications, and this made possible the creation of the internet. Fiber optic cables were soon laid which could span over 90 miles, or 150 kilometers, between repeater stations, with a loss of decibels which was negligible. This is a great advance from the traditional copper cables.

Fiber optic audio cable is such an advance for the transmission of audio because it is capable of maintaining the quality of the sound, without significantly altering it. Cables using this technology transmit the digital signal through the cable without ever converting the signal to the lesser quality analog format. The decoding of the digital signal only happens once the transmission has reached the receiving audio component.

Fiber optic audio cables are a higher quality, but also higher price, option to the coaxial cable, which contains a copper wire inside it and transmits the signal in electrical impulses. If you want to transmit digital sound recordings, you need a fiber optic audio cable if you do not wish to lose the digital quality during the transmission.

The cables can be purchased in the length you need and with the terminations you prefer. Terminations include RCA jacks, banana or spade plugs, and these can even be gold plated. The gold plating improves the conductivity of the plug even more, but obviously it also increases the cost of the cable.

Fiber optic audio cables, as with any fiber optic cable, should not be bent or wound. This damages the fibers inside, which can splinter or crack. Once this happens, the cable will no longer properly transmit the data. Breakage of a fiber cannot be repaired. Since most fiber optic audio cables contain a bundle of fibers, you may not initially detect the reduction in efficiency of the cable, but eventually the quality will be affected if the cable continues to be handled improperly.