Atlas Equator Optical Toslink Digital Interconnect
Designed for use with the optical digital sockets fitted to set-top boxes and streaming audio devices. Typical usage is connecting an Apple Airport Express/Google Chromecast or similar to a high performance DAC.
Fibre Optic cables are an alternative medium over copper cables for transmitting digital data between a local source and destination device. The cable is constructed using a light conducting core surrounded by a material of a lower refractive index than that of the core material all contained within a soft protective anti vibration cover. Light entering this pipe at an allowable acceptance angle will propagate along the length of the waveguide when these conditions are met.
The major difference between consumer optical and the more widespread communications optical products are the type of fibre and the transmission devices used. Toslink optical products use multi mode step index fibre with a modulated wideband LED being the source (this means that many individual frequencies are modulated and propagate down the light pipe). Whereas communications' grade optical fibres are by and large graded Index single mode (one frequency modulated by a laser).
Often consumer grade fibre optics suffer from inefficient high current source LED's as well as optical frequency attenuation due to poor light guide material choice (impurities). Poor acceptance cone values, poorly matched refractive index at the core/cladding interface, poor alignment of fibre to plug and inadequate surface finish at the critical air fibre boundary all add up to poor jitter performance and poor sound.
