What Is Digital Audio Out? [Complete Guide]

It is important to understand the various kinds of audio output especially if you are concerned about the sound quality.

You will come across digital audio outs on a lot of devices like smart TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and quite a few other similar devices.

Optical and Coaxial are the most common ones among them.

Go through the write-up in detail to know more.

Also read: What Is SDI And SDI Camera? – Complete Guide

How Does The Digital Audio Out Looks Like? 

Did you have ever look at the back of your television screen or at the back of your Blu-ray player, or even a game console?

If you did then you might have noticed a few circulars and almost square or hexagonal ports.

The digital audio outs will be present among those bunch itself.

You will see the ports being clearly labeled thus making it easier for you to understand and identify the ports.

In some cases, you will find that these outlets are being referred to as only “audio out” by omitting the word “digital”.

What Are The Types Of Digital Audio Out?

There are two main types of digital audio cables: optical and coaxial.

Both of them have their own set of pros and cons and here I have dealt with them in detail:

1) Optical Digital Audio Out

These are known to transmit audio signals using light.

Their purpose is it enables CD players for transmitting sound to speakers.

Optical digital audio uses a laser beam to transmit audio instead of the electrical impulses used by most other cables.

Pros:

• Supports compressed and uncompressed Digital Dolby Sound and its variations.
• Can be easily stored in small places.
• The design is very sophisticated and appealing to the eye.
• The connector is firm and secure and won’t move after being connected.
• Can be used over a long distance without losing the sound quality.
• The light helps to avoid any distortion or noise, in turn giving you a crystal-clear sound.

Cons:

• The cables can’t be folded or bent very well which in turn can cause them to get damaged very easily.
• It offers a small bandwidth than the coaxial digital out.
• It may be challenging to find an optical digital audio output on every device.

2) Coaxial Digital Audio Out

These have a similar appearance to the RCA connectors.

These are also used to transmit sound data and can be done by the way of electricity as opposed to light.

The maximum capacity is of 10MBs per second and these coaxial cables carry data in the form of electrical impulses.

Pros:

• This is known to offer up to 192 kHz of bandwidth in comparison to the optical limit of 96 kHz.
• Wires are made of fiber and are more robust and able to withstand damage compared to their optical counterpart.
• Cylindrical RCA-style connectors that can be found on almost any AV device whether old or new.

Cons:

• Doesn’t support newer functions like the Dolby Atmos and DTS X.
• The connector isn’t firm as the digital audio is out.
• Lose sound quality due to long cable for minimizing signal loss.

Optical Versus Coaxial 

Both optical and coaxial cables are known to do the same thing that is transmitting digital audio but the only difference lies in the process of doing it.

Coaxial is known to use electrical impulses whereas optical uses light.

Coaxial cables are used for internet connections too and are also of higher bandwidth but the sound quality is slightly better than the optical cables.

The optical cables offer only 96 kHz whereas the coaxial cables have a bandwidth of 192 kHz.

The difference between the two can be felt when you are hearing a TV with speakers or a soundbar.

What Is An Audio Output?

Audio output is also known as audio out that drives a signal into another device’s audio input.

It is generally found on audio-generating devices such as TV or computers.

It is referred to an audio output on a TV, Blu-ray player, game console, or any other AV device that creates sound.

This output sends stereo or 5.1 surround sound audio to an amplifier, home theater system, or soundbar.

There are mainly two types of digital audio namely optical and coaxial.

What Is Analog Audio Out?

An analog audio out is actually an output that is used to transmit analog sound signals.

These are generally connected with RCA cables and are white and red in color.

The yellow RCA connectors are known to reserve for video and it makes the whole thing easier to monitor the health of your cables.

Analog audio is found on Blu-ray, DVDs, and TVs but is slowly becoming uncommon.

What Are The Types Of Analog Audio Output? 

The most popular types of analog audio output that can be found on your devices are:

• RCA
• Multi-Channel Output Or Surround Sound
• Mini-Stereo
• XLR Output
• Speaker Wire
• Rf Coaxial

What Is The Difference Between Audio Out And Digital Audio Out?

The analog audio output transmits an analog audio signal while the digital audio output transmits a digital audio signal to the audio receiver or amplifier.

Digital audio generally refers to an audio output on a TV, Blu-ray player, game console, or any device that creates sound.

Audio outputs are generally found on audio-generating devices such as TV and computers.

The most popular digital audio outputs that you can find on your devices are HDMI, USB audio, SPDIF coaxial, Toslink (Optical), and Displayport.

HDMI VS Digital Audio Out

HDMI or High-Definition Multimedia Interface comes to the forefront when we talk about audio outputs in AV devices.

Its functionality and features are a cut above the rest.

It can fill up the gaps between either the coaxial or the optical outputs and is found on all modern TVs, game consoles, Blu-ray players, and computers.

The HDMI cable has a higher bandwidth in comparison to the other two digital audio outs.

It supports new technologies like Dolby Atmos Sound, Dolby True HD, DTS Master Audio, and DTS X that are not supported by coaxial and optical.

Also, new video formats like 4K resolution and HDR are supported by HDMI.

HDMI is known to have a higher bitrate than optical and coaxial so they can transmit better audio quality.

Not only this HDMI is known to simplify your cable management since it has got a separate place for separate cables for audio and video.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What Is A Digital Audio Output Used For?

A digital audio out is actually an audio output on a TV, Blu-ray player, game console, or any other AV device that creates sound.

This sends stereo or 5.1 surround sound audio to an amplifier, home theater system, or sound bar.

2. Can Headphones Be Connected To The Digital Audio Output?

Any analog headphones have got the ability to get connected to a digital audio output.

3. What Are Digital Audio Devices?

Digital audio systems record and store audio signals like voice, music, alarm, and secure messaging for broadcast, editing, monitoring, and playback.

Bottomline

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