Optical audio cables

Optic

— cable for transmitting digital audio signal optically using light pulses. Usually, it uses connectors specially designed for such a connection. Technically, it is one of the varieties of the S / P-DIF interface; like coaxial (see the relevant paragraph), it is capable of transmitting multi-channel audio over a single cable. At the same time, the key advantage of such a connection is complete insensitivity to electromagnetic interference — only light from which the fibre is reliably shielded by an opaque sheath can affect the signal. On the other hand, the cable itself is quite delicate — in particular, it does not tolerate sharp bending and strong pressure (in other words, it is highly undesirable to step on the fibre).