Griffin Technology Xpress Cable
Basic Information
| Price as Reviewed: | $20 |
| Company: | Griffin Technology |
| Rating: |
Review
More and more digital-music-related products use optical connections -- instead of traditional analog ones -- for sending audio. For example, if you want to get audio from Apple's AirPort Express (or from the optical audio output of many recent computers) to Apple's new iPod Hi-Fi, you'll get higher quality audio by using an optical cable.
Optical cables are fairly easy to find nowadays, but there are two things that make finding the right cable a challenge. The first is the potential for overpaying: Although there are higher-end optical cables worth paying good money for, many electronics stores charge $30-$40 for their least expensive -- and fairly low-quality -- models. The other is connectors: There are two common types of optical audio connectors, miniplug (which looks like the familiar 1/8" headphone connector) and Toslink (which is squarish in shape); although the signal carried by the cable is the same, you can't connect a Toslink plug to a mini jack or a miniplug to a Toslink jack. So before shopping for a cable, you need to figure out which connector is used by your audio source and which is used by the component to which audio is being sent -- and then go buy the appropriate cable.
Like Griffin's handy iPod Home Connection Kit, the company's Xpress Cable makes buying the right cable easy. The Xpress Cable package includes a miniplug-to-miniplug optical cable along with two miniplug-to-Toslink adapters. So you can easily connect two miniplug devices, two Toslink devices, or a miniplug to a Toslink. All for $20. Granted, the cable quality isn't as good as some of the models you can buy -- for hundreds of dollars -- at a high-end audio store, but for the typical computer or iPod Hi-Fi owner, it will do just fine.
--Dan Frakes
Optical cables are fairly easy to find nowadays, but there are two things that make finding the right cable a challenge. The first is the potential for overpaying: Although there are higher-end optical cables worth paying good money for, many electronics stores charge $30-$40 for their least expensive -- and fairly low-quality -- models. The other is connectors: There are two common types of optical audio connectors, miniplug (which looks like the familiar 1/8" headphone connector) and Toslink (which is squarish in shape); although the signal carried by the cable is the same, you can't connect a Toslink plug to a mini jack or a miniplug to a Toslink jack. So before shopping for a cable, you need to figure out which connector is used by your audio source and which is used by the component to which audio is being sent -- and then go buy the appropriate cable.
Like Griffin's handy iPod Home Connection Kit, the company's Xpress Cable makes buying the right cable easy. The Xpress Cable package includes a miniplug-to-miniplug optical cable along with two miniplug-to-Toslink adapters. So you can easily connect two miniplug devices, two Toslink devices, or a miniplug to a Toslink. All for $20. Granted, the cable quality isn't as good as some of the models you can buy -- for hundreds of dollars -- at a high-end audio store, but for the typical computer or iPod Hi-Fi owner, it will do just fine.
--Dan Frakes
Specs
See more Macworld Video or Macworld Podcasts
Best Prices on iPods
iPod classic 80GB MP3 Player - BlackPrice: $198.99
iPod nano 3rd Generation 8GB MP3 Player - BlackPrice: $149.00
iPod touch 8GB MP3 Player w/ January Software UpgradePrice: $229.99
iPod touch 16GB MP3 PlayerPrice: $319.00
iPod nano 3rd Generation 4GB MP3 Player - SilverPrice: $99.00
iPod touch 8GB MP3 PlayerPrice: $219.99
Latest on Mac
Macworld Resource Centers
-
Creative Space
Products and advice to foster your creative side.
