Customer Reviews

Cables to Go 28734 Digital Audio Explorer Toslink Selector Switch

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

After looking everywhere for a Fiber Optic switch, I was just about ready to give up until I remembered good ol' Amazon. And, BINGO! Here is what I was looking for exactly.

If you need to connect multiple devices that have fiber optic OUTS to a sound system that has only 1 fiber optic IN---this is what you need.

I hooked in my BluRay and DirectTV into this switch with the other end going into my Samsung surround system. Now, when I am watching TV, I toggle the switch to the DirectTV and Boom! It's on. Then when I watch a movie, toggle the switch the other direction and Boom! Sound is perfect.

No hassle. No problem. Easy to use. What more could you ask for?

I called this a frisbee switch because its a little bit larger than a standard CD case. Despite its size, it works flawlessly. The dial mechanism operates on a pushbutton. Just push in the button, turn the dial, and listen to the satisfying "click" letting you know it is in place, ready for the next signal.

I tried to avoid a manual switch with a "Bi-directional" splitter which did not work for me. I have Logitech Z-5500 digital speakers with one optical input, and the light amplitude put out by the bi-directional splitter just wasnt enough to register with the optical port. Word to the wise, dont waste your money on a splitter, Use this switch! I wish I had known this earlier!

No more crawling behind my entertainment center to switch the toslink source between my Xbox 360 and my cable box! This product works great, I have noticed no attenuation of the sound quality since I began using this switch.

If you have more than one component that requires Optical Audio into your receiver but the receiver only has one Optical input this is the way to go. This will allow you to connect up to three components using Optical Audio. I bought this device to connect my PS3 and my HD Cable box using Optical Audio cables to my Onkyo Receiver. Neither device has any other digital audio output. It does exactly what I need it to do.

Pros:

+ This unit is better than other audio splitters because it has an actual switch. Other devices without the switch require you to turn off all of the components you're not using in order for the switch to work properly.

+ I don't have an expert or trained ear so I do not hear any sound degradation happening through this device.

Cons:

- It is larger than it looks. About the size of a salad plate. I have mine tucked away so it's difficult to see anyway but if space in your entertainment center is a problem you may have to move some things around a bit. Obviously the switch needs to be somewhat accessible.

- The optical cables from your components stick out the front of the unit while the cable that goes to the Optical In on your receiver is near the back on the side. I'm the type that doesn't like to see cords sticking out everywhere but I was able to get mine tucked way back in my EC yet still accessible.

Overall, a couple negatives but not anything that would cause me to scrap this device just to spend a lot more money to upgrade my stereo receiver. This device will save a ton of money and frustration.

Neither my PS3 or my XBox 360 Elite would work with my old optical coupler, leaving me to play musical toslinks with my receiver until I got this product. I can vouch that this selector works with both of those devices, and after a couple days, I haven't noticed any difference in sound quality over a direct connection.

In additon to the snap-in-place switch, the unit also has rubber feet, so it can be left on top of the tv stand for easy access.

I call this a frisbee switch because after six months of trying to get it to work properly I threw it out of the window. I took it to the shop and took it apart to see why it wouldn't work. It has an uncorrectable design flaw. It works by simply moving an internal optical cable from one port to the next. Simple enough. The problem is the gap between the ends of the cables it too large. The cables have to be lined up perfectly for it to work. The sockets on the switch fit so loosely it is not possible to maintain proper alignment and the signal cuts in and out. Don't waste your money.

It's nice to buy a product and get what you paid for. Also I have noticed no sound loss since hooking this up to my sat box and my Xbox 360.

It's a product designed to do one thing, and it does that one thing well. I bought this switch since my cheap home theater receiver only has one optical input yet I wanted to hook my Xbox 360 and cable box to my sound system.

The switch has a nice satisfying "click" letting you know it's locked into whatever input you want.

Now, the reason I knocked it down a star is one of the physical design of the switch. You'll see on one side it has the three ports for inputs. But then, the port for the output is essentially on the opposite side. So how are you supposed to position it where it's easily switchable but not have an ugly optical audio output cable coming out the front? I mean ideally it should have all the inputs AND outputs on the same side so I can position it and still have all the cables hidden behind the thing, right? The only solution I found was to have it positioned at a weird compromise angle where the inputs AND outputs generally route to the back of the switch. I know, it's a minor issue at best but I still think it's a design issue worth noting.

Just after getting this switch I received an email from the people I bought it from asking me to post a positive review if I liked the product because that's how they get customers. I understand now the reason for their contacting me so quickly. After about a month of use it stopped working like it should. It became very picky about when it would function. I tried turning off the power to my devices before switching inputs. That seemed to help a little bit. Finally, after getting it to get work with my computer, I just stopped using it. So basically it's been useless for about a year. I tried to use it yesterday and now it doesn't work at all.

Someone here suggested that it might get some dust built up on the inside, preventing a signal from getting through. I plan to disconnect everything and blast some compressed air in there. If I get it to work again I might keep it covered with some kind of cloth to keep the dust out. If that doesn't work I may buy the higher priced radio shack model.... I can't believe I'm upgrading to something made by radio shack. Can't some major manufacturer figure out a way to make a reliable switch?

There are powered hubs that have HDMI, component cable, as well as digital optical audio and digital coaxial inputs/outputs. But they are expensive and I'd rather not have to plug in yet another electrical device. I've got 17 plugged in already!

This is a good product. It doesn't have the fancy remote or anything like that, but it does its job. I originally had a simular product, Nyrius SW100 Digital Audio Optical Toslink 3-Way Selector Switch for Fiber Optic Home Theater Connections (Silver) and it was cheap... cheap... crap. It broke in no time. I returned it and got this product. This one works great and you don't feel like your going to break it every time you switch. I recomend you spend a few more dollars and get this product instead of the cheap model.