3.5 mm jack vs. Optical for stereo music?

[G5Unit]

Is there a difference in quality when listening to music being fed through a 3.5 mm jack vs. an Optical fiber optic cable? It would be from a PowerMac G5 to logitech Z 5500(which I don't have yet). This would just be for a lot of music listening,

 

[bartelby]

Which would have the best DAC, the G5 or the Logitech?

 

[G5Unit]

I'm actually not sure, I would guess the PowerMac. But I may not be right.

I forgot to add that I would also be listing to music in Pro Logic II.

 

[CanadaRAM]

The Logitech should have the better DAC, as it is purpose built for sound, while the PM G5 DAC is a $4 component on the motherboard.

You're not going to get surround or Dolby decoding out of the 3.5" analog jaxk, just plain stereo.

 

[bartelby]

So to answer your question.

Optical would be better.

 

[G5Unit]

So for listening to basic stereo music, optical is still better?

 

[bartelby]

Yeah, as the RAM says the DAC in the logitech should/would be better than that in the G5.
Whether you'll notice any appreciable difference in the sound quality is another question.