RedStar24 Toslink optical audio cable, 2 m

The claim that cannot be true

This listing states that the cable supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Toslink cannot carry either — not with a better cable, not with glass fibre, not at any length. The optical standard’s bandwidth ceiling carries stereo PCM and compressed 5.1, meaning Dolby Digital and DTS, and that is a property of the standard rather than of any product on this shelf.

Why the cable is still worth its price

Because it does the job the standard allows, and it is well finished for the money: a 5 mm jacket, gold-plated ferrules and a described strain relief. The ferrule is the part of an optical cable that breaks, and a listing that mentions how it is protected has thought about the failure that actually happens.

What is missing from the specification

The fibre material. Plastic (PMMA) is standard and reliable to about ten metres; glass costs more and goes further. At two metres it makes no practical difference, which is presumably why it is not stated.

The thing to check before buying any optical cable

Whether your television has HDMI eARC. If it does, and the soundbar does, that connection carries everything optical cannot. Optical is the right answer for an older set and the wrong one for a new one.

Availability

On sale from 5 € to 7 € on the German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores at the time of checking.

Listed but with no offer on the British Amazon store — the reference exists there and nobody is currently selling it.

Not found on the American Amazon store, where the buy link falls back to a local search rather than to a page that does not exist.

Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.