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Is there any difference between cheap and expensive?
I'd assumed not, and that seems to be the opinion here, but a brief glance at a grouptest in what hifi this month seems to suggest there is noticeable difference in sound.
What gives?
It's digital, so I would have though that there would be no real difference.
BUT, i bought a cheap cable for use with my macbook pro.
After a few uses, the 3.5mm connector snapped off inside my laptop, completely stuck. Fortunately Apple repaired it for free, but i needed a new logic board etc.
Worth buying one which has a decent build quality. I also bought a 90 degree adaptor to ensure that the cable isn't pulling on the connector.
What peterfile says
It's a digital cable. It transmits a bunch of 0's and 1's, it's a data cable basically such as the SATA cables in your computer are (and we don't spend loads of money on those!). A speaker cable or a hifi interconnect transmits a small electrical current, that changes rapidly to produce the sounds we hear, hence spending money on a particularly good (to a point) speaker cable or interconnect can make some difference. But a digital optical cable, not a chance!
What HIFI are well known for peddling Snake Oil, and not always fully understanding the science behind Audio. The guys at Sound on Sound actually know what they're talking about though!
It's build quality as much as anything that costs, as above, it's a glass 'wire' or pipe carrying pulsed laser light, so there's no obvious difference. I use TOSlinks with my MacMini and a DVD recorder, and used to use one with a minidisc recorder, which I keep meaning to put back into the system, and all mine are ProGold links, which I bought years ago. Lovely thick cables, so there should be no issues with them falling apart.