Cheap Toslink Switch boxes?

[kinger8938]

I'm after a device so I can swap optical from my Sonos Beam to the TV, PS4 And PC without having to manually swap the cable etc.

Are the cheap £15 rainforest ones ok? Can they effect sound quality etc? Just for 5.1 Dolby

 

[kinger8938]

Must admit, everything above has gone mostly over my head

Are we saying, they should be ok, but may not be too reliable in terms of the unit itself?

 

[kinger8938]

Yep. The TL; DR version is...
'Q: will it change the sound? A: No, or not so you'd notice'
'Q: Will this work out of the box and keep on working? A: 50/50 chance'
'Q: Is the remote powerful and does it have good range? A: Flat no, or extremely unlikely'


The natural follow-on question then is whether there's something better.

Looking at the products on Ebay and Amazon, I would say not unless you're willing to spend over £60 on a CYP brand switcher.

I think I'll give one a try and see. Then theres the optical cables themselves? Is it the same story? For a non-audiophile like myself, will they all be much the same?