Are you sure that the SPDIF connector is a 3.5mm ? It's pretty much a standard to use RCA connectors for SPDIF connectors. Any regular RCA cable should work although a heavier duty one is always a good idea, specifically if your cable is longer than 4-5 feet.

And yes, all you need is a single lead + ground. SPDIF is an unbalanced serial interface.

Hope this helps. Let me know if this is not making any sense to you.

MisterBlue.

Mr. Blue;

Thanks for the help
After I bought the proper stuff I eagerly turned up the speaker volume and..........................NOTHIN
It took me a while to realize I had to check the
Digital Output Only box

I'm not real sure if I can notice a difference though, accept my wallet is 35 bucks lighter.

It should sound a lot better now! Not as good as if you had spent $200 on super-dooper special digital audio oxygen-free monster low-Z hand-worked & left-wound copper cables, but at least $35 better :D

MisterBlue.

Well, to be honest you probably won't hear a difference due to the soundblaster. Soundblaster cards are notorious for degrading your audio more than helping it.

Look at it this way. You're using the internal clock of the soundblaster which isn't helping in any way. I'm sure if one was to measure the jitter level on those cards you'd see tremendously terrible results.

The only way you would hear a difference is if you actually got a pro or semi-pro card. Soundblasters(most commonly referred to as sound destroyers!) are a cheap consumer end card for video games where the quality of the sound doesn't really matter. As long as it outputs it's fine for that purpose.

Also understand the clocking buffering on those cards are horrible as well so it doesn't in any way clean up and digital noise!

Plus the fact that the converters are in your computer which is the worst place for converters!

Opus