Am i totally retarded or what, the damn thing doesnt even stay in the hole I cant get it to hold. whats the deal

it's directional

Directional, my friend? ;) As in upside down?

Aaronsmity don't let that otherwise helpful and knowledgeable fellow mislead you. Toslink audio modules (the part into which the cable should fit) are standardized as are the plugs on the cables. But with many different cable makers the result is sometimes they are a bit loose or a bit tight, but not fall out loose. There have however been some complaints about the higher priced monoprice optical cable not holding well. If that's the issue give them a call them seem to want to make things right.

Your problem might be that most Toslink cables are shipped with a removable plastic cover or protector. One type is a translucent mushroom shaped soft plastic cover that protrudes ahead of center pin and the keyed U-shaped plastic outer connector. These end guards will keep the connector from seating correctly and block/scatter the light. The covers must be removed before inserting the cable end connector into the receiver's Toslink module (the one with the little door).

First, make sure you removed the cover on the plug. This may sound stupid, but unless you've used an optical SPDIF cable before, you may not realize that the optical connection on the plug usually has a small protective sleeve on it. Even experienced people forget or think they've pulled it off and feel stupid afterwards.

Then, ensuring that you've done that, it is a directional connection, it has to be facing the correct way. Beyond that, it should click into place and be more or less secure. Obviously such connections can be iffy if the cable is heavy, or if either the receptor or the cable is funky. But check the 'duh' basics first. ;)

Chriss prolly has the answer with the protective sleeve on the end.

yeah sorry guys, never used an optical cable before... apparently I was uninformed that you needed to remove that little protector thing... sigh, it works now

yeah sorry guys, never used an optical cable before... apparently I was uninformed that you needed to remove that little protector thing... sigh, it works now

its ok, that happens all the time :)

Happened to me. I was like, "Why the hell won't this fit?" Then I looked at the end cap and when I touched it, it came off.

I figured it was a protector because if it was part of the assembly, they would have secured it. There was NOTHING on the packaging that said to remove the caps (it wasn't a Monoprice one, but some Monster competitor, bought back when I didn't know so much about cable brands.)