what your saying makes no sense what so ever, but ill give it a shot. If you have the HDMI audio output adapter that plugs into the xbox, it has a optic slot for connection to a reciever. Or if you dont have that most HDTV's now have a optic output on them, so connect from your tv to your reciever. There shouldnt be any reason for "breaking stuff" apart. That makes no sense what so ever. And in response to your question about third party optic cables, microsoft doesnt even make one. I have tons and they all work fine. If you had to "break somthing" then most likley thats your problem as you have destroyed your cable. If you mean the rubber caps on the end that you remove, those are only for storage as the optic ends are thin and can be broken easily. Hope that helps.