If only 2.0 (no subwoofer(s)), then optical carries it lossless.
TV digital audio - Home theatre vs Stereo audio
Hi,
I have a question that is confusing me quite a bit. I just set-up a brand new 2 channel system which also has a Oppo BDP-95 Blue Ray player from my legacy system and a new OLED LG 4K TV. I trying to get the best sound from my TV. I usually view sports through the now-TV (cable TV provider in HK), Netflix (through my TV connect) and Blue-ray through my Oppo.
The TV has a HDMI ARC connection and an optical digital audio out. Currently I have connected the optical digital audio out to my Auralic Vega G2 DAC and then play the TV audio through my McIntosh/ B&W Diamond 2-channel set-up. I also have connected the digital Coax output from my Oppo to the Auralic DAC and hence I have bypassed the Oppo DAC as I consider the Auralic DAC superior.
However, I read up some material saying that an optical connect from the TV and the Coax output from the Oppo will not carry full Dolby Atmos and other higher end digital audio from the Blue-Ray and hence the audio from both my blue-ray discs through the Oppo and the Netflix that I play through the TV will both be downgraded to normal 2-channel audio.
My question is that if I anyways have only a 2-channel music system set-up through which my TV sound plays, does it matter whether I use the optical out from my TV or the more advanced HDMI ARC?
The second question is that the only way I can see to get the higher end digital audio is to buy a surround sound bar and connect it through the HDMI ARC connect on the TV and play the sound through the sound bar rather than the 2-channel set-up. The problem is that I do not have space to keep the sound bar and hence will need to go through substantive pain to get this done. Is it all worth it?
Thanks in advance.
I have a question that is confusing me quite a bit. I just set-up a brand new 2 channel system which also has a Oppo BDP-95 Blue Ray player from my legacy system and a new OLED LG 4K TV. I trying to get the best sound from my TV. I usually view sports through the now-TV (cable TV provider in HK), Netflix (through my TV connect) and Blue-ray through my Oppo.
The TV has a HDMI ARC connection and an optical digital audio out. Currently I have connected the optical digital audio out to my Auralic Vega G2 DAC and then play the TV audio through my McIntosh/ B&W Diamond 2-channel set-up. I also have connected the digital Coax output from my Oppo to the Auralic DAC and hence I have bypassed the Oppo DAC as I consider the Auralic DAC superior.
However, I read up some material saying that an optical connect from the TV and the Coax output from the Oppo will not carry full Dolby Atmos and other higher end digital audio from the Blue-Ray and hence the audio from both my blue-ray discs through the Oppo and the Netflix that I play through the TV will both be downgraded to normal 2-channel audio.
My question is that if I anyways have only a 2-channel music system set-up through which my TV sound plays, does it matter whether I use the optical out from my TV or the more advanced HDMI ARC?
The second question is that the only way I can see to get the higher end digital audio is to buy a surround sound bar and connect it through the HDMI ARC connect on the TV and play the sound through the sound bar rather than the 2-channel set-up. The problem is that I do not have space to keep the sound bar and hence will need to go through substantive pain to get this done. Is it all worth it?
Thanks in advance.
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- 19 posts total
If you want to use your DAC and 2-channel system for TV/Internet movies, then you are stuck with 2-channel. You can set the optical output from the TV to PCM 2-channel in the setup menu. In this case, I would highly recommend reclocking the optical cable from the TV with a Synchro-Mesh reclocker and then a good silver 1.5m BNC coax to your DAC. This will reduce jitter and improve clarity significantly. You can also drive the same Synchro-Mesh with your Oppo for CD playback and switch between TV and CD player to get the benefit of the low jitter for both. The Oppo must also be set to 2-channel for Blu-ray movies if you want to use your DAC for blu-rays. If you want Dolby Digital from the TV then I highly recommend using the iFi SPDIF iPurifier from Amazon to reduce jitter of the Dolby Digital signal. Like the 2-channel SM above, the iPurifier accepts Toslink in and out or coax in and out. Run a Toslink optical cable from the TV to the iPurifier and then a 1.5m BNC coax with RCA adapters to your SS processor/amplifier. You cannot use your Auralic DAC for this. If you use your Oppo for Dolby Digital Processing, you must have the 5 speaker or 7 speaker/amplifer system to support it. If you only have 2-channel, then stick with the DAC and reclock with the Synchro-Mesh. I highly recommend this Toslink cable: https://btpa.com/TOSLINK-XXX.html Always buy BNC terminated high-end cables for coax and use RCA adapters. Always get at least 1.5m length. Steve N. Empirical Audio |
My question is that if I anyways have only a 2-channel music system set-up through which my TV sound plays, does it matter whether I use the optical out from my TV or the more advanced HDMI ARC? The Toslink optical output will be better than the HDMI for driving your DAC and particularly if you reclock it with the Synchro-Mesh. This will elevate both your movie and CD sound quality significantly. Steve N. Empirical Audio |
@audioengr https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-ifi-ipurifier-... The iFi only works when there is a ton of jitter, which Amir could only get by actually inducing jitter with his AP, most real-world performance actually had the iFi adding low frequency noise. |
- 19 posts total