located in east auckland and want an a/v receiver that will allow me to input optical from my tv to set up some external sound as my panasonic tv has rubbish sound. 

have looked at cheap doc etc to put it through my current 2 channel set up but reckon this might be more cost effective. 

Something like a Denon 3806 would work. They come up on TM from time to time, usually sell for $350 or so.
They were around $3K when new, but heavily discounted when a newer model was introduced. They work well, have had one from new, but still in regular use, so not for sale, sorry!

If you just want 2 channel sound, a cheap DAC like a $200 Topping etc will beat an old AVR everytime.

AVR if you want to do t do the Home Theatre thing.

Well faced with crappy sound from an LG TV I went for the most frugal route possible, a little box with optical/coaxial in feeding RCA out, USB powered.

www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/electronics-photography/home-audio/amplifiers-tuners/search?bof=TYX5N6ha&sort_order=priceasc&search_string=Digital%20to%20Analog%20Audio%20Converter

I got one with a 1m optical cable, can't remember whether with a USB cable too, but I have several anyway. Anyway, works for two channel, great if TV is between main speakers.

For $10.82 you can get one with both. At the least, that's a really quick try-out cheap way to get sound from the TV to your amp in days, without worrying about DAC quality & etc.

The only flaw I found with mine is that its output is lower than normal line level - I have to turn the amp quite a bit for the TV.
I don't know if just that unit, or that model.

Although my 2 ch amp is out for repair, I find with an older pro-logic amp I still get surround information via the decoded PCM from the TV.
(You have to access TV settings, select what goes out, as per instructions.)

Otherwise, there are a couple of working Denon DVR-xxxx HT amps started at $1, not up to $20 yet.
Searching sorting by lowest price can be useful.

www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3211514477
www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=3211694513

Hope that helps!

Yep, often 2 channel audio has out of phase info embedded, prologic systems decode the OOP as surround, it can add to the stereo sound or be random.

michael, will the topping handle dolby though? thats why i shied away from the cheaper trademe dacs

ram, there are a few cheap doc there in the link that i was interested in before but they wouldn't say whether they handled dolby. i have a nice little nuforce around the house which had the same problem.

sub, am browsing the trademe stuff this weekend thanks, will have a look

You didn't mention Dolby in your initial post, the cheap DACs will be 2 channel only, no Dolby.

Check your TV specs too, many don't pass Dolby Digital through the optical output.

Aug 13, 2021 23:17:52 GMT 12 michaelw said:

You didn't mention Dolby in your initial post, the cheap DACs will be 2 channel only, no Dolby.

Check your TV specs too, many don't pass Dolby Digital through the optical output.

The original poster mentioned having a 2 ch amp. All he wants at first is a way to get past TV sound, have it into that amp. For less than $20 incl. post, or $15, the above would do it.

Of course he needs to read the TV manual, settings, and set the optical out up, but doesn't need DD or any such. Just stereo. As you pointed out, surround info may be embedded too.

It might even default to high bitrate PCM, but find out, feed it to the cheap DAC, and analogue stereo out. That's all he needs for a start to get TV sound to amp and speakers, with current gear.

I should note that I still use my TV sound for general 'news' or talk programmes - I just use the cheap dac for the rare odd film that might turn up on Freeview.

My original LG TV psu died, I got an identical one with shot speakers and hdmi, otherwise ok, and when its tuner died the other week, I swapped all around and got a nicely functioning one again.

(The first one was free off the sidewalk next to the bins when I was moving 7 yrs ago, the 2nd cost $72 off TM. A 36" with built in Freeview, although quite old now. It does all I need it to at the moment!)

When I see 36" TV I'm reminded of the giant Philips 36" widescreen crt TV's.

Real monsters back in the day.

Had one of those giant Phillips TVs back in the day. Dominated the room.

Now have an 11 year old LED 46” Samsung. No freeview built in, so use a set top box satellite receiver. Newer ones have hdmi to tv and separate audio out that I feed to my 2 channel integrated amp. Did use optical out from the TVs any years ago. Memory re why I did that has long faded! Possible that my then set top box did not have separate audio out?

Why don’t modern TVs have audio out built in?

Most things done through HDMI now.

Analogue connections are a thing of the past

True, but my freeview box has both, so hdmi to tv and audio out to amp.

How old is said box ?

 

Aug 14, 2021 10:27:55 GMT 12 michaelw said:

When I see 36" TV I'm reminded of the giant Philips 36" widescreen crt TV's.

Real monsters back in the day.

Ah, I made a mistake, from memory. An LG 37LD650 - so 37".

But before I picked that up over the course of the move, I had already taken over a giant CRT as you describe, a 31.5" diagonal widescreen CRT, an LG Flatron.

I got if off Freecycle a few years before that, just down the road from the PSA as they were upgrading - silly me. It was an awkward two-man lift just to get it home in my friends Honda Civic.

It stayed downstairs (I've been looking for pics) and unused apart from a test. It actually had component input. It was just too heavy, and I could store it there instead of taking it 3 storeys up!

When I had to move, I made a wooden stretcher for it, face down into a perfect frame with two handles either end;- thus it got transported with an easier two-man lift to this 3rd storey flat. 42 steps!

And it was only in the new lounge briefly before I found the flatscreen. Now, it's since on a typical cabinet inside a large sliding door bedroom double wardrobe. But I never watch TV in bed.

Of course I've kept the wooden stretcher, since it's going to have to go back downstairs and be disposed of at some point. Still perfectly working. Flat in both dimensions. What a monster!

Aug 14, 2021 13:08:39 GMT 12 michaelw said:

Analogue connections are a thing of the past

Analogue connections can still also be a source of joy and appreciation of beauty, you know that! 

They're not quite antique yet, and even if they become so, there will still be vintage enthusiasts ... (grin).

Aug 14, 2021 10:50:19 GMT 12 sub said:

Had one of those giant Phillips TVs back in the day. Dominated the room.

Now have an 11 year old LED 46” Samsung. No freeview built in, so use a set top box satellite receiver. Newer ones have hdmi to tv and separate audio out that I feed to my 2 channel integrated amp. Did use optical out from the TVs any years ago. Memory re why I did that has long faded! Possible that my then set top box did not have separate audio out?

Why don’t modern TVs have audio out built in?

I've wondered if modern TVs not having separate audio (or video for that matter) out has to do with copyright issues?

Anyway, although my found LG 37" has a Freeview tuner, I bought a Freeview box later as well, mainly so that I could send video from the long and alcoved lounge space through to the galley kitchen, where I installed a monitor.

And fed the sound from the Freeview box through the amp initially, and even now I still feed the TV aerial via the box pass-through. Weirdly, it seems to get a better signal that way.

But via Murphy's Law, it always seemed that the rare few programmes I did want to watch were happening just as I wanted to cook dinner, so installing the monitor in the kitchen within earshot of the lounge was just great!

However, in the lounge, with sound off the DishTV T1020 to the amp, and the LG on its own Freeview tuner, I found an annoying delay (I forget which way round) sync problem between audio and video.

Since buying the cheap DAC for optical out of the TV to the amp, that's solved. No, they don't do Dolby, they just do stereo PCM, but as Michael noted, surround information can be embedded in that for Pro-Logic basic, etc.

I've been frugal for years, and I thought I would like to experience a modern HT amp, Pro-Logic II and all the rest... but for the moment 95% of my listening is in source direct 2 ch stereo, so I'm not too worried yet.

That audio video sync issue was annoying though. I missed out on a box on TM some time ago that claimed to correct the problem - you could dial up the delay correction. But optical sound from the TV vs box solved it.

It gives me the option too of choosing to watch something with sound through the TV (which is also a computer monitor) speakers while also having music from the hifi system, which sometimes works nicely.

Like, as a giant tangent, a virtual holiday walking tour with ambient sound via youtube, or several hours of ditto ambient sound of a tropical beach, or even a crackling wood fire ...

Aug 14, 2021 17:55:01 GMT 12 michaelw said:

How old is said box ?

 

It’s a cheapo Dish tv STB, bought from the warehouse.  Memory fade about when I bought it, but would be at least 7 to 8 yrsrs old

Aug 13, 2021 23:17:52 GMT 12 michaelw said:

You didn't mention Dolby in your initial post, the cheap DACs will be 2 channel only, no Dolby.

Check your TV specs too, many don't pass Dolby Digital through the optical output.

the tv is a panasonic plasma. it must pass dolby out the optical out as when any movie with dolby sound was on it would send my nuforce dac for a spin. anything else played fine. 

Panasonic TV's had a long term bug re: optical output when playing Netflix.
Basically, you required a Dolby capable AVR / DAC when playing Netflix content as the optical output defaulted to Dolby.
You COULD set the output of the optical port to PCM, but every time you loaded into the app OR changed show, it would change back to a Dolby output.

Panasonic blamed Netflix, Netflix blamed Panasonic.

But as it didn't seem to effect any other TV brands, I think the issue genuinely was a Pana one...

Aug 17, 2021 12:18:01 GMT 12 fishheadsoup said:

Aug 13, 2021 23:17:52 GMT 12 michaelw said:

You didn't mention Dolby in your initial post, the cheap DACs will be 2 channel only, no Dolby.

Check your TV specs too, many don't pass Dolby Digital through the optical output.

the tv is a panasonic plasma. it must pass dolby out the optical out as when any movie with dolby sound was on it would send my nuforce dac for a spin. anything else played fine. 

Have you got a manual for your TV?

You might find by search on brand model number.

Try setting the optical out settings, and see if the above is true, or applies to you, or your situation?

Aug 14, 2021 19:25:46 GMT 12 RdM said:

Aug 14, 2021 10:27:55 GMT 12 michaelw said:

When I see 36" TV I'm reminded of the giant Philips 36" widescreen crt TV's.

Real monsters back in the day.

Ah, I made a mistake, from memory. An LG 37LD650 - so 37".

But before I picked that up over the course of the move, I had already taken over a giant CRT as you describe, a 31.5" diagonal widescreen CRT, an LG Flatron.

I got if off Freecycle a few years before that, just down the road from the PSA as they were upgrading - silly me. It was an awkward two-man lift just to get it home in my friends Honda Civic.

It stayed downstairs (I've been looking for pics) and unused apart from a test. It actually had component input. It was just too heavy, and I could store it there instead of taking it 3 storeys up!

When I had to move, I made a wooden stretcher for it, face down into a perfect frame with two handles either end;- thus it got transported with an easier two-man lift to this 3rd storey flat. 42 steps!

And it was only in the new lounge briefly before I found the flatscreen. Now, it's since on a typical cabinet inside a large sliding door bedroom double wardrobe. But I never watch TV in bed.

Of course I've kept the wooden stretcher, since it's going to have to go back downstairs and be disposed of at some point. Still perfectly working. Flat in both dimensions. What a monster!

Found the LG Flatron pictures from 27 Jan 2011.

(a tiny text link to the image hosting site. Be not afraid! ;-})

This in the entrance basement storage space that I had it in at the time, before I finally escaped to the new place, a 100+ yr old building.

And in those days they did have audio and video out, but not digital.

Please forgive my digression!  ;=})

that's BIG like my old Sony 34,




my Panny outputs Dolby or PCM from the optical depending on how you Freeview is setup.

Aug 17, 2021 15:03:54 GMT 12 cartridge said:

Panasonic TV's had a long term bug re: optical output when playing Netflix.
Basically, you required a Dolby capable AVR / DAC when playing Netflix content as the optical output defaulted to Dolby.
You COULD set the output of the optical port to PCM, but every time you loaded into the app OR changed show, it would change back to a Dolby output.

Panasonic blamed Netflix, Netflix blamed Panasonic.

But as it didn't seem to effect any other TV brands, I think the issue genuinely was a Pana one...

well, heres the thing. i have tried this before and was baffled so have up. but looking into it again there seems to be NO audio output options in the menu! despite me downloading two different manuals that say it does? 

thats why my little nuforce wouldn't work with it for some sources. 

Aug 17, 2021 19:17:06 GMT 12 RdM said:

Aug 17, 2021 12:18:01 GMT 12 fishheadsoup said:

the tv is a panasonic plasma. it must pass dolby out the optical out as when any movie with dolby sound was on it would send my nuforce dac for a spin. anything else played fine. 

Have you got a manual for your TV?

You might find by search on brand model number.

Try setting the optical out settings, and see if the above is true, or applies to you, or your situation?

Rdm, as above, there are no audio output options on the menu. some of the menu options are greyed out as well. like one of the updates decided the tv is too old to have options lol.

its a Panasonic TH-P50ST60Z

ok went for the easiest option since my tv menu seems to be missing a whole lot of setting options. i bought an av receiver. or two. both yamaha. the one i'm using for the tv is the RX-V861 which was simply plug and play. i decided not to use the surround system and play it through my key 103.2's and put the other yamaha rx-v440 in the workshop where i spend the other part of my time these days and am playing music through the wharfdale crystal 40's.

i can't believe the difference between the listening pleasure of my NAD/KEF setup compared to this new crew of equipment. i'll never part with with my KEF's or NAD amp.