AppleTV to TCL TV to WiiM Amp

Turtleboy

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Joined
Feb 13, 2024
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6
Hi everyone,


I wanted to share my current setup with the WiiM Amp and ask if this is the best way. This is the setup in my living room. My theater has a full 5.1.2 system.

My Equipment

AppleTV 4k (WiFi current generation)
TCL TV Model 65QM850G
WiiM Amp
Speakers: Jamo Studio Series S809 Floorstanding Speakers (Black)

The AppleTV is connected to the the TV and the TV is connected to the to WiiM amp via HDMI.

AppleTV audio output options: Dolby Atmos or Stereo. Obviously, this is a two channel system. I chose to have the AppleTV output to stereo because Apple Music will have separate stereo tracks from Dolby Atmos, plus, I think Netflix or whatever streaming service probably does too. If I chose Dolby Atmos then either the TV or the WiiM amp would have to down sample it. And if it is Dolby Atmos only, I think the AppleTV will do the best job of downsampling.

TV audio options: PCM, Passthrough, Auto - I chose passthrough so the TV doesn’t muck with the sound.

Per the WiiM Amp app on my iPhone, the TV outputs LPCM 2304 kbps, 24-bit/48 kHz no matter what the source is on the AppleTV. Whether it’s Apple Music, YouTube (any video), or a streaming app. I haven’t tested any of the TV’s internal apps yet.

I realize that this isn’t lossless (or is it?), but for what I have, is this the best setup?
 
It is, indeed. :)

Some device has to do the down mix to 2 channel stereo and having it done by the Apple TV right at the source is probably your best bet. The WiiM Amp cannot cope with anything by 2 channel PCM (unlike the WiiM Ultra and the WiiM Amp Pro), so your only other option would be the TV.

You can give that a try, too, but I doubt this would be an improvement.
 
Yeah. I think I have the best setup as is. I don’t want the TV messing with the signal.

If everything, including 44.1kHz source material, is coming into your Wiim at 48kHz, then I think there is a chance the TV is resampling the signal. Whether that will result in an audible difference, or is indicitive that the TV might be doing other processing which could result in an audible difference, is an open question.

I'm not sure if there are any TVs which will refrain from resampling a stereo signal over ARC, but have just recently opened a poll here in the hopes of finding out.

 
If everything, including 44.1kHz source material, is coming into your Wiim at 48kHz, then I think there is a chance the TV is resampling the signal. Whether that will result in an audible difference, or is indicitive that the TV might be doing other processing which could result in an audible difference, is an open question.

I'm not sure if there are any TVs which will refrain from resampling a stereo signal over ARC, but have just recently opened a poll here in the hopes of finding out.


It's kind of odd that the TV audio setting is "passthrough" when it apparently doesn't do that exactly.
 
It's kind of odd that the TV audio setting is "passthrough" when it apparently doesn't do that exactly.

Agreed, it does seem to be actively misleading naming. In fact I find this behaviour totally unexpected, except that experimentation would appear to confirm.

On my setup I have found an Apple Music track which outputs at 44.1kHz will input the Wiim as 44.1kHz via an audio extractor, but as 48kHz when routed via the TV. It sounds like you've had the same results with your TV and Apple Music via Apple TV? The only thing to be careful of is some of the stuff on Apple Music is actually in a 48Hz format, but if there's a track you know is at 44.1kHz then it does seem like the resampling is more or less confirmed.

I'm starting to think that the "passthrough" language is intended to refer to eARC, and the passthrough of multichanel formats. The meaning of passthrough in the context of plain old ARC, and stereo audio, seems to be more of a grey area.
 
Or maybe "passthrough" just refers to the behaviour when the TV is "off"?

Some devices offer such an option to either still pass through a signal from an external source when "off", without making explicit claims if the signal is really unaltered.
 
Agreed, it does seem to be actively misleading naming. In fact I find this behaviour totally unexpected, except that experimentation would appear to confirm.

On my setup I have found an Apple Music track which outputs at 44.1kHz will input the Wiim as 44.1kHz via an audio extractor, but as 48kHz when routed via the TV. It sounds like you've had the same results with your TV and Apple Music via Apple TV? The only thing to be careful of is some of the stuff on Apple Music is actually in a 48Hz format, but if there's a track you know is at 44.1kHz then it does seem like the resampling is more or less confirmed.

I'm starting to think that the "passthrough" language is intended to refer to eARC, and the passthrough of multichanel formats. The meaning of passthrough in the context of plain old ARC, and stereo audio, seems to be more of a grey area.

Apple Music, Netflix, YouTube, etc. All content from the AppleTV outputs to 48kHz. I haven’t tested from other sources, but I’m betting it is all content period.
 
Apple Music, Netflix, YouTube, etc. All content from the AppleTV outputs to 48kHz. I haven’t tested from other sources, but I’m betting it is all content period.
Note that @tinforme referred to the HDMI audio extractor as the workaround solution if the TV won't stop resampling, even in passthrough mode.
 
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