Audio quality

[TSHRED]

I'm using the optical out from my television for sound and into my WiiM Pro Plus.
I also have an Nvidia Shield Pro that's attached to the television via HDMI.

I have Netflix installed on the television and I also have it installed on my Shield Pro.

Here's what I found odd.

While watching Netflix via the smart television the sound quality sounds inferior compared to when I ran Netflix on the Shield Pro via HDMI into the television.

My theory for this is that the LG OLED smart television's computer processing is inferior to the Nvidia Shield pro.

Does this make sense?
Am I correct in this theory?

 

[adias]

I'm using the optical out from my television for sound and into my WiiM Pro Plus.
I also have an Nvidia Shield Pro that's attached to the television via HDMI.

I have Netflix installed on the television and I also have it installed on my Shield Pro.

Here's what I found odd.

While watching Netflix via the smart television the sound quality sounds inferior compared to when I ran Netflix on the Shield Pro via HDMI into the television.

My theory for this is that the LG OLED smart television's computer processing is inferior to the Nvidia Shield pro.

Does this make sense?
Am I correct in this theory?

No. LG OLED toslink audio is just fine. Check your settings.

 

[Wiimer]

I'm using the optical out from my television for sound and into my WiiM Pro Plus.
I also have an Nvidia Shield Pro that's attached to the television via HDMI.

I have Netflix installed on the television and I also have it installed on my Shield Pro.

Here's what I found odd.

While watching Netflix via the smart television the sound quality sounds inferior compared to when I ran Netflix on the Shield Pro via HDMI into the television.

My theory for this is that the LG OLED smart television's computer processing is inferior to the Nvidia Shield pro.

Does this make sense?
Am I correct in this theory?

Have you listened to and compared the audio settings and volume unified?

 

[adias]

The proper way to connect a tv panel to WiiM is via toslink. No volume control on the tv panel. Volume is either controlled by WiiM or preferably by outboard amp. No volume issues. Standard broadcast quality audio.

 

[harkpabst]

No. LG OLED toslink audio is just fine. Check your settings.

As I understand the OP, output from the TV into the WiiM Pro Plus is toslink in both cases, so he doesn't observe bad quality over toslink.

The question is, why the Nvidia Shield Pro (connected to the TV through HDMI) produces better sound.

Personally, I doubt this is related to the TV's processing capabilities, but the implementation as a whole, including the hardware and software.

 

[Wiimer]

Depending on the hardware you use, the volume of the app may vary. For example, the YouTube app on my Hisense TV is a bit louder than the YouTube app on Fire TV Stick. Also, if I turn on automatic volume control (normalization) on Fire stick, the volume will be even lower.

In such a case, the amplifier needs to adjust the volume before performing the sound quality comparison.

 

[cehrshark]

What about the fact that via optical you get PCM audio that is not able to handle Dolby and DTS, etc, that the HDMI can handle. I'm not an expert but that was one of the reason artificial intelligence gave me when I asked why I was getting better sound via HDMI soundbar connected to my TCL p635 versus connected via optical (I don't remember the band width details). Somebody with better knowledge can clarify.

 

[BowsAndArrows]

When you say one sounds better than the other, what do you mean exactly? Can you describe the differences you noticed? Volume differences can explain a lot, so make sure you try to eliminate that as a cause of perceived differences...

If you ask me then I think it's probably because the clocking/timing from your sources are not equal. In short, the source is generally the master in digital audio and it is responsible for providing timing information to the rest of the chain. (Especially when using synchronous data transmission like HDMI and toslink vs asynchronous USB) And so in this case - you're probably right in your assessment of the shield being better than the TV. Many TVs have really shitty crystal oscillators - and the implementation is poor too - causing the oscillators to function suboptimally. (Electrical and other interference). This causes timing errors/jitter.

Many people are startled when you try to explain that all digital audio is not created the same. But even Amir at ASR did work on this and found differences.

A Deep Dive into HDMI Audio Performance

Note: this is a slightly revised version of an article I wrote for the Widescreen Review Magazine. It was published in January 2014 I think. ----- A Deep Dive into HDMI Audio Performance Sometimes I feel that digital audio is the most misunderstood technology around. If I asked you how a TV...

www.audiosciencereview.com

He didn't do a test of both inputs over toslink to compare so it's not the exact smoking gun you need. But I suspect something similar is going on here. By the time the digital signal in your chain has reached the DAC in the WiiM, it has been degraded more by the chain from TV>DAC than from Sheild>DAC...

One way to test this theory would be to get a DDC/reclocker in between the TV and WiiM and then see if that makes both sources sound closer in SQ than before. Can't think of anything else for now...

 

[BowsAndArrows]

The other thing you could try is connecting the tv to

What about the fact that via optical you get PCM audio that is not able to handle Dolby and DTS, etc, that the HDMI can handle. I'm not an expert but that was one of the reason artificial intelligence gave me when I asked why I was getting better sound via HDMI soundbar connected to my TCL p635 versus connected via optical (I don't remember the band width details). Somebody with better knowledge can clarify.

I'm not sure that has anything to do with it. Just to be clear, both toslink and HDMI have the ability to transfer multichannel audio. It's just it has to be compressed over S/PDIF.

OP never mentioned that it was multichannel audio he was listening to?

 

[cehrshark]

When you say one sounds better than the other, what do you mean exactly? Can you describe the differences you noticed? Volume differences can explain a lot, so make sure you try to eliminate that as a cause of perceived differences...

If you ask me then I think it's probably because the clocking/timing from your sources are not equal. In short, the source is generally the master in digital audio and it is responsible for providing timing information to the rest of the chain. (Especially when using synchronous data transmission like HDMI and toslink vs USB) And so in this case - you're probably right in your assessment of the shield being better than the TV. Many TVs have really shitty crystal oscillators - and the implementation is poor too - causing the oscillators to function suboptimally. (Electrical and other interference). This causes timing errors/jitter.

Many people are startled when you try to explain that all digital audio is not created the same. But even Amir at ASR did work on this and found differences.

A Deep Dive into HDMI Audio Performance

Note: this is a slightly revised version of an article I wrote for the Widescreen Review Magazine. It was published in January 2014 I think. ----- A Deep Dive into HDMI Audio Performance Sometimes I feel that digital audio is the most misunderstood technology around. If I asked you how a TV...

www.audiosciencereview.com

He didn't do a test of both inputs over toslink to compare so it's not the exact smoking gun you need. But I suspect something similar is going on here. By the time the digital signal in your chain has reached the DAC in the WiiM, it has been degraded more by the chain from TV>DAC than from Sheild>DAC...

One way to test this theory would be to get a DDC/reclocker in between the TV and WiiM and then see if that makes both sources sound closer in SQ than before. Can't think of anything else for now...

Thank you for the article you shared. It's good to learn new stuff. I'm a physician and this is not my area of working, but I'm enthusiastic in learning it.

 

[BowsAndArrows]

Thank you for the article you shared. It's good to learn new stuff. I'm a physician and this is not my area of working, but I'm enthusiastic in learning it.

oh wow, small world, eh? happy to help a colleague out! i really appreciate it when people reference stuff i haven't come across, so i try to do the same...

here's another video that sort of delves into what i'm getting at. the fact that bits are not bits, essentially. and that every component in the digital chain can influence overall SQ.

 

[cehrshark]

oh wow, small world, eh? happy to help a colleague out! i really appreciate it when people reference stuff i haven't come across, so i try to do the same...

here's another video that sort of delves into what i'm getting at. the fact that bits are not bits, essentially. and that every component in the digital chain can influence overall SQ.

Interesting video! Thank you again for sharing!