eARC to DAC from TV

[arunvenkats]

Hi folks,

Just got a Samsung DU7000 4K TV. It has eARC/ARC HDMI port. I want to connect audio from this TV to a SMSL SU-1 DAC. While the DAC is primarily used to listen to music, I want to explore connecting the TV as another source. Considering that audio in HDMI is digital, can I use a HDMI audio extractor to send bit-perfect 2 channel audio to the DAC? Is this even possible? I need only 2 channels. It is for music only. My budget is 5K INR.

Regards,
Arun

 

[MaSh]

Yes possible. You can use an hdmi extractor and get optical output from it. Feed that optical signal to your dac.

MaSh

 

[samyboy_jssp]

Alternatively, if your TV has an optical out, you can feed that directly to the SMSL SU1 DAC without paying anything unless you are using the optical for purely music purpose from another source. I have a similar setup with optical feeding the same DAC. You will need to configure your TV sound options to make use of the PCM format. The SMSL SU-1 DAC is a VFM DAC garnering top reviews even in ASR and other forums.

 

[bornfi]

Keep in mind though that if you do this, you will have to keep the TV on all the time. I would suggest buy something like this instead. https://www.amazon.in/Extractor-Opt...15136&sprefix=hdmi+switch+digi,aps,249&sr=8-6

 

[arunvenkats]

Alternatively, if your TV has an optical out, you can feed that directly to the SMSL SU1 DAC without paying anything unless you are using the optical for purely music purpose from another source. I have a similar setup with optical feeding the same DAC. You will need to configure your TV sound options to make use of the PCM format. The SMSL SU-1 DAC is a VFM DAC garnering top reviews even in ASR and other forums.

Unfortunately there is no optical out.
And regarding the SMSL SU-1, it is brilliant. I am already using it for music.

 

[arunvenkats]

Keep in mind though that if you do this, you will have to keep the TV on all the time. I would suggest buy something like this instead. https://www.amazon.in/Extractor-Optical-TOSLINK-Support-EPL-547H/dp/B09ZRLSZWT/ref=sr_1_6?crid=MRGLPBAO04FW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jhRlEQgcIjHMJ0g133vGr1_1IUblbtO9kq-Ymcp9OIB3iLJmQK55lygu4_P5_chnYHkbXylAYkBg8umwV2Am_ewtmmlaw_uii13Cjbfh1moYUQaWTlQdFemEWdNe5jkAyp2PAgtx36yIe7xmFX728IYjcsGZbJ4ZmY_atlaqaVIynEiiVNTVCbBGRZnUQ64ewO5C_fpHi2bwDCcgfFUrtWkou3X_OnEzGVQlrRtzBfs.pGxNr4szZ9QPGkD4wTAqQEotP9_CluSP3FUuXJGvlcQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=hdmi+switch+audio+extractor+dolby+digital&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1741615136&sprefix=hdmi+switch+digi,aps,249&sr=8-6

Thanks for the info. Decided to go for this:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07BHYXVTY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

 

[arunvenkats]

Thanks for the info. Decided to go for this:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07BHYXVTY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Bad decision. Looks like there is no eARC/ARC support

 

[mbhangui]

Bad decision. Looks like there is no eARC/ARC support

You don't require eARC/ARC capability in this device. It has CEC passthrough. This means whatever comes on pin 13 of the HDMI passes through without any alteration. So your eARC/ARC capability of your TV and any devices connected to the TV will not lose any existing eARC/ARC capability

 

[arunvenkats]

You don't require eARC/ARC capability in this device. It has CEC passthrough. This means whatever comes on pin 13 of the HDMI passes through without any alteration. So your eARC/ARC capability of your TV and any devices connected to the TV will not lose any existing eARC/ARC capability

When I connect a FireTV stick to HDMI in and connect the TV to HDMI out, it works great. The device is able to extract audio and pass it out through the optical out. My DAC is able to read this and it works fine. And as you mentioned, CEC also works fine... I am able to control the firetv stick through the TV's remote.

My intended use case is to do away with the firetv stick (I need to buy one more) as the TV has a decent enough OS and all my streaming requirements are fulfilled. But when I connect the eARC HDMI port of the TV to the device, it is not able to pass the audio stream to the DAC. There is a LED called 'link' which lights up when I connect the firetv stick to the device. But does not when I connect only the TV's eARC port.

Anyways I can make this work? There is no return option and I have to invest again on a ARC compatible extractor!

 

[mbhangui]

You got the wrong device. It extracts audio from a HDMI source. ARC is Audio Return Channel via HDMI input of the TV. What you need is a device that can connect to the ARC pins of the HDMI TV input labled eARC/ARC. The ARC hdmi port on the TV doesn't output Video signal. It is an Input port with with audio returned through Pin 14 and Pin 17. Naturally your device doesn't work because it expects a source and not a sink.

You require a device something like below. If you are in the return period then just return the device

Amazon.in

 

[arunvenkats]

You got the wrong device. It extracts audio from a HDMI source. ARC is Audio Return Channel via HDMI input of the TV. What you need is a device that can connect to the ARC pins of the HDMI TV input labled eARC/ARC. The ARC hdmi port on the TV doesn't output Video signal. It is an Input port with with audio returned through Pin 14 and Pin 17. Naturally your device doesn't work because it expects a source and not a sink.

You require a device something like below. If you are in the return period then just return the device

Unfortunately no... No returns.

Amazon.in

Thanks. Will go ahead any buy this.

 

[mbhangui]

See this post. It is currently sold out on headphone zone

S

Thread 'SMSL PS100 audio converter with HDMI input @ ₹3.5k'

Oct 18, 2023

I'm calling it an audio converter because that's what SMSL is promoting it as. It does have an ESS DAC chip, though. What really caught my eye is the HDMI ARC support. While the specs might not be on par with other chi-fi DACs, it seems like a decent option for upgrading your TV's audio with an amp. Anybody here tried it out? What do you think?

• sudokpr
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Digital + Analog Converters (DAC/ADC/DDC)

• 

 

[arunvenkats]

See this post. It is currently sold out on headphone zone

S

Thread 'SMSL PS100 audio converter with HDMI input @ ₹3.5k'

Oct 18, 2023

I'm calling it an audio converter because that's what SMSL is promoting it as. It does have an ESS DAC chip, though. What really caught my eye is the HDMI ARC support. While the specs might not be on par with other chi-fi DACs, it seems like a decent option for upgrading your TV's audio with an amp. Anybody here tried it out? What do you think?

• sudokpr
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Digital + Analog Converters (DAC/ADC/DDC)

• 

Ok... I already have a DAC (SMSL SU-1). I currently have the SMSL's USB-in connected to a rpi to provide a Airplay sink. I will use the optical in of the SMSL for getting the TV audio. I am planning to use the device you shared in the previous post (eARC extractor) for this purpose.

Want to pick your brain on this: When I play a song in Youtube on the TV, does the TV's eARC send out the bitstream as it received from youtube? Want to know if the signal received by the DAC (from TV + ARC audio extractor) is unprocessed and raw so that I get bitperfect input to the DAC? Asking since I am amazed at the audio quality of some videos in Youtube. Hoping to get that quality up to the DAC. Not just Youtube, I also want to use Spotify on the TV.

 

[mbhangui]

Ok... I already have a DAC (SMSL SU-1). I currently have the SMSL's USB-in connected to a rpi to provide a Airplay sink. I will use the optical in of the SMSL for getting the TV audio. I am planning to use the device you shared in the previous post (eARC extractor) for this purpose.

Want to pick your brain on this: When I play a song in Youtube on the TV, does the TV's eARC send out the bitstream as it received from youtube? Want to know if the signal received by the DAC (from TV + ARC audio extractor) is unprocessed and raw so that I get bitperfect input to the DAC? Asking since I am amazed at the audio quality of some videos in Youtube. Hoping to get that quality up to the DAC. Not just Youtube, I also want to use Spotify on the TV.

The ARC return channel is always what the source sends it to the TV. The optical output is however LPCM/Dolby Digital/etc as set by the TV. This is selectable in the TV settings. This is what I see on my Son's LG tv where the audio is resampled. But he still enjoys listening to spotify.

In your case you are not going to use firestick but instead you are going to use what Samsung engineers thought best. So the audio processing will be done by whatever OS the tv uses. Usually tv manufacturers don't follow a strict standard. Some of them may even resample everything to 48 kHz like what Apple TV does by assuming all that the customer is interested is watching movies and videos and customers are least bothered about bit-perfectness. That the customer will use the TV for pristine sound reproduction is never in their mind. While going through posts on ASR on reviews of DACS that have ARC input, I have come across posts where users have complained audio being resampled to 48 kHz by the TV. Even a giant like Apple has botched it up on macbooks and apple tv. Only their IOS implementation is good. I have very little hope that Samsung/LG engineers have done this right. Having said that, you might still enjoy, especially if you are immune to placebo effect caused by pricing, brand and internet and reviews available on the net.

EDIT: Your dac might have a display indicating the sample rate. It will reveal what the TV is doing. Either way just try to enjoy what you get.

 

[arunvenkats]

The ARC return channel is always what the source sends it to the TV. The optical output is however LPCM/Dolby Digital/etc as set by the TV. This is selectable in the TV settings. This is what I see on my Son's LG tv where the audio is resampled. But he still enjoys listening to spotify.

In your case you are not going to use firestick but instead you are going to use what Samsung engineers thought best. So the audio processing will be done by whatever OS the tv uses. Usually tv manufacturers don't follow a strict standard. Some of them may even resample everything to 48 kHz like what Apple TV does by assuming all that the customer is interested is watching movies and videos and customers are least bothered about bit-perfectness. That the customer will use the TV for pristine sound reproduction is never in their mind. While going through posts on ASR on reviews of DACS that have ARC input, I have come across posts where users have complained audio being resampled to 48 kHz by the TV. Even a giant like Apple has botched it up on macbooks and apple tv. Only their IOS implementation is good. I have very little hope that Samsung/LG engineers have done this right.

Thanks for the info.

Having said that, you might still enjoy, especially if you are immune to placebo effect caused by pricing, brand and internet and reviews available on the net.

100% Agree. I am new to the audiophile world and am surprised to see so much of non objective opinions out there. My goals are just to make sure I don't have a blackbox(es). I want to understand what is really happening and get the best for my budget and listening preferences. And make peace with it.

I think this problem exists for all niche hobbies and passions. I come from astronomy/astrophotography hobby. The barrier to entry there is substantially mode than audio, mainly because of lofty and unrealistic "minimum" viable equipment. I even dabbled to try and setup some India specific "budget" / "poor man's" version of equipment which I thought people will be willing to consider. Went nowhere. The problem there is even higher since you could actually showoff the photos you take (along with the equipment) in social media.

EDIT: Your dac might have a display indicating the sample rate. It will reveal what the TV is doing. Either way just try to enjoy what you get.

Unfortunately no. My DAC does not have a display.