Situation: A couple years ago, the audio out from the headphone jack on my wall mounted TV failed. The internal speakers, such as they are, still work but sound very poor. Wanting better audio, and since the TV has a SPDIF output connector, I bought this device: Digital to Analog Audio Converter which has the SPDIF input. I route that to an 18 watt stereo audio amp. The audio amp is a pretty neat little device just perfect for my needs.
Issue: I am accustomed to seeing the SPDIF outputs on equipment and read about it but this was my first experience with the hardware. And I'm less than impressed. Right off it was difficult to get any audio from the TV to the amp via the converter. I can see a red glow at the end of the cable when the TV is on, I plug it into that Converter and sometimes it works right off. Other times I really have to worry it into place, wiggling it around because I don't get audio right away. The sockets or the plugs on either end just aren't designed well it seems. The positive locks seem more of a Meh lock. Weak. So what happens is every time I want to watch that TV, I'm worrying the connections of the SPDIF trying to get audio because it seems to die between uses. This doesn't seem right.
Question: Does anyone have a bunch of experience with these SPDIF setups? Do they work better then mine does? Why do I need to worry the ends of the cable into just the perfect position for there to be audio out? Why is the connection so loose? Is it just the setup I bought or are they all this poorly made? The plug does seem to be more solid in the TV socket then the converter socket but it often comes loose on it's own too. The stiffness of the fiber optic cable doesn't help as it often fights staying in place when I close the door of the cabinet the TV is attached to.
Thanks! for any insight on how to proceed. Should I toss the now out of warranty Converter and buy new, or go to the trouble of fixing the audio device in the Vizio TV instead because no SPDIF device works well? I am not sure exactly what's wrong at this point but if these SPDIF systems are all prone to poor connections I'll just dump it and move to some other method.
Issue: I am accustomed to seeing the SPDIF outputs on equipment and read about it but this was my first experience with the hardware. And I'm less than impressed. Right off it was difficult to get any audio from the TV to the amp via the converter. I can see a red glow at the end of the cable when the TV is on, I plug it into that Converter and sometimes it works right off. Other times I really have to worry it into place, wiggling it around because I don't get audio right away. The sockets or the plugs on either end just aren't designed well it seems. The positive locks seem more of a Meh lock. Weak. So what happens is every time I want to watch that TV, I'm worrying the connections of the SPDIF trying to get audio because it seems to die between uses. This doesn't seem right.
Question: Does anyone have a bunch of experience with these SPDIF setups? Do they work better then mine does? Why do I need to worry the ends of the cable into just the perfect position for there to be audio out? Why is the connection so loose? Is it just the setup I bought or are they all this poorly made? The plug does seem to be more solid in the TV socket then the converter socket but it often comes loose on it's own too. The stiffness of the fiber optic cable doesn't help as it often fights staying in place when I close the door of the cabinet the TV is attached to.
Thanks! for any insight on how to proceed. Should I toss the now out of warranty Converter and buy new, or go to the trouble of fixing the audio device in the Vizio TV instead because no SPDIF device works well? I am not sure exactly what's wrong at this point but if these SPDIF systems are all prone to poor connections I'll just dump it and move to some other method.