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Upgraded television question(s).

Kelsey

Kelsey

Active Member
We recently purchased a Samsung QLED 4K Vision AI 55" Q8F Smart TV. Our other Samsung set
is 15 years old and still works. It would be nice to hook up our Onkyo pre-amp and amplifier to it.
The new Samsung doesn't have RCA hook ups. What would be the best RCA to HDMI, AV to HDMI
converter? Also, will the same Samsung be able to read the conversion (if that is the correct term)?
Thanks,
Kelsey

​

 
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Kelsey said:
We recently purchased a Samsung QLED 4K Vision AI 55" Q8F Smart TV. Our other Samsung set
is 15 years old and still works. It would be nice to hook up our Onkyo pre-amp and amplifier to it.
The new Samsung doesn't have RCA hook ups. What would be the best RCA to HDMI, AV to HDMI
converter? Also, will the same Samsung be able to read the conversion (if that is the correct term)?
Thanks,
Kelsey

​

Click to expand...

My Samsung LED TV has an optical output.
I have connected that to the optical input on my Schitt Modi DAC.
It works fine but does something I did not expect. The level of the optical output seems to be fixed and has no correlation to what the TV volume is. So you can't mute the commercials with the TV remote.
 
As @RVT1K mentioned, the easiest would be TV optical out into a DAC; then RCA out from the DAC into the preamp.

If your preamp has a remote, any DAC will work (I too use a Schiit Modi). If not, you'll want a DAC with a remote. If you go this route, be aware that you will need to set the TV sound to SPDIF mode. (I think the factory setting is broadcast mode).
 
Even easier...if your Onkyo has an optical input, use that to connect the tv optica output.
 
Our Onkyo P-301 doesn't have an optical input. The Onkyo's remote
is used for on/off and volume control. The CD button on the remote
is used to send the signal via the RCA cable to the older tv set's audio
output.
What would be the best RCA to HDMI, AV to HDMI converter?
I've read that I'll have access the TV internal menu for this set up.
Thanks.
 
Does this TV have a optical output, if so their are plenty of various quality, and priced Tos-Link to RCA analog L/R audio output converters available via Amazon to try ...
I only know that I`ve seen them while looking for other type converters , but have no experience with that type of converter/decoder .

Good luck with your quest, Kelsey.
 
Your Samsung does have an optical digital output. Bill's suggestion is a good option since the optical outs sole purpose is for audio. You could also search for an HDMI to rca converter.
 
Personally, I wouldn't screw around at all with HDMI since it's a 2-ch use case and the TV has optical output.

K.I.S.S. TV optical out > DAC > Onkyo.

Inexpensive DAC

You can find DAC that'll work for even lower cost than the linked example, or you could spend WAY more on a DAC to accomplish the task, if you so choose.

(And, yes, you will need to set the TV output to Optical and the type of output to PCM or stereo... the names vary).
 
Last edited:
Your Samsung TV is newer than mine but, FWIW, I have to go into the Sound > Expert Settings menu to set digital output to PCM.

20250807_124704.jpg
 
Kelsey said:
Yep. Once again, the Audiokarma members pulled through with their
great responses to an electronic question(s). Purchased the Inexpensive DAC
and followed the instructions by using the KISS method.
Thank you everyone.
Click to expand...

I'm curious to know if you have the same experience as me in that the TV volume has no impact of the level of the optical audio out?
 
RVT1K said:
I'm curious to know if you have the same experience as me in that the TV volume has no impact of the level of the optical audio out?
Click to expand...
I have an older Aquos (Sharp) large screen TV and use the Optical out to a TIVO (DVR) and Integra Preamp. Adjusting TV remote volume does nothing. I use the Integra remote or the TIVO remote (which is programmed for the Integra remote codes). The Integra remote is also set to use the TV on/off command, so we almost never use the actual AQUOS remote
 
RVT1K said:
I'm curious to know if you have the same experience as me in that the TV volume has no impact of the level of the optical audio out?
Click to expand...

I think that is the typical scenario.

I've dealt with probably five or six different TVs and the volume was fixed out of the optical output.

On my HDMI connected units, volume does change using the TV remote, but it's not changing the level of the signal output, it's changing the actual volume setting of the processor through the CEC aspect of HDMI connection.
 
Our newer LG TV has a setting for TV Speaker + Optical output and I've been using that in our livingroom setup.

For surround use we have the AVR on and it gets audio from TV via optical input. The optical output is still fixed level so for surround use we turn TV speaker volume to zero and adjust surround volume via the AVR's remote.

For non-surround use we can leave the AVR turned off or that volume turned all the way down, then turn up the TV speaker volume with the TV remote. I often do this for my late night watching after the better half goes to bed.
 
RVT1K said:
I'm curious to know if you have the same experience as me in that the TV volume has no impact of the level of the optical audio out?
Click to expand...
With the Samsung tv remote, I turn the volume at the lowest setting. I went to
settings>sound output> clicked on receiver optical. I can't use the Samsung remote
for volume control for the receiver optical output. I can only use the Onkyo remote
for volume control for the television.
 
My Samsung is connected to my McIntosh HDMI Out and provides video only with that connection.

My internet streaming device for the TV, a Roku, sends HDMI out to the McIntosh preamp HDMI In.

That way both the audio and video are processed by the preamp.
 
I recently did the same thing, mine's the same, TV volume has to be "0" and the volume is controlled by my vintage fingers on the Technics Volume Knob. Of course for casual TV viewing I just use the TV speakers and remote.
 
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