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Is digital audio out worth it?

Jun 26, 2012 8:55 PM

im looking into buying a sound bar for my LED tv, and i have audio out cables (red and white plugs) converted from a standard headphone output from the tv, but i have a digital audio out port also. is it worth it to buy that cable? i found this one, http://www.amazon.com/OPTICAL-TOSLINK-DIGITAL-FIBER-OPTIC/dp/B0002MQGOU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1340743715&sr=8-5&keywords=optical+audio+cable

thoughts?

drsilentg drsilentg

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Judging by the specs I would say go with the optical cable. JM2C

jsimsace jsimsace
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@samstag: thanks for looking into it

drsilentg drsilentg
vote-for1vote-against

@drsilentg: The soundbar appears to be a 4-channel surround system, but I can't find any details on the TV. Neither the product specs nor the manual give any details on what the optical output is capable of. It used to be very common for TVs to only output stereo on the digital out port so I'd say that if they don't tell you it's 5.1 it's probably simple stereo.

I'd probably buy the cable and give it a shot. It may not sound any better using the digital cable, but it certainly won't sound worse.

samstag samstag
vote-for5vote-against

Yes, I would go with the optical cable.

The low price will be worth the difference in sound in return.

computiac computiac
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@samstag: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EPF6YO/ref=asc_df_B002EPF6YO2069649?smid=A3NBBK9CIDZT0L&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B002EPF6YO&tag=cnet_mp-2859-20

is the soundbar.

http://www.amazon.com/LG-42LS5700-42-Inch-1080p-LED-LCD/dp/B006ZH0K2K/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340745644&sr=1-1&keywords=led+lg+42

is TV.

if you know how to go about checking that i'd be much obliged

drsilentg drsilentg
vote-for4vote-against

It depends. If the soundbar is a simple 2-channel stereo model it won't make any noticeable difference. Also, if your TV model only supports stereo output on the digital out you won't notice a difference.

So check your specs on the soundbar and TV. If both are capable of surround sound it might be worth the optical upgrade.

samstag samstag

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