Quick Audio Questions Megathread: Start here

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Quick Audio Questions Megathread: Start here

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

drhankmccoyphd posted:

What�s the best quality streaming audio service? Currently I have Spotify family plan which seems to give me decent high quality streaming options. I�ve heard that Apple Music is superior if using Apple hardware. I�m an iPhone user but I don�t use air buds. Not sure if that matters. I also listen in my Tesla model 3 which should have a decent sound system. I�ve also heard tidal is the best just not sure if it�s worth the money. Open to suggestions even if it�s just �stick with Spotify�.

YouTube premium, because it gets rid of ads, and you can play videos with the screen off.
Which is convenient when a whollle bunch of esoteric/rare/abandoned/homemade poo poo doesn't exist anywhere else.

# ¿ Sep 3, 2024 02:05

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# ¿ Nov 13, 2025 15:28

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

Sri.Theo posted:

Give Apple Music a try to see if you can detect the higher streaming quality, it has a trial period. If not just stick with Spotify.

Apple doesn't have weird 80s/90s poo poo that never got signed toa label, or even a had a cd release. That's why I'll take YouTube over the others. The only way Apple would get my money is if they allowed News+ to be bundled with anything other than every other piece of crap subscription they offer.

But they don't.

And I really don't give a poo poo about the bitrate. Also I used my trial period with my iPhone 11, and with Apple, you only get one free trial.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2024 01:05

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

Bad Munki posted:

HDMI-eARC suddenly stopped working on my Samsung S90C and Q990D soundbar. As far as I know, no settings or hardware was changed, it just stopped one day. It failed the day before I had to travel so I just unplugged the soundbar while I was gone so it�d work for the family.

Now I�m back and absolutely cannot fix it.

1: Discovered the problem trying to use an AppleTV 4K. Can fully replicate the problem using the Samsung TV�s built in Netflix app, or anything that produces sound at all (including menu navigation blips.)

2: The TV speakers themselves work fine.

3: The soundbar set itself works fine. I can stream to it via airplay, and playing the tv audio through it via WiFi also works.

Works:

Also works:

No audio at all:

Note that that one initially just said �HDMI� in parentheses there (with no audio output.) I had it sitting there for a bit and it changed to �HDMI-eARC� as below (still no audio.)

Also no audio:

For the eARC channel, I am using the very hefty ultra high speed HDMI cable that came with the soundbar, and have verified it�s plugged into the right port at both the TV and soundbar. I have also tried another HDMI cable, one that I had my Apple TV test throughput on, it passed with flying colors.

I tried both Auto and PCM for the audio output format.

I have run software updates on the TV and soundbar, and have gone as far as factory resetting the TV in desperation.

I imagine my next step is probably a call to Samsung, but I honestly don�t have a lot of optimism there so I thought I�d give it a shot here.

Physically unplug the TV, as well as the soundbar from the power, wait a few minutes, then plug em back in, turn on the tv, and see if the soundbar turns on and starts working like normal.
I've got an S95D and the Q900C, and I've only ever had them... Decouple, for lack of a better term just once. My Apple TV is connected directly to the TV.

(I also use the Q-Symphony gimmick)

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 07:24 on May 29, 2025

# ¿ May 29, 2025 07:20

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

Bad Munki posted:

Antithetical to my goals. I used to have a full-on receiver and amp and all the poo poo that goes with that, I was intentionally simplifying my life and am finding I very much prefer a ready-to-wear solution with a reduced footprint.

Like, this is the entire system as it currently stands:

I literally never ever ever under any circumstances need the TV itself to produce audio content. We don't watch broadcast on there, we don't have cable or sat, and there is not a single app the TV offers that I wouldn't rather use the AppleTV version. If I could completely disable all smart functionality, I would do so in a heartbeat. The smartest feature I need from the TV is it automatically switching to whichever input was just activated.

That being said, I realize my idea that I could just have a small input mixer that would provide its own eARC functionality is tantamount to the same, just a less capable receiver, or at least a step in that direction. The important part to me here is to make it as transparent as possible in the system. I don't care if it's there, I just don't want to know that it's there. If my 85-year-old parents come over and want to use the TV, I don't want to add a section to the instructions that includes receiver management.

Bought a Yamaha avr and it died in barely three years. Never again.
I've had this setup since 2016 on three different televisions, and zero issues.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2025 23:02

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

Dogen posted:

The receiver can pull whatever if it�s the first device in the chain

The receiver must support hdmi 2.1 for some newer stuff but not Dolby vision I think, to display to the tv (variable refresh rate for example).

Um actually:

quote:

https://www.audioholics.com/audio-video-cables/hdmi-2.1-1#:~:text=And%20since%20all%20of%20the,4K%20120Hz%2C%20and%20the%20ability
The New Rules of HDMI 2.1

So, what has changed? First, compliance testing for HDMI 2.0 has been discontinued. All future devices with an HDMI 2.x connection will be tested for HDMI 2.1 compliance, even if they would have been considered HDMI 2.0 devices under the old system. These devices don�t have to offer ANY of the new HDMI 2.1 features in order to pass HDMI 2.1 compliance testing. Also, the features of HDMI 2.0 are now considered a sub-set of HDMI 2.1. And since all of the newer HDMI 2.1 features have been considered �optional� from the start, a new TV can be labeled �HDMI 2.1 compliant� (and the manufacturer can stamp �HDMI 2.1� next to its HDMI ports), even if the TV has no FRL, no Dynamic HDR, no ALLM, no eARC, no VRR, no QMS, no QFT, no 4K 120Hz, and the ability to accept only 18 Gbps of bandwidth. Effectively, an HDMI 2.0 device can now masquerade as an HDMI 2.1 device, as long as it has been submitted for compliance testing.

The industry decided that every feature of 2.1 is optional, while still allowing everyone to say their cable/port is hdmi 2.1, so you'll really need to do your homework to know what your tv/avr/cables/consoles actually support.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2025 18:06

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

qirex posted:

For $150 Edifier speakers are probably worth looking at.

I've got the R1700BT. Nice set, and it comes with Bluetooth as well. Bought em on sale before the Canadian dollar poo poo the bed.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2025 21:15

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# ¿ Nov 13, 2025 15:28

Mister Facetious: Apr 21, 2007; I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

Olympic Mathlete posted:

My cousin is looking for a set of bookshelf speakers with Bluetooth. Any decent option out there for not a whole stack of cash?

I've got a set of Edifiers that have been pretty nice (R1700bt). Just wait for a sale though.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2025 15:43

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