Optical out - retain TV speakers sound?

davidhenson

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Hi there,

(Hopefully) quick question... if I use a Toslink Optical out cable from my TV with a 3.5mm jack on the other end into my amp and speakers for improved TV sound, will I still get sound as normal from the built-in TV speakers as well as those now connceted to the amp?

My TV is an LG 32LD490. The only sound outputs it has are from the headphone socket and the optical out.

Many thanks for any advice you guys might be able to offer,

Dave
 
What amp do you have? Do you not have an optical input?
I take it the lead has a digital to analogue convertor built in then?
If connected to the optical output the TV speakers will still work but why would you want them on when you have the amp and speakers which are going to sound so much better.
 
PSM1is right, you need to be a little more clear.

An optical out, is just that OPTICAL (optical meaning light) via fiber optic glass. Somehow it must be converted to an electrical signal to be usable.

However, your need for this conversion depends on what amp you have. If you have a stereo amp, then likely you need a device to make that conversion externally;like an external Digital to Analog Converter (DAC). If you have an AV surround amp, then likely that amp can make the conversion internally.

I have seen cheap cables that will convert the light of the optical wire into a comparable analog signal, though I question the quality of the conversion, that doesn't solve your problem because likely the signal is still in PCM (digital) format, and it still needs to be converted to the analog equivalent.

So, as you can see, it is not as simple as connecting this to that.

You've given us your TV, and now we need to know specifically what amp you have, and it wouldn't hurt to tell us what speakers you have.

If this is something of a standard stereo amp, then more than likely you will get the best results using the TV's headphone output to connect to the stereo.

Finally, your post is just missing too many details for us to give you a usable response.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Ummm, to answer the actual question: Yes.

Your TV will output sound via optical and to its own speakers simultaneously. Well, at least most TV's, most any other device with optical does.

But yes as others said, let us hope you have an AV Amp with optical input or a harman/kardon or something!
 
Right ... sorry I forgot to answer the core question.

There is a feature in your TV menus to turn the internal speakers On or Off, at least on most TVs.

However, some headphone jacks automatically cut off the internal speakers when you plug the headphones (or whatever) in. This is done on the assumption that if you are using headphones you don't want the speakers on, though I disagree on the logic of that point.

So, on that one issue, you typically turn the internal speakers On and Off in the TV Setup menus.

But, as indicated earlier, I think you have a far bigger problem that needs some explanation to resolve. Optical inputs transfer data as light, you can't simple convert light to electricity by changing the connector at one end to a 3.5mm stereo.

Even if you buy a device to change light into electricity, it does not convert it to audio. You have simply converted a digital pulse train of light to a electrical pulse train. You still need something to convert that signal from a digital format into an pure analog format.

Give us some more information, and we will help you work out how to best connect your TV to your amp.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Ah.. actually i missed reading the bit about toslink to 3.5mm in the original post so yeah maybe i answered a worthless question!
 

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