Connecting new TV to old HiFi

[Sirharoon]

Hi all.
I recently purchased a new 4K TV (LG 49UB850V) and although the sound on it is above average, I wanted an upgrade. Now I had an old HiFi from the 90's sometime (Sony MHC-W555) lying around and wanted to hook it up, but this has been quite difficult.
The hifi only has an Optical Output and not Input, so I can't use that and I'm not looking to spend too much on a decent DAC either (If I am right in believing that could be used to connect it?)
The HDMI seems to be some what useless too as it is a far newer technology compared to what the hifi is equipped with.
I tried to use an AV Scart to RCA adapter (I believe is the correct name) but although the AV1 port on the TV is labelled IN/OUT this would deliver nothing but noise.
One other thing I tried was a headphone line out with the RCA cables into the hifi, however although this did actually play the audio, it had a huge amount of noise. I'm not sure whether this is down to the quality of the cable alone (it's a pretty low standard Nokia one) or if it's something else - I did read something about a ground loop which could cause this?
As I mentioned before I don't want to spend too much to resolve this issue as I just wanted to connect the hifi instead of buying a new system for some £200.
That's quite an essay there and I hope it's enough for someone to help me out with. Any help is much appreciated. Thanksin advance
P.S Apologies if this has been posted before, but I couldn't quite find what I needed when I scanned the net for an answer.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

A good, small optical - RCA analogue DAC will cost around £25 - £30. Plenty of choice on Amazon.

Example ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter-Optical-black/dp/...

Link now works.

 

[chebby]

A good, small optical - RCA analogue DAC will cost around £25 - £30. Plenty of choice on Amazon.

Example ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter-Optical-black/dp/B0068IPE40/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1422107369&sr=8-5&keywords=Optical+dac+rca

... This assumes you have a spare RCA analogue input (usually labelled 'aux') on your hi-fi, and an optical digital output (Toslink) on your new TV.

 

[Sirharoon]

Thank you for your fast reply.
What difference does the pricing actually make? As in how much difference actually is there between a £3 DAC and a £30 DAC?
I have read that sometimes cheaper ones can't convert 5.1 surround sound like that which I believe HD channels have and this will result in no sound at all? Is this something I need to worry about? As I'm not after surround sound (hifi only has two speakers) but wouldnt want the sound cutting out.
Also the hifi does have two RCA inputs (red and white ports), one on the front and one on the rear. (My understanding was that the aux is the small jack which goes into the headphone line out)
Thanks again

 

[Sirharoon]

Also does the price/quality of the optical cable make any major difference? I know with HDMI cables they are often priced very high even though a cheap alternative performs just as well. Is this true for optical cables too?

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Also does the price/quality of the optical cable make any major difference? I know with HDMI cables they are often priced very high even though a cheap alternative performs just as well. Is this true for optical cables too?

*smile*

Oh no. That's a very dangerous question, one which has seen endless debate, friends falling out, families divided. I think I know what's coming.

 

[macdiddy]

*stop*

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

But I do feel the OP deserves an honest reply, so diplomatically, I would say a reasonably well made budget Optical Cable would easily be good enough for your needs.

 

[MeanandGreen]

Having used both a cheap £15 DAC from Amazon and currently a £150 Arcam rLink DAC to connect my TV to my amplifier via the TV's optical output, I can safely tell you that for your requirements one of the more cheaper options will do you just fine.

Also just look for a cheap optical toss link cable on Amazon too. An optical cable is an optical cable, in the short runs for this application a pricy one is throwing your money away.

 

[MeanandGreen]

Having used both a cheap £15 DAC from Amazon and currently a £150 Arcam rLink DAC to connect my TV to my amplifier via the TV's optical output, I can safely tell you that for your requirements one of the more cheaper options will do you just fine.

Also just look for a cheap optical tosslink cable on Amazon too. An optical cable is an optical cable, in the short runs for this application a pricy one is throwing your money away.

 

[macdiddy]

*biggrin*

 

[Sirharoon]

Right thanks then, I'll give it a go and see how it works -hopefully it will work. I'll probably just get the fiio DAC that was posted at the start of the thread and I don't know if my judgement is all that good, but there was a decent looking cable on amazon too.
Will report back to let you know how it works out.
Thanks again!

 

[Sirharoon]

Wait should I go for £30 Fiio DAC or a cheaper alternative on amazon (best seller)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00KNNSKV0/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1422187029&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41bXR%2BOgJhL&ref=plSrch

 

[Sirharoon]

And for the sake of confirmation, the cheaper DAC's won't cut out if a HD or blu ray channel/film is played through it? As this is something I read which put me off getting a dac previously. I do only have a 2 speaker system, but read that the audio would cut altogether if a 5.1 signal forexample was sent through the dac..?

 

[daveh75]

A stereo DAC wont handle muilti-channel formats, so you need to configure the source to downmix them stereo.