DAC for TV sound?

[admin_exported]

Hi All, Ive been looking at DAC's for improving the sound of Sky+ HD through my HIFI amp. If I got say a Dacmagic, would it improve the sound quite a bit for TV and movie viewing? Would I have to link it up with an optical cable from the Sky box to the dac, then a RCA cable from the dac to the stereo amp? I have it connected up from the tv and the sound is better but still a bit pants in all honesty. I will not be going down the route of computer based music although it would give me an option to do so in the future etc in the lounge. In all, will a dac improve the sound a large amount or just a small amount? Cheers, Phil

 

[John Duncan]

It woud improve sound undoubtedly. However, I'd be a bit circumspect using it with video sources since they inevitably introduce a noticeable lip-sync delay, which is difficult if not impossible to eradicate. How much that delay mightannoy you would be up to you, obv- I've taken the digital out of my telly into the Uniti and it hasn't been that off-putting.

 

[Anonymous]

Might see if I could get one on a home trial and fine out if there is a lip sync issue, and if it would boost the sound.

 

[chebby]

I have been doing this for 18 months and never had a lip-sync problem from TV or DVD. (Wasn't even aware there was such a problem.)

Have the optical - from whichever box your coax aerial lead is plugged into - connected to the DAC.

So if you have the aerial connected directly to the telly then use digital audio output from the telly.

If you have the aerial connected directly to a Freeview box (or DVD/BD/Freeview recorder) then use the digital audio output from that.

If you only have a BD/DVD player (with no Freeview tuner) then you will need to use it's digital audio output (not the TV's) when playing discs.

 

[John Duncan]

Yes, as always, YMMV. Pace Virgin box to DACMagic (keeping audio and video separate) gave me some noticeable issues. Maybe the DM takes longer to convert than the Beresford.

 

[Sliced Bread]

I've noticed that the TV can have quite an influence on this. Lipsync issues changed quite dramatically when I changed TV, fortunately I have a home cinema system that has means of fixing the issue but it is still a pain.

Interestingly the delay can vary depending on if you're using bluray or DVD. If you're lucky enough to have a combination of hardware that avoids the problem, then you've certainly dodged a bullet. It can be a real pain.