Contributor I

TV Audio output setting

8 replies
136 views

When i set my TCL TV audio output to auto it plays youtube content in dolby multi channel pcm 2.0. when i set it to passthrough it plays content in stereo pcm. Auto sounds a lot louder/dynamic at the same volume level and to my ears sounds better? Passthrough sounds quieter but perhaps technically better quality? (I’m not sure). I thought the best setting for a soundbar was to set it to passthrough so it receives uncoded audio and the soundbar outputs the raw source? It seems like I prefer the opposite! Which format is better? I have a beam gen 2 FYI. It’s the same on Netflix also. I can’t remember the formats displayed on the Sonos now playing screen but auto sounds better to me also. Would love to hear some audio enthusiasts advice!

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nik9669a

Senior Virtuoso

Don’t worry about names and labels. Go by your ears and use the settings that sound best to you.

jgatie

Uhhhm, you are getting a few terms incorrect. Dolby cannot be PCM. PCM is the format, Dolby is the codec. Also, “Multi-channel PCM 2.0” is PCM stereo. So although the mix may be different, or the TV could be doing something to affect the stream, both are just 2 channel stereo. Which is normal for YouTube, which downgrades to 2.0 stereo for everything except premium subscriptions. So if you are evaluating what sounds better, YouTube is probably not the source to be comparing.

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fergy13Author

Contributor I

Well that’s just what it says “Dolby multichannel pcm 2.0” I have YT premium. It’s not just YT, Netflix as well the auto setting is louder and sounds better. Passthrough is quiet. I’m just confused as everyone says put your tv on Passthrough for the best sound but in my case it’s not true.

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nik9669a

Senior Virtuoso

Well that’s just what it says “Dolby multichannel pcm 2.0” I have YT premium. It’s not just YT, Netflix as well the auto setting is louder and sounds better. Passthrough is quiet. I’m just confused as everyone says put your tv on Passthrough for the best sound but in my case it’s not true.

I’m not clear where you’re getting your format report from: your tv or the Sonos app.

The Sonos app will tell you what it’s actually receiving, rather than what the broadcaster is claiming, or what your tv might have converted the signal into.

jgatie

Well that’s just what it says “Dolby multichannel pcm 2.0” I have YT premium. It’s not just YT, Netflix as well the auto setting is louder and sounds better. Passthrough is quiet. I’m just confused as everyone says put your tv on Passthrough for the best sound but in my case it’s not true.

Whatever it is reported as, PCM 2.0 is stereo, as is PCM stereo. As to the sound, a louder volume is always going to sound “better” even if it is the exact same source. It’s a well known phenomena (Fletcher-Munson Effect) that bass and treble seem to get less pronounced at lower volumes, and is the basis for the “Loudness” adjustment on A/V equipment. So it may just be the default input levels for those particular settings. Adjust the volume of each to equal levels and then compare.

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fergy13Author

Contributor I

Well that’s just what it says “Dolby multichannel pcm 2.0” I have YT premium. It’s not just YT, Netflix as well the auto setting is louder and sounds better. Passthrough is quiet. I’m just confused as everyone says put your tv on Passthrough for the best sound but in my case it’s not true.

I’m not clear where you’re getting your format report from: your tv or the Sonos app.

The Sonos app will tell you what it’s actually receiving, rather than what the broadcaster is claiming, or what your tv might have converted the signal into.

The Sonos app when on the now playing tab with your source - it says what audio format it’s playing.

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fergy13Author

Contributor I

Well that’s just what it says “Dolby multichannel pcm 2.0” I have YT premium. It’s not just YT, Netflix as well the auto setting is louder and sounds better. Passthrough is quiet. I’m just confused as everyone says put your tv on Passthrough for the best sound but in my case it’s not true.

Whatever it is reported as, PCM 2.0 is stereo, as is PCM stereo. As to the sound, a louder volume is always going to sound “better” even if it is the exact same source. It’s a well known phenomena (Fletcher-Munson Effect) that bass and treble seem to get less pronounced at lower volumes, and is the basis for the “Loudness” adjustment on A/V equipment. So it may just be the default input levels for those particular settings. Adjust the volume of each to equal levels and then compare.

Yea I’ve adjusted the volume to compare - it’s just weird that auto puts out a different format than Passthrough. Auto should put out the highest most compatible source for the soundbar the same as Passthrough but I’m getting two different formats on every different type of content (YT, Netflix etc) and when I go to settings - about system. Under my beam when playing auto it says Dolby MAT as audio source but when I change it to Passthrough it says PCM.

Airgetlam

TCL is a common company known for their poor processing of HDMI ARC data, it seems. You’ll see them appear in many threads regarding complaints, on these forums.

Bruce

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