Hello, i have Philips Android TV with kodi obviously installed on it, and i mainly use it just for music.I use the optical out on my tv with an external DAC (toslink to rca converter) to an old amp which has only rca in. Now I was curious what are the best settings in kodi. I have it set on fixed output 192Khz (my dac is up to 192khz 24bit) no stereo upmix, i enabled passthrough with all of the dts and dolby options off, and i use 2.0 as number of digital channels at the top. Some of my music files are 320kbps mp3, a lot of them are flac, and not much are flac at 192khz. I'm i missing something in the settings, or all is well, if any has more experience with setting up audio in kodi i would like to hear some advice. Thanks
2016-02-06, 12:28
It's likely that the android tv hardware restricts/limits the audio files in some way. My Amazon Fire TV box, for example, outputs all audio at 48kHz. So I have left the Kodi setting as "optimised". It is unlikely that you will achieve bit-perfect throughput of the audio steam to your DAC if that is what you were after.
2016-02-06, 20:03
I was going for bit-perfect throughput...i suppose 
I thought that the optical out was to pass the digital signal unaffected to whatever it converts to analog signal, in my case the external DAC. That was my idea, to pass the signal unaffected by the Tv's dac or kodi.
I thought that the optical out was to pass the digital signal unaffected to whatever it converts to analog signal, in my case the external DAC. That was my idea, to pass the signal unaffected by the Tv's dac or kodi.
2016-02-07, 16:18
I used to think that an optical S/PDIF would just pass the bitstream through untouched but it is not as straightforward as that. The S/PDIF output needs to be capable of transmitting particular sample rates. For example, I also have a windows media PC with onboard Realtek HD Audio with optical output. It is not capable of passing the more unusual sample rates such as 32kHz, 88.2kHz and 176.4kHz through the optical output. The more recent versions of XBMC/KODI will helpfully resample any 88.2kHz files I have to 96kHz if the Audio output setting in KODI is "Optimised".
Take note that the "Optimised" setting does some things which may not be expected. What follows is my understanding of what the "Optimised" setting does :-
Say the playlist starts with
track 1 96kHz file
track 2 48kHz file
If you let both songs play through, the output will be 96kHz for both songs (providing your hardware allows this sample rate). If you press "Stop" after track 1, and then "Play" track 2, the output will be 96kHz for track 1, and 48kHz for track 2.
See my (unanswered) thread here http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=258298
Take note that the "Optimised" setting does some things which may not be expected. What follows is my understanding of what the "Optimised" setting does :-
Say the playlist starts with
track 1 96kHz file
track 2 48kHz file
If you let both songs play through, the output will be 96kHz for both songs (providing your hardware allows this sample rate). If you press "Stop" after track 1, and then "Play" track 2, the output will be 96kHz for track 1, and 48kHz for track 2.
See my (unanswered) thread here http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=258298
2016-02-07, 21:09
It has something to do in your case with the drivers on your Windows pc i suppose. I have that on my pc with Sound Blaster X-Fi, it resamples anything that isn't 44.1, 48, 92, 192 khz 24 bit to this values. As for kodi i dont have a really clear picture of what is the point of all this, Why everything must be so complicated And everyone who comes to my house wonders why the same song played through my phono sounds better than any cd or mp3 played through the same amp and speakers, analog is better in any single way.
And everyone who comes to my house wonders why the same song played through my phono sounds better than any cd or mp3 played through the same amp and speakers, analog is better in any single way.
2016-02-09, 10:53
You are probably right about it being a driver issue, but if there is no available driver to output 32, 88.2, and 176.2kHz, it may just as well be a hardware issue.
Incidentally the windows pc also has HDMI audio out where all sample rates are shown as available including 22, 32, 44.1,48, 88.2, 176.4 and 192.
I suppose KODI is just trying to make the best compromise with its audio decisions. It is better that music plays after being resampled than to not have certain sample rates not play at all.
I have digitised most of my vinyl collection, using "Audacity" and I have found that the resulting digital files sound as near identical as I can tell when playing the LP digital and original vinyl versions. I used the same turntable and pre-amp to record the LPs as for playback. There is no reason why the sound from the digital file should not match the LP if the equipment chain and volume level are as common as they can be.
Incidentally the windows pc also has HDMI audio out where all sample rates are shown as available including 22, 32, 44.1,48, 88.2, 176.4 and 192.
I suppose KODI is just trying to make the best compromise with its audio decisions. It is better that music plays after being resampled than to not have certain sample rates not play at all.
I have digitised most of my vinyl collection, using "Audacity" and I have found that the resulting digital files sound as near identical as I can tell when playing the LP digital and original vinyl versions. I used the same turntable and pre-amp to record the LPs as for playback. There is no reason why the sound from the digital file should not match the LP if the equipment chain and volume level are as common as they can be.
