TOSLINK to AES/EBU converters

[JustJones]

Thanks for that - but since the Toslink sent to a Marantz receiver has no problems I do not think that the problem is with the TV's output.

It's probably the TV, this link is about LG but I had problems with Samsung as well.

Latest LG G5 series toslink dropouts

Owning a Hifi store, i tend to change TV sets/equipment now and then. After the last LG, we had two Sony high end TV models and now a LG 65G56LS again. (providing the best picture quality ive seen till now) TV audio playback: over toslink or HDMIarc, depending of video material. Toslink via...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Skytree]

A Behringer DEQ2496 AES out into Genelecs works well.

 

[JayGilb]

A Behringer DEQ2496 AES out into Genelecs works well.

A Behringer SRC 2496 also does toslink to aes conversion and can be found used for less than $200.
They are a 1u rackmount, so may not work for everyone.

 

[Esprit]

But that does not output an AES/EBU signal.

Did you read Genelec's response? S/PDIF and AES/EBU are both digital with the difference in impedance.
Many users above drive Genelecs with the S/PDIF-AES/EBU cable.

 

[geoffrey5239]

Gear4Music have sent me this which may or may not be correct. Any comments?

"Lambden Audio LA507
A Toslink-S/PDIF interface unit (likely a Toslink splitter/switch or interface), not directly related to format conversion between AES/EBU and S/PDIF, and definitely not the same as the Hosa converter.

Hosa ODL‑312
A dedicated format converter, converting between AES/EBU (XLR) and S/PDIF (optical Toslink) formats in both directions

They have different roles: one is just an interface, the other actively converts formats and is built by another manufacturer (Hosa).
The Hosa ODL‑312 specs clearly state support for 24-bit, 96 kHz S/PDIF/AES formats.

The LA507, being a basic interface/splitter, doesn’t have format conversion and thus doesn't document its bit-depth or sampling rate — but most modern Toslink interfaces handle up to at least 24-bit / 96 kHz."

 

[JustJones]

Gear4Music have sent me this which may or may not be correct. Any comments?

"Lambden Audio LA507
A Toslink-S/PDIF interface unit (likely a Toslink splitter/switch or interface), not directly related to format conversion between AES/EBU and S/PDIF, and definitely not the same as the Hosa converter.

Hosa ODL‑312
A dedicated format converter, converting between AES/EBU (XLR) and S/PDIF (optical Toslink) formats in both directions

They have different roles: one is just an interface, the other actively converts formats and is built by another manufacturer (Hosa).
The Hosa ODL‑312 specs clearly state support for 24-bit, 96 kHz S/PDIF/AES formats.

The LA507, being a basic interface/splitter, doesn’t have format conversion and thus doesn't document its bit-depth or sampling rate — but most modern Toslink interfaces handle up to at least 24-bit / 96 kHz."

They have contradicting information on their website. They say it's a "converter" . They claim two way conversion AES /EBU to Toslink and Toslink to AES / EBU and they also say it's only one way conversation from AES/EBU to Toslink.

The device supports two-channel audio transfer in either direction,

• Conversion: AES/EBU to S/PDIF (One-Way)
• Connections: Toslink S/PDIF Inputs/Outputs And AES/EBU (XLR) Inputs/Outputs

They also claim this which doesn't make sense.

convert digital AES/EBU (XLR) audio to analogue S/PDIF (TOSlink).

To go from electrical AES/EBU to optical Toslink and vise versa it has to do conversion not simply be a splitter.

 

[geoffrey5239]

I suspect the issue is not the converter, but the abysmal SPDIF implementation of the TV. Many TVs are known to have a very poor implementation, leading to out-of-spec timings and, therefore, glitches.

After investigating further (without an oscilloscope) I have been able to demonstrate that you were correct and that the problem is with the TOSLINK output of my LG OLED55CS6LA television. I can send a 440hz audio signal from an attached computer directly to the speakers either via TOSLINK and the AliExpress TOSLINK to AES converter - or via the TV's TOSLINK and the same TOSLINK to AES converter. The direct route works perfectly with no glitches but the route using the TV glitches and flashes the speakers LEDs. The HOSA ODC-312 TOSLINK to AES converter may solve the problem as it reconstitutes the signal; the alternative seems to be to use an eARC to TOSLINK converter or to get a better TV!

 

[geoffrey5239]

After investigating further (without an oscilloscope) I have been able to demonstrate that you were correct and that the problem is with the TOSLINK output of my LG OLED55CS6LA television. I can send a 440hz audio signal from an attached computer directly to the speakers either via TOSLINK and the AliExpress TOSLINK to AES converter - or via the TV's TOSLINK and the same TOSLINK to AES converter. The direct route works perfectly with no glitches but the route using the TV glitches and flashes the speakers LEDs. The HOSA ODC-312 TOSLINK to AES converter may solve the problem as it reconstitutes the signal; the alternative seems to be to use an eARC to TOSLINK converter or to get a better TV!

Just to report that I found another solution which completely stops the glitches from the LG TOSLINK output. I fed the TOSLINK to a simple TOSLINK to Analogue converter and then to a simple Analogue to TOSLINK converter with the output from this going to the original AliExpress TOSLINK to AES converter. Presumably even these very cheap converters can put out a more stable TOSLINK signal that the LG TV.

 

[voodooless]

Skip the analog to toslink… the speaker has analog input and probably does a better job than a super cheap ADC.

 

[geoffrey5239]

Skip the analog to toslink… the speaker has analog input and probably does a better job than a super cheap ADC.

Yes that works nicely! I did not think that the cheap ADC would have a high enough audio output and that I would have needed to put the output through my analogue system but this is not the case. And I now can put the output of my analogue system through an analogue to digital converter - and this also works nicely. My remaining problem is I cannot get the Genelec 8351B automatic switch over between analogue and digital to work despite having the Group saving the setting as automatic. Switching from digital (which is now my analogue system) to analogue (now the smart TV) does not happen even if the AES connector is disconnected.
ADDED I have now solved this automatic switch over problem; the solution was that the switch over only works automatically if GLM 5 is not running on the computer; the GLM box can be left connected and the 9101B remote volume control still works.