Connect Sprout to TV with only digital optical or hdmi out

Hello all. I have an older panasonic plasma tv, tc-p60st60 and for audio out it only has optical digital out or hdmi out. It doesn’t have an analog audio out as far as I can tell.

Is there anyway to connect the tv audio to the sprout?

If it makes any difference I’m running audio into the tv from an apple tv 3 through hdmi into the tv.

Thanks!

There are a number of TOSLINK (optical in) converters that can get you optical in and digital out or, if you’re already using Sprout’s internal DAC, can convert to audio. Like this one.

The Sprout’s DAC would definitely sound better if it is not already being used for another input. You can search Amazon for “Toslink to coax” and find a number of adaptors that would let you use the Sprout’s digital coax input.

How bad of an idea is it to have USB and COAX digital plugged into Sprout at the same time? I know COAX won’t work if USB is turned on, that is not too big an issue.

I think it shouldn’t matter, though if both sources are playing something at the same time it’ll default to the first one it locked to - so as long as you keep one source off when you’re not using it, you should be good.

Paul McGowan said

There are a number of TOSLINK (optical in) converters that can get you optical in and digital out or, if you’re already using Sprout’s internal DAC, can convert to audio. Like this one.


I’m trying to connect my Samsung TV with digital optical out to my new Sprout. I got the digital optical to analog audio that you linked to, Portta Digital Coaxial Toslink to Analog (L/R) Audio Converter.

How do I connect that to the Sprout now? I have L/R analog cables. Connect those to the Coax Analog inputs? What do you mean by “already using Sprout’s internal DAC”?

The coax inputs on the Sprout are only for turntables without a built-in phono stage. You would need an RCA to stereo mini-jack adaptor to use the Sprout’s analog input.

I think what Paul was referring to was that if you are not already using the Sprout’s coax digital in you could get a Toslink to digital coax adaptor and use that as the Sprout’s built-in DAC is certainly better quality than the DAC built into the cheap adaptor to which he linked.

Thanks Steve, that’s the approach we usually recommend. The relationship between the DAC and amp in the Sprout is part of the magic, so we try to keep those in the line if we can. I’ve actually used this converter on a bunch of recordings – it’s great, and at $12 a steal: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2948