If I connect the Steam Link to Sprout 100 via Bluetooth, the problem seems to be reduced.
And connecting via USB also seems to reduce the problem, but each option seems to produce different kind of crackles or other artifacts: TOSLink, Bluetooth or USB. TOSLink is the worst at 60Hz display resolution. I think the problem in my case must be with the Steam Link and not Sprout100, but I wonder why I never had these problems when it was connected via TOSLink to the Edifier S530D.
Ok, it’s not just the Steam Link. The skips in audio happen with other devices as well, just not very frequently. Playing a movie with the Vero 4K, I’m getting one skip in audio after every few minutes (didn’t measure exactly, but might have been 3 miutes or so).
This basically renders the Sprout 100 unusable for me, as the digital input was the main one I was going to use.
— edit —
Sorry to keep posting so much, but I now did a more objective test:
I generated a .wav file with a constant 440Hz tone.
I did at least 3 playback tests with Edifier S530D. And at least 3 playback tests with Sprout 100, using the same Edifier passive speaker pair, tried all the 3 audio modes on my HDMI Switch. In both cases there was a TOSLink connection from the HDMI Switch to the integrated DAC/amp.
Every time 3/3, the Edifier played back the tone for 5 minutes without any interruptions.
Every time 3/3, the Sprout 100 produced one or two skips/crackles that interrupted the tone during the 5 minutes.
I’m not sure what conclusion to draw here? That the Sprout’s DAC has a clock that doesn’t work properly when using 50Hz power? That something is wrong with the clock in my HDMI Switch, but yet the Edifier S530D is able to perfectly handle that without producing any errors?
— edit 2 —
Well, one can always do more testing. I just remembered that the PS3 has an optical audio output too, and when I plug it in directly, everything is fine ! So it’s not that the Sprout fundamentally doesn’t work with my system, but something is still weird here, why did the Editifer work flawlessly with the HDMI Switch?
– edit 3 –
Hi! I want to report that I bought a 20$ Amazon Basics HDMI SPDIF extractor, and connected it to the outgoing HDMI wire from the Monoprice HDMI Switch. Then instead of connecting Sprout 100’s optical input to the HDMI switch, I connected it to the SPDIF extractor and now everything seems to work fine so far. I did the same 5 minute constant tone test and there were no skips or crackles.
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Any recommendations on an inexpensive pre/pro. I’m having the same issue.
Welcome, @miguel76 !
I picked up a lightly used Marantz AV7702 a few years ago from TMR and it’s been fantastic! I would definitely keep an eye out on their site and grab one when one comes in at a good price.
Hello,
Sorry to re-hatch this post.
As a proud and happy recent Sprout100 owner in Amsterdam, NL — I’ve been experiencing similar issues mentioned here, but with an LG Oled C2 TV.
I’m using my TV as the streamer/media player connected directly to my Sprout100 via TOSlink (because it sounds fantastic!). So everything plaid through the TV apps (Spotify/YouTubeMusic etc.) works fine. No problems there.
The problem arises when using my Sony Blu-ray player, which is connected to the TV via HDMI, to play audio CDs through the TV into the Sprout (essentially as a cd-transport) — they play “choppy” as mentioned here. For some reason, audio plaid from external HDMI device connected to the TV result in TOSlink choppy connection — sounds amazing though.
I’ve tried switching to only PCM connection, but still the same.
Converting the digital Coax blu-ray output to analog and into the analog-in in the Sprout work fine, but sounds less dynamic.
I hope to find a solution for this, since using TVs as media streamers/players to a device like a Sprout100 seems like the modern solution for a lot of space-conscious people.
FIX UPDATE:
Well, I think I found a fix that works! No (firmware) updates needed.
With the help of this forum: Intermittent audio cutting out with optical (toslink) The Frame 2019 49" - Page 13 - Samsung Community
This is what I did:
While both on, I disconnected the TosLink lead. Turned Sprout and TV off and back on.
With both on, connected the lead firstly to the Sprout100, then the TV. Connect with the prompt on the TV.
I also changed the settings on the TV:
Digital Audio Output Format: PCM
But not sure if this does the fix, but couldn’t hurt.
Anyway, so far seems to have done the trick!
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Thanks much for adding your experience to the knowledge base.
Thanks for the update. I’m going to guess it’s the settings change you made to PCM. The Sprout can only process a 2 channel PCM signal. I believe TVs call surround signal “Bitstream” which its DAC can’t process.
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Hello, I have had a Sprout100 for about 6-7 years and have loved it with my Denon turntable and bookshelf speakers. However, I am also experiencing this stutter issue and am at my wits end, specifically with a 4K Apple TV and a Samsung Frame as my preferred setup. Audio from the Samsung’s built in apps works well, except that those have constant network issues that render TV watching impossible. I have the stutter about once a second on any other device plugged into the TV, testing with a solid tone from YouTube. I’ve changed every setting as advised here, on the TV and the input devices. I’ve purchased replacement cables. I’ve purchased an SPDIF extractor and an HDMI ARC adapter—I’m probably up to $120 to fix this issue with no results. I am not really a serious audiophile—anything that gets into elaborate components is more than I want to deal with. The Apple TV can connect perfectly well to the sprout over Bluetooth (the Frame doesn’t detect it), but the volume is extremely low and I don’t know how to fix that, either.
If there is something else I can try, I would love to know about it. This has been endlessly frustrating; I’ve loved my sprout up until I tried it with a new television.
Welcome!
I know next to nothing about televisions, but hopefully there is someone here who can be of help to you.