Stupid question.. Panasonic GT60 to hifi amp?

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Soldato
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Right, apologies but I'm not really up on my audio stuff. After making do with the telly speakers on my GT60 I've decided to get off my bum and move my hifi amp from the opposite side of the lounge and squeeze it into the TV cabinet. We're getting fed up of whisper-quiet dialogue and ridiculously loud explosions! :p

So, before I start scrabbling about moving stuff -- is this possible? I have an old Arcam amp with the usual RCA/analogue L+R inputs. It's not an AV receiver. But I'm getting confused about what I can get out of the TV :confused:

There's a pic of the options just down this page: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs-entertainment/tvs/52868/panasonic-tx-p42gt60b-review

Looks like the RCA outs are just for AV2 which is useless :confused:

Does this mean I need to get an optical to analogue converter, to use the optical out?

Thanks!
 
Edit.

Ignore what I said before.

What is the source of the a/v content you watch? Built in tuner or external device such as Sky/Virgin?Sat box?

You could get a 3.5mm to RCA lead for you amp, audio coming from the headphone jack on the TV, though I'm not sure how good this would work in reality.

lBimrGz.jpg


Pretty sure the RCA connectors on the TV are input only?
 
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yeah it looks like the digital output is your best bet.

ive seen pretty affordable s/pdif optical to stereo line out converters about.

check the setting of the TV to see if you can set the optical out to only output stereo. If your converter should receive a 5.1 signal, you'll probably end up with silence.
 
There are no phono audio outputs on this TV, nor many TVs. Look at the icons: Arrow going in to a circle = Audio Input (sound going IN to the TV, hence INput). Arrow coming out of a circle, as for the Optical Out and Headphone Out = Audio Output (sound coming OUT of the TV, hence OUTput).

Your options are:

Headphone jack
Pros - simple and inexpensive to wire up. Directly compatible with old ARCAM amp. Easy control of volume is the amp doesn't have remote control volume

Cons - poorer quality sound than Optical because of cheap headphone amp circuit which is a low priority (read: low budget priority) connection. PITA to control because the headphone volume is most likely governed by an audio submenu rather than the TV's master volume control.


Optical Out + an Optical to Stereo Phono convertor (DAC)
Pros - best audio quality, definitely superior to headphone out especially with a high quality Hi-Fi amp in the mix

Cons - a little more expensive to rig up (£25-ish versus <£5 for the headphone jack). No volume control from TV; volume must be controlled by the amp.​

Both solutions still allow the TVs internal speakers to be used for casual viewing.

DAC - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009ZR7IB8/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003OSTH2M&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16M0Q4TKXTEBKXENJBNS
 
Well now that I'm home this all makes much more sense, thanks for all the info guys. And I don't know where I got Arcam from, but I've actually got a Marantz pm6010ose! :rolleyes:

Happy to get a DAC. Unfortunately it's going to be a while before I live somewhere in London that will have space for a 5.1 setup so I'm happy to do it properly for now! I take it if I go that route then I will simply have to turn the TV speakers down? I've just looked and can't see any settings relating to the S/PDIF apart from setting it to 'auto' or 'PCM' :confused:
 
Set the TV to PCM. This will ensure that the digital signal coming out of the optical is always compatible with the DAC.
 
Cool. I didn't see any options for setting the TV output for stereo though (rather than 5.1) think that will be a problem? I'll be using the following:

- Freeview TV from TV
- Bluray player
- PVR (old Humax SD thing)
- Raspberry Pi XBMC
- Fire TV
- Xbox 360
- Movie streaming box for work (modified Mac mini)
 
No it won't. By design, PCM via optical can only ever be stereo (2.0). This is because of bandwidth limits imposed in the optical (and coax) chain.
 
Ok fair enough thanks again. Was that DAC you linked to a specifically a decent one (or brand), or was it just an example of the first one you found? :)
 
It's a very simple DAC. There are copies of it available at a variety of prices. I've seen it (or its clones) being sold at over £60 in the past. My guess is they all come off the end of the same production line just with different model numbers. Incidentally, Richers have the CYP version for £38.

If you prefer something more "Hi-Fi" then there are standalone DACs that offer more sophisticated processing and a wider range if signal standard inputs; e.g. 96 and 192kHz signals. Prices range up to £800 from Richers and well in to the multiple thousands for high-end Hi-Fi DACs. IMO though they're a waste of money when the TV is the signal quality bottleneck and all is reduced to basic stereo PCM.
 
Cheers. For all my knowledge I've always been forever confused about RCA, phono, 3.5mm etc. Meh!
 
the RCA outs on the tv should cover you fine . Your basic red and white phono cable should do the job into your amp then.

hmm ...and on saying that , tried it on my panny .... seems it is locked to av2 ... how odd
 
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Quick and dirty way: Use the headphone socket and an appropriate cable, you can adjust the headphone socket volume in the TV setup menus

Better way. Use optical cable and a DAC
 
Yep Talon the RCA outs (if they are even outs) look to be for av2 on mine too. Anyhoo, I've now bought a DAC, optical lead, RCA lead and another HDMI which I needed too. Now all I need is to get the landlord to upgrade my (single) wall plug socket, I've already got a 8x brick on it which is full!
 
Well here's an update. My speakers don't really fit next to the TV. Balls. I need a bigger flat :( Sigh.

My other option now which kinda worked was my girlfriends Creative Inspire 5.1 computer speaker setup. But the only way to control volume is to use the dial which has to be plugged in. Also, we just tried to the aux in so I'm not exactly sure what kind of signal is coming through? :confused:

Was doing:

TV optical - DAC - RCA to single 3.5mm - Aux in to 5.1 sub/box - front 2 speakers

Sounded alright to me..
 
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