Intermittent audio cutting out with optical (toslink) The Frame 2019 49"

[Monographia]

I have some severe clipping, cutting out, choppy, glitchy, stuttering (whatever is the correct term) audio.

It happens for a millisecond every other second or so. It feels that it happens more often when there are audio intense moments, but it could also be that it's just more noticeable at those moments.

It happens on both HDMI channels (Apple TV and XBOX), as well as DTV (which I never watch, so that's not really an issue, but could help determining the problem).

The apps on Samsung works better, but after a while the clipping sound appears. On the apps it occurs sometimes and sometimes not, compared to the Apple TV and XBOX where it happens all the time steadily.

When I connect the optical cable to my XBOX everything sounds perfect and there is no clipping whatsoever. 

Also analogue works perfectly with the amp.

All the suggestions I've read mostly focused on changing the Digital Output Audio Format to PCM, which I've tried with no luck.

I've tried factory resetting the TV which didn't do anything.

The manual for my amp says:

The digital inputs are capable of handling up to 24bit / 192 kHz audio signal in PCM-format. check your source signal type to make sure it is in the right format.

Are there any settings I'm missing on my TV to set this up properly? Does 24bit / 192kHz mean anything that I should change in the setup?

Here is my setup:

TV: The Frame 2019 49" (QE49LS03RAU) – 2 months old

Amp: NAD Amp1 (NADAMP1BK) connected via the optical input (D1 for TV use) with a new optical cable (ARGCL1OPT1,0) – both bought 1 week ago

Stereo system 2:1

HDMI 1: Apple TV4 connected with new Premium HDMI cable from Deltaco

I've tried all the different audio settings (Stereo / Dolby Digital, and forcing 16bit) which doesn't change anything

HDMI 2: XBOX One S connected with the in-the-box HDMI cable – 2 weeks old

Tried Stereo Uncompressed and Bitstream, neither changed anything. 

Worth noting is that the TV don't recognize my amp correctly, it instead sets it up as a Denon. 

When it doesn't want to set the amp up and I manually have to say which it is I can choose Nad Amp1, but the remote won't work then and it didn't have any any other affect on the audio.

[CarloL]

Hey @Monographia! Try restarting the TV: Unplug your TV from the wall socket > Wait 30 seconds, then plug your TV back in > Using your remote, turn your TV on. If this doesn't help, mute the TV sound completely, can you still hear a clicking/cutting audio? 

[Monographia]

Hi @CarloL! Thank you for the response.
I have tried restarting the TV with unplugging, but for good measure I tried again with no difference.
The audio stuttering only occurs when there is audio, so no problem when it’s quiet.

I recorded this on my phone (hopefully you can listen through Dropbox) to get a better understanding of the issue:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4yd6022rlf7piuv/SamsungTV-Sound-Issue.m4a?dl=0
This was played on the Apple TV > HDMI to TV > Optical to reciever.
Apple TV audio settings were set to Stereo.
TV audio settings were set to PCM.
No matter what settings I change any noticeable results are happening.

The apps on the TV doesn’t have the stuttering, except from some few times it happened.
Right now that’s the only part I can use with this setup, Apple TV, Xbox and DTV is unusable.

Really appreciate any help I can get!

[CarloL]

Thanks for your reply and for confirming this! It's good that the clicking sound is not present on Mute. I've tried opening the link you sent but the site could not be reached. Let's proceed with a Sound Test on the TV: Settings > Support > Self Diagnosis > Start Sound Test > Follow the instructions and complete the test. Now, make sure that the Volume is turned up and watch again the TV as normal. Is the clicking sound still present? 

[Monographia]

Thank you for the help, truly appreciating it. 
The clicking sound is still present during the Sound Test. 
The test asks me if I want to use my external speakers, which I do, and then asks me if I still hear the problem, which I do. After that it suggests me to call the Call Centre.
I recorded it and uploaded it to a different service, hopefully you will be able to listen to this one: 

Sound Test 

[CarlH]

Thanks for the audio file, @Monographia. Can you confirm the software version you're currently running? This can be found in Support > Software Update. The latest version is 1335.0. If you're unable to download it through the usual method, this link will allow you to download it to a computer which can then be transferred to a USB stick and installed using that. Let us know if you're able to update if you're not currently running it. 

[Monographia]

Hi @CarlH, thank you for your feedback. 

The software is updated to the latest version, 1335. 
I have completely restored it to factory settings and then updated with no difference. 

[SaudA]

Cheers for checking. I'd recommend an engineer's inspection as the next step. Please ring 0333 000 0333 to arrange this.

[SuperManders]

I have the exact same problem on a 2020 Frame 55". Tried all the things you describe, and spent several hours on the phone with Samsung. 

The main HI-FI actor in my country tells me that Samsung has very poor optical ports, and they offer a tweaked a DAC, Argon Nano DAC, to work with Samsung TV´s.

I have ordered one, so I cross my fingers it will fix the problem.

Anyhow it is very dissapointing that Samsung hardware does not work with other common products.

I also spoke to a service tech that Samsung offered to send to my home, and he told me that Samsung probably would state they cannot support or take responsibility for products from other manufacturers.

[Monographia]

That's really disappointing to hear, that they would cheap out on the optical port when the TV costs that much.

I've got great help from Samsung Support actually, with a technician coming to my place last week. Sadly we couldn't find a solution, but he's coming back tomorrow. 

He changed the Invisible Cable and the PCB on both the One Connect Box and the screen itself to no avail. 

He needed to do some research and hopefully we can come to a conclusion tomorrow, but with this information my hope of finding a solution is very low. If it's not working I'm probably going to return the TV and go for another brand.

A D/A converter is not really an option for me, my only analogue port is occupied. Even if this would be an option, all of the advantages of using a digital port get's lost – mainly allowing the TV to change volume on the amplifier. 

One option could be a HDMI-Arc to Optical converter, but so far the ones I found on Amazon lost the ability to change volume (when I read the reviews). If someone has any suggestion please let me know.

I'll give a report after the technician support.

Excited to hear your results SuperManders, even if it's not an option for me.