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.

[Phlajo]

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I've had the same issue with audio stuttering from my Samsung The Frame 65" (2019 model), connected to my Quad Vena II amplifier using an optic cable.

Quad sent be an update file for the amplifier, and the update gave me the possibility to change jitter rejection from normal to wide on the Optical 2 input. This fixed the issue 100%

[MikeAUS]

I bought the FIIO D03K little usb powered dac and plugged it in via the same optical cable - yes it works without any stuttering! Sound is OK. I've ordered a Cambridge CXN to use as a dac only via optical - hopefully that works as well and I can move on. Not happy with SAMSUNG 😞

[Kikimora]

I changed Q95T (with one connect box) for Q90T (without one connect box) and everything works perfect with Marantz ND8006.

[Karrde1984b]

I have the same problem with a Samsung frame 43" 2020. Have a DALI Kubik One soundbar. All internal apps are working great, but all external devices such as Blu-Ray, Amazon fire-tv and even the built in DVB-S have stuttering issues. As the internal apps dont have these problems its surly a software problem, which Samsung should be aware of.

[Anonymous_P]

Hi everyone,

adding myself to the long list of sad Samsung users with Q90R and the one connect box that has intermittent sound out of toslink optical out.

Tested few receivers while in contact with Samsung's customer care assistance and no problem solved. They closed the ticket saying I should use a Samsung soundbar and connect with bluetooth. What a joke!

Anyway, all I tested were Sabre chips, too. Also an SMSL Q5 pro, which think is Sabre-like, but not sure about that.

Not sure what to do, definitely not advertising any Samsung products after this awful experience.

[Christian_W]

I have the same issue. My setup:

• Samsung The Frame 2019 49" QE49LS03R
• Linn Majik DSM 2012 variant

In this setup the sound cuts out every now and then, not jitter or distortion just muting. It happens on Cable TV, PC attached, Netflix and Youtube apps on Samsung. 

The issue occurs with HDMI and optical, so using a receiver that has HDMI as suggested is certainly not a guaranteed solution. Maybe newer devices with HDMI Arc or eArc may function properly.

The weird thing is that when I use my old Music Fidelity V-Dac there is no issue at all. My previous Sony tv worked fine with HDMI audio over the Linn. 

Samsung please look into this issue and see if a firmware update can fix it. So many people have this issue and it is clear that the problem is on your  end.

[RedBlue]

For those with a Cambridge Audio amp (e.g. CXA81) who are suffering with this issue, some good news:

CA have finally addressed this via a firmware update, much like other manufacturers have. You will need to contact them for instructions to install the new firmware (will need a Win10 laptop and a USB-RS232 cable).

The firmware update makes changes to the D2 Optical Input, and the Samsung TV (2019 Frame TV for me) now works well with the CXA81.  CA say that the new firmware enables you "to set a mode that reduces the chance of this happening but with a small drop in audio performance".

In my opinion, this whole saga is definitely an issue at Samsung's end, and the poor quality of optical audio out on their TVs. Unlikely Samsung will ever acknowledge it though.

[Jacobo2u]

Thanks for that upload.  I am having the same issue with my 2020 7q series TV.  Just started recently.  I have tried lots of combinations to determine the source... and its the TV.  Funny, the tv speakers to NOT have the jitter, its through the optic output.  

[svenstontensen]

Same issue via HDMI e-ARC. I have a brandnew Q75Q950T 8K and a Linn Selekt DSM. Hell of a combination I thought. The Linn is getting a shutdown signal after 1 hour playing and then every 10 minutes. This is extremely annoying and I will spread the word, Samsung!

[Christian_W]

I reported the issue to Linn, hoping they can do a similar fix as Cambridge Audio did. Unfortunately they can't. Here is the final reply from Linn after some email exchanges:

Hi Christian,

Thank you for your e-mail

I have spoken with our engineers and they have advised that there is not a lot of adjustment in the tolerance of the circuitry that can be made,  so it is probably not be possible for us to make adjustments to resolve the Samsung Tv issue.

Best Regards

Colin

Customer Support

Linn Products Limited

@svenstontensen maybe you can report the issue with Linn too as you have a much newer product from them.