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This nifty little thing they call a DAAC

One thing my TV does not have (and that certainly should have) is a 3.5mm audio jack. LG has a way of making you want to buy their more expensive model for a mere audio out. They included an optical, but no analog out? Nice. But no, I didn’t budge. Well, it’s not exactly fine and dandy for me. Instead, I figured I should be able to find something like an optical to analog converter that would work with it. Alas! From the depths of the Internets, comes this little guy!

I was so excited to try it for the mere fact that I have never worked with optical technology before. In other words it is still fascinating for me to see that little red glow in the optical port at the back of the TV. If you have no idea what I am talking about, read on. If you have a relatively new audio/video appliance like a TV or an Xbox perhaps, try to look at the back side where you see all the ports, and you will find one that glows a nice red, and covered by a plastic door.

optical port
There it is in the middle!

This is where you plug in an optical cable that the other end plugs in to another digital device, like a sound bar or a home theatre system. In my case, I’m too poor to buy either of those. So I have to make use of my current 2.1 speaker system – a Creative SBS A300. It’s an old one, but still plays good Hi-Fi audio like it should. I think it is now discontinued and has been replaced by the A350. I like my system as it has a control knob for the bass level so you don’t shatter your walls playing Despacito all day!

So while setting it up, I paused to take a good look at the tip of the optical cable while it is connected.

That red glow carries the digital information from the TV.

It amazes me that a seemingly solid red glow actually carries a whole lot of information, all without the chance of interference or distortion. Ah, The power of fiber optic technology!

So the big question – how does it sound? Well, since it’s digital, it doesn’t really matter what brand of converter or cable you use. As long as it works, it should be one to one from input to output. Which in layman’s term is – as good as what you are playing on the TV.

If you want to get an optical converter for yourself, I found a good set in Lazada. It’s not the cheapest part, but it is the one closest to mine, which has the 3.5mm jack. The others only have RCA output. Also, it includes a 1m optical cable so you don’t have to buy it separately. You don’t want to go my route which is from AliExpress. It takes weeks! Lazada mostly sends it to you the next day, with a little premium on top, of course.

Disclosure: affiliate links here and there

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