new house and new equipment. I’d like to connect my Samsung soundbar to my Samsung TV via eARC so I can get surround from bar and sats. I also use Apple TV and will connect this 3rd gen to the TV via HDMI in. so far so good, I can figure all that out…I was born at night, but not last night:)
BUT, I also what to use my KEF’s for stereo sound via streaming Apple Music via my Apple TV so that I can see album covers, lyrics, etc on the TV.
I’ve reached out to KEF, Samsung, HDFury, and others, and I pretty much get “you wanna do what?”
I know I can connect the KEF’s via optical but not sure how I would then use my Apple TV to view what I’m playing.
KEF LS50IIs to Samsung TV via TOSLINK optical cable. The only downside is that you will have to control volume on the KEFs via its remote as eARC/CEC will not work over an optical connection.
What @Robert_F wrote should work. Since Robert has helpfully addressed your question, I’ll add that if you don’t already have and use the TV:Remote app for Apple TV, it is well worth checking out.
You can find that app in the Apple TV App Store. It’s a Roon controller which will allow you to play, visualize, and control Roon - presumably playing directly to your KEFs. Unfortunately, it doesn’t display lyrics and, of course, it won’t play Apple Music. It is, though, a pretty stellar control strategy for a Roon zone sitting nearby a TV. Costs a couple of bucks but well worth it.
Robert, thank so much!!! then only thing I was uncertain about was the quality of the optical versus eARC when using my KEF’s. not that I’m that much of an audiophile, but I’ve “heard” there was some degradation although I don’t know how or why since its a digital signal. anyway, thanks loads!!!
greg…thanks to you also although I;'m not Sure if you were suggesting I get the ROON app or the APPLE TV app for my iPhone 13. quite frankly, since I haven’t connected everything yet (we’ll move in on the 30th and ??? before how long before I get 'er done), don’t even have the KEF connect app yet.
@PAUL_BASILE, the optical connection on the LS50IIs is limited to 96/24, but whether you can hear a difference with higher bit rate files played over TOSLINK will be up to you. In my opinion it should sound fine and should give you a nice option for playing through your AppleTV.
Your plan is to use an Apple TV device as your content source. Apple TV has its own App Store, just like iPhone does. You access that App Store on your TV using the Apple TV remote. What I’m describing is an app that has been published to that App Store called TV:Remote. It’s very specifically an app that runs on the TV, not on your phone.
Once you have Roon setup, and your KEF speakers configured, you’ll be able to choose your KEF speakers as a Roon zone. I assume you already know this - the speakers you’re getting are “Roon Ready” and they’re easy to set up and delightful to use. When you’re playing Roon through these KEF speakers, or any other Roon zone in your house, you can use the TV:Remote app on your TV (and the Apple TV remote) to view and control what’s happening with Roon.
I hope that’s clear. Here’s a picture to illustrate - that’s my TV. I’m using the TV:Remote app on an Apple TV to control Roon. The audio isn’t going through my TV or my soundbar - it’s going from the Roon core to the (offscreen) audio gear driving the stereo speakers.
Like I said in my original post, you don’t get lyrics but it’s a really nice experience.
I believe I’ve had similar conundrums before and ran optical and a HDMI cable to set of speakers. Audio was via optical and the HDMI from a spare port allowed CEC for controlling volume. Might be a try.
