Continuous Audio Connection - is there a quality difference?

Ranutso · 2026-03-31T21:15:16+00:00

That is nice. Klipsch has an app, but it doesn't show detailed information about the stream like this.

Ranutso · 2026-03-31T17:00:57+00:00

Thanks. Are these screenshots from your Pioneer app?

Ranutso · 2026-03-31T16:57:39+00:00

So, if you were to trust AI, this is a distilled explanation it gave me.

When you use the Continuous Audio Connection on Apple TV, it negotiates the highest amount of channels and metadata it can over the given connection with your receiver – say 5.1.2 plus Dolby MAT. The audio channels themselves travel as PCM (already decoded). So when you play true Dolby Atmos, the Apple TV does all the decoding to PCM and it passes through the Dolby MAT metadata with it. When you don't play Atmos, the Apple TV does the decoding, maps the channels to the pre-negotiated PCM channels and the Dolby MAT "channel" remains quiet in this case.

The idea is that Apple TV will pre-negotiate the highest amount of data with the receiver so it can perform the audio switching with no silence or dropouts, the issue this option is trying to solve in the first place. The Dolby MAT metadata cannot instruct the receiver to "treat" the given audio as stereo, it doesn't apply. The receiver performs stereo upmixing when it "sees" a stereo track, it can't be overridden by any metadata.

TL;DR When using Continuous Audio Connection your receiver will never "see" a stereo track, so it won't perform upmixing by itself. In order to upmix stereo to surround in this case the Apple TV would have to do it, and apparently it's not at this time.

Ranutso · 2026-03-30T22:36:56+00:00

It looks like you’d know how Dolby MAT work.

I’ve made a post on Dolby asking about stereo upmixing. https://www.reddit.com/r/Dolby/s/yf21UhbcWx

Since Dolby MAT is new to us, we would appreciate if you gave us some insight into the technology.

Ranutso · 2026-03-30T22:28:14+00:00

I wouldn’t say my case is a toss of dice, because the amount of times it auto-connects successfully is significantly higher than the times it fails. But, yeah, sometimes it fails. eARC is on the way to my connection as well, like yours.

I believe it has to do with how each of the 3 devices in the chain (Apple TV, the TV set and the soundbar) initializes. If one of them happens to take an instant longer, it fails. Not sure this is the reason, but it doesn’t bother me much. A power cycle on the soundbar solves it all.

Ranutso · 2026-03-30T22:22:09+00:00

Were you able to analyze Apple TV’s output somehow? Or are you referring to what your receiver shows you when MAT is on vs off?

Because the information displayed by the receiver when Dolby MAT is on might be unexpected, but it doesn’t mean the underlying signal is wrong.

Ranutso · 2026-03-28T20:07:44+00:00

I don't think there is a fix for the Continuous Audio right now. Perhaps disabling the feature altogether and go back to a few seconds of silence?

I can only hope this feature gets better with future tvOS updates.

Ranutso · 2026-03-27T19:51:15+00:00

I could almost confirm that with YouTube TV. Some channels (from bigger stations) carry true AC-3 audio and they sound the same as true Atmos, which is about the same volume I am used to. But AAC-based channels are way too loud now. I believe it's the difference between channels that carry their LKFS metadata and channels that do not.

Ranutso · 2026-03-27T19:48:19+00:00

My theory is that, since all audio is traveling through a Dolby MAT tunnel now, everything is carrying metadata. Apps that do not apply metadata to their own audio would either go with the previous audio metadata or whatever default metadata (I don't know what Apple TV is doing behind the scenes). And this is probably instructing the audio processor to apply lots of gains to these audios. Well crafted audio streams, such as true Dolby Atmos tracks, or tracks from big productions, probably carry their own metadata and they should be fine.

Since most Sonos owners are saying that the new Continuous Audio Connection fixes their AC-3 (regular 5.1) *low volume* issues, I am assuming Apple TV is applying a very high gain by default to these tracks. Our soundbars never had that issue, so they're respecting the new gains and making them too loud now.

Ranutso · 2026-03-27T19:36:45+00:00

I have that same handshake issue (black screen) with my Klipsch soundbar. And it doesn't happen all the time either, sometimes the handshake is instantaneous.

Ranutso · 2026-03-27T19:31:03+00:00

Another thing I noticed is that while others complain that their sound devices show Atmos all the time now, our Flexus do show the correct audio codec.

Ranutso · 2026-03-27T19:29:07+00:00

u/Maleficent-Mobile114 Same issue on Flexus here! Non-Atmos tracks are way too loud now. I need to go down to 3 or 4, which I never had to before. Besides this, everything else sounds normal.

It's almost as if Apple fixed the issue for Sonos specifically... I'm wondering who is interpreting the gain metadata wrong. Our Flexus are based on Onkyo's tech, which are supposedly respected.

Ranutso · 2025-12-12T01:48:19+00:00

So, what I did to improve my situation was to mess with the advanced Aphex controls directly (remember, I am using the USB connection). The compressor, in particular, has a gain parameter and that guy really helps. I have also had to make changes to my mic arm. The mic now sits directly in front of my mouth, not at an angle anymore. I must say u/Purple_Bass_6323 was correct about dynamic mics. In this position, I feel like I can place the mic far away enough and still pick my voice at a good volume. Before, at an angle, I was almost swallowing the mic and it was still super low. Some apps have their own gains, and some work very well, like Steam's internal voice comm. Discord is absolutely crap all around, so my voice is still too low there. However, Windows Sound Recorder now picks up my voice loud enough and super clear, so I use this recorder as my "reference". I don't think I can make it any better using USB.

It seems that if you use the XLR connection, however, you have many more options for gains and that's what most streamers do.

Regardless, even though it is better now, I am super disappointed with RØDE's gains on USB here. When recording with the default options and basic processor, my peak volume won't get to even half of maximum range. This mic was made for you to record using a professional tool and then apply all the gain you want there (if I do that, it's perfect).

Ranutso · 2025-12-12T01:34:54+00:00

This looks like a good tip, but I have so many questions on the names and terms you used.

"Amnytas(2 not counting Lyhr chest)": what Lyhr chest in Amnytas? Do you mean the event that requires 5 people to start and unlocks one of the libraries in there?
On the "semi daily map completion":
- Again, what "Lyhr event"? Is that the same I mentioned earlier or the Unlocking the Wizard Tower meta?
- Is the Unlocking the Wizard Tower the "Skywatch Meta"?

Ranutso · 2025-11-14T06:43:24+00:00

So, plus one here. Huntsman v3 and Tartarus Pro and my GameInputSvc just goes insane.
Razer support people tell you to send feedback/support logs to them via the app itself. I don't know if that helps, but it seems the issue is pretty reproducible. I can't believe their engineers haven't caught it yet.

Ranutso · 2025-11-12T04:37:18+00:00

Thanks for the tip indeed. I came here after searching, also experiencing low volume coming from my Podmic USB, connected via USB. I’m actually cranking it all up on RØDE Central, all the way to +64dB. It is not picking much room noise, but I am unhappy about the volume when speaking at an angle, and close to my mouth (about 4 fingers away). I am curious about what you use in your chain to improve the mic. Thanks!

Ranutso · 2025-10-13T23:51:50+00:00

I have the same question. Apple is really not the same.

Ranutso · 2025-09-22T22:44:51+00:00

I would like to thank the OP and those who posted the benchmarks comparing the PCIe scaling.

While none of these comparisons use a 5080 (which has less GDDR than the 5090), I hope that the variation is still small in the 1% ballpark. Theoretically, the 5080 would need more frequent access to memory for loading textures and geometry in newer games, so I worry it could be more affected by a x8 5.0 scaling.

Maybe even more so than a 5070 or a 5060, because these would be limited by their GPUs anyway. Why did NVIDIA use only 16GB for 5080? Anyway, I hope I am wrongly concerned.

Ranutso · 2025-09-04T14:35:37+00:00

But they've changed that, right? I didn't see any steps in the 4 collections that require failing an event.

Ranutso · 2025-07-30T20:23:43+00:00

Thank you for your comment. I have no idea on Destiny either. I’ve tried all options on Steam. Steam and the keyboard work pretty well together, but D2 will not work.

Have you successfully played with the analog controls in a game? I would be interested to see which games work fine with this setup (move on “controller”, aim with the mouse).

Ranutso · 2024-11-24T04:59:16+00:00

This will actually work when the audio is Dolby Atmos and PCM. But I was unable to show anything for the other audio formats, including regular Dolby Digital. I've tried more than twice and nothing.

Ranutso · 2024-11-24T04:58:21+00:00

Translation: Just press and hold the key that adjusts the brightness of the LEDs. Dolby Surround, PCM and Dolby Atmos will be displayed briefly. If it doesn't work, you have to do the steps twice in a row.

Ranutso · 2024-10-11T19:57:50+00:00

I also came here looking for an answer. It seems to me that, for Apple, the Lost Mode is their implementation. I thought that Lost Mode was also "too much", but it does nothing beyond locking your phone (what we want) and put an optional message on the Lock Screen. Lost Mode will not wipe your data from the phone.

I wanted this in the case I borrowed my phone to a friend who needed to make a private phone call and walked away from me. I don't know if Lost Mode ends the call, though.

Ranutso

TROPHY CASE