How to troubleshoot lack of passthrough on NUC?

    Hello,

    I would appreciate any help to troubleshoot why passthrough won't work for me.

    My hardware :

    - NUC6CAYH with libreelec 10.0.1 running from an usb key

    - Amplifier : SMSL AD18 connected with usb to the NUC

    - Music stored in flac on an usb drive accessible via SMB

    My settings :

    - Blank installation (so no custom settings except for audio)

    - Audio :

    - Audio output device : ALSA : SMSL AD18 AMP, SPDIF.

    - passthrough : enabled.

    - Passthrough device : ALSA : SMSL AD18 AMP, SPDIF.

    - all options below checked : AC3, AC3 Transcoding, DTS

    My observation:

    If I start a music, I see no indication passthrough works : the sound level can be controlled with kodi volume, changing the (non passthrough) resample quality option creates an audible difference, and changing the passthrough device doesn't do anything. Conclusion : passthrough doesn't work.

    But why? And what can I do to troubleshoot?

    Thanks very much!

    Quote from lrusak

    It sounds like you aren't actually playing anything that requires using passthrough (AC3, DTS, etc).

    Ahah, I was probably overthinking it then.

    I thought FLAC could go directly to the amplifier without decoding but as you say it probably just isn't possible...

    Thanks for your reply, you saved me a lot of time