Audio Passthrough - different versions?

[Dworkin_CZ]

Hello,

I have a simple, maybe silly, question. If I check passthrough and on my AVR it show DTS or DTS HD-MA instead of multi-in (Denon X3400H), does it really mean that the audio arrived at the AVR in the exact same form and shape as is stored in the video file that my Plex server direct plays to my Nvidia Shield TV and the Shield sends to AVR? I mean, is there anything at all that can alter the audio (bitrate, volume, etc) while still showing up as DTS on AVR?

And the second part of my question: Is there any difference between RAW passthrough and IEC passthrough in this regard? Because I could swear that those to sound different on my sound system.

Thank you. I really like your product.

[koying]

Hi,

Passthrough means the encoded audio bitstream (e.g. DTS) is sent unaltered to your AVR, indeed.

The bitstream still needs to be encapsuled so that the AVR recognize it as proper encoded sound, though. RAW means this encapsulation is done by the android device, while IEC means this encapsulation is done by MrMC. There are some bugs in the android implementation, so IEC (ie done by MrMC) is normally preferable, if available.

As the encoded bitstream itself is exactly the same in both cases, there is no way the 2 might sound differently.