DAC Advice - HDMI(ARC) -> RCA with volume control

[rocksy]

Hi all,

I've seen a few posts where people ask about something that can take the HDMI audio signal from a TV's ARC-out, and convert it to an analog signal for use in an older receiver.

I'm putting together thing as follows:

Apple TV --(HDMI-IN)--> Samsung TV --(HDMI-OUT [ARC])--> DAC CONVERTER --(RCA-OUT)--> NIKKO NR-819 Receiver

The most important part of this setup though is that the volume can be controllable by the TV's remote (volume control be passed though the HDMI's arc protocol to the DAC, which raises/lower the analog line out going to the receiver)

I bought the following last week: CAMWAY Digital to Analog Audio Converter

...everything worked, except the bass was extremely muddled and scratchy. Anything in mid/higher frequencies sounded OK. Anyway, I am returning it as ithe sound quality isn't good enough.

I'm willing to give this another shot though. There is one other real option on amazon(HDMI ARC to Analog Audio Converter, Tiancai) but I'm concerned I'll run into the same issue. SHARC eARC Audio Converter also exists, and the price suggests that it would function better, but it's a bit out of the price range.

Are there any options for an HDMI DAC with volume control that does not suffer from audio quality issues? Or is having a volume modulator included going to result in the same muddled bass issue that I've experienced? I have good luck with optical -> analog converters in the past, but these do no offer remote control volume control.

Thank you,

yannikrock

 

[gvl]

Given ARC works just fine with AVRs it's certainly possible to design a device for your needs. I think if you try a couple of these cheap devices you'll find one that works acceptability well. One other option I can think of is to get one of those programmable remotes and a DAC with remotely controlled volume, eg Topping E30, and then program the volume buttons on the remote to control the DAC and assign the rest to the TV, use optical into the DAC.

 

[PianotunerNJ]

One option is a DAC/pre from the optical output, and a programmable remote that can be programmed to control volume at the DAC and the TV, so one remote, but not the Samsung remote.

I have an HDMI audio extractor but it does not maintain volume control from the ARC source. I don’t think most of them do that.

By the time you get where you wanted to be, you’re probably halfway to a receiver upgrade. There are undoubtedly a few modern basic receivers that would possibly be an upgrade with HDMI ARC, that are relatively cheap. I have no experience with Nikko, but most modern gear sounds pretty good to me compared to the few older receivers I’ve had.

Like most things converting to digital over the years, there’s a time, early on, where the sound quality doesn’t obviously surpass the prior generation (like CD in the beginning VS vinyl) but eventually the technology catches up and implementation improves and then we progress to a better place, like high resolution digital, which to me surpasses records on almost every level, unless you’re ready to spend $10k on a table and stylus. Certainly, by now, there must be a modern receiver with digital inputs that can exceed the sound quality of the Nikko for a modest price, like a few hundred dollars.

 

[gvl]

Yeah, the AVRs depreciate very fast, given all is 4k now you can get a very nice one that can't do 4k but ARC compatible for peanuts on the used market instead of trying to rubber band together a solution that'll cost more money and likely perform worse.

 

[rocksy]

Update on the situation (a good update!):

I ended up buying the following bluetooth receiver open-box from a Best Buy I was visiting:

Rocketfish - RF-BTR319 Bluetooth Audio Receiver - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rocket...-audio-receiver-black/6357221.p?skuId=6357221

I have it receiving a bluetooth signal from the Apple TV and it's actually working wonderfully. I tested for a couple hours using various scenes from the Star Wars prequels. The Apple TV and Rocketfish were about 6 feet away from each other with only the TV obstructing the line of sight.

- No lag when using Apple TV's bluetooth (did not test connecting to Samsung TV directly)
- Bass is not muddled/scratchy
- No noticeable compression warbling
- The signal never once cut out

I never thought that I would use a bluetooth solution in place of HDMI/optical for day-to-day TV viewing, but I am seriously impressed.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

 

[Callmesb]

Lots of great network and Bluetooth streamer/DACs out there (Schiit, Andover, Audioengine, Acrylic), but the only DAC I know that all has wifi, bluetooth, and ARC is the Bluesound Node:

https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/