Does anyone know how digital audio extractors like below work?
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Audio-Stereo-Extractor-Converter/dp/B07KRWYN4R/
Now that Amazon Music HD exists, I'm making the switch from Pandora to Amazon's music streaming service. I am already mostly immersed in Amazon's ecosystem. The best feature of Amazon Music, past the lossless streaming, is the casting to Echo devices. As in, you can use an app on a tablet/phone to select music and then cast music to any echo device (or groups of Echo devices). The problem with this is the only Echo device with a digital output is the expensive Echo Link. (I have found some "device hack" articles where people have tapped into the I2S interface of the Echo to extract audio before it sends it to the Echo's DAC, but I'm not dedicated enough for all that)
The Amazon Music app states that you can't cast to Fire TVs, but I've found that I can cast to the Fire TV Stick 4K. I assume this has to do with the version of Fire OS that it runs. Either way, the only easy way I can see to get audio out of the Tv Stick is to use one of these extractors. I know they are capable of downmix/transcoding, but are they also capable of passing the digital signal without modifying it?
If it can, then a $25 Fire Stick and a $20 digital audio extractor makes a pretty decent headend for streaming lossless music with no need for a monitor/HID attached to the streamerz.
Currently I'm using a Fire TV (1st Gen) to output to my Vanatoo T1E speakers. This version of the Fire TV is the only one with a native digital output, and it works well. But I can't cast and must use the TV and remote to choose music to stream. The best solution would be for Amazon to support the casting to this device, but I doubt that will happen.
So, all that to say, does anyone know how the splitters work?
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Audio-Stereo-Extractor-Converter/dp/B07KRWYN4R/
Now that Amazon Music HD exists, I'm making the switch from Pandora to Amazon's music streaming service. I am already mostly immersed in Amazon's ecosystem. The best feature of Amazon Music, past the lossless streaming, is the casting to Echo devices. As in, you can use an app on a tablet/phone to select music and then cast music to any echo device (or groups of Echo devices). The problem with this is the only Echo device with a digital output is the expensive Echo Link. (I have found some "device hack" articles where people have tapped into the I2S interface of the Echo to extract audio before it sends it to the Echo's DAC, but I'm not dedicated enough for all that)
The Amazon Music app states that you can't cast to Fire TVs, but I've found that I can cast to the Fire TV Stick 4K. I assume this has to do with the version of Fire OS that it runs. Either way, the only easy way I can see to get audio out of the Tv Stick is to use one of these extractors. I know they are capable of downmix/transcoding, but are they also capable of passing the digital signal without modifying it?
If it can, then a $25 Fire Stick and a $20 digital audio extractor makes a pretty decent headend for streaming lossless music with no need for a monitor/HID attached to the streamerz.
Currently I'm using a Fire TV (1st Gen) to output to my Vanatoo T1E speakers. This version of the Fire TV is the only one with a native digital output, and it works well. But I can't cast and must use the TV and remote to choose music to stream. The best solution would be for Amazon to support the casting to this device, but I doubt that will happen.
So, all that to say, does anyone know how the splitters work?