Headphone setup for streaming shows/movies

[ErinW]

Hey everyone, I've been lurking and reading over the past few days but haven't quite figured out how to do what I want to do.

I am a complete noob and am trying to build a very basic home cinema setup with a projector I've been given, a streaming device and headphones. My biggest concern is the audio quality - I am mildly hard of hearing and if the sound is "tinny" or too bass-heavy I cannot understand what people are saying. I'm also a musician and enjoy great sound, although I'm not sure if I could actually detect any difference in audio quality at the very high end of the spectrum with my hearing. I do want it to be decent enough so I can understand what's going on though and I want to feel like I'm in the movie/show I'm watching!

The options for streaming devices (I'm in the UK) seem to be a Roku, a Firestick or an Apple TV. I've discovered that the projector (Optoma HD131Xe) has a 3.5mm audio out jack to which I could connect, but I have no idea if audio fed from Roku/Firestick/Apple through the projector to wired headphones would give me decent enough quality?

Are there any other things that might be potentially better - split the audio out from the streaming device straight to headphones - I see there's things like HDMI extractors? Some sort of Bluetooth solution? I'm not bothered if the headphones are wired or wireless - I'd probably actually prefer them to be wired as then I don't have to charge them, but I would like them to not be in-ear. I've got a pair of wired Sennheisers that are alright and could use those.

I'm open to anything but my budget maxes out at £250 for streaming device, connectors and potentially new headphones - I know that's not a lot, but it's what I've got right now. I'm happy to upgrade later though and spend some more money, if that opens up more options.

 

[charleski]

I haven't tested this on my Roku, but it seems that it will let you use headphones that are plugged into your phone:

How to use headphones with the Roku® mobile app for private listening|Use headphones with the mobile app for private listening

Private listening is a feature of the Roku mobile app that lets you listen to your TV on headphones that are connected to your phone or tablet. When others

support.roku.com

The advantage of this is that you'll then be able to use an EQ app like Wavelet on the phone to adjust the sound for clarity.
Both the Firestick and Apple TV will let you pair some Bluetooth headphones with them, though this would be an extra expense and you won't have DSP, so I'd go with the Roku (assuming your phone has a 3.5mm jack).

 

[ErinW]

I haven't tested this on my Roku, but it seems that it will let you use headphones that are plugged into your phone:

How to use headphones with the Roku® mobile app for private listening|Use headphones with the mobile app for private listening

Private listening is a feature of the Roku mobile app that lets you listen to your TV on headphones that are connected to your phone or tablet. When others

support.roku.com

The advantage of this is that you'll then be able to use an EQ app like Wavelet on the phone to adjust the sound for clarity.
Both the Firestick and Apple TV will let you pair some Bluetooth headphones with them, though this would be an extra expense and you won't have DSP, so I'd go with the Roku (assuming your phone has a 3.5mm jack).

Thanks so much for the quick response - unfortunately I have an iPhone with no headphone jack - I'm using the lightning-connector in-ear headphones that came with the iPhone for calls but I would not want to use them for watching tv/movies as they're really uncomfortable, hence hoping for a solution with over-the-ear headphones! Also not particularly keen on needing my phone to watch tv - prefer to turn my phone off while watching shows. Sorry to be picky here, but thanks for offering up a solution, really appreciate it.

 

[staticV3]

Hi @ErinW welcome to the forum!

Since the Optoma HD131Xe maxes out at 1080p SDR, you can save some money on the streamer.
I don't have a recommendation there, but most of them should do the job just fine. Maybe make sure it has some basic A/V sync capability as that could be a problem.

I doubt the projector's 3.5mm audio out is any good objectively. Probably very low output voltage and high output impedance.
However, it's worth trying out regardless. If the sound is good enough for you, then you can save a bunch of money that way.

The enthusiast's approach would be Streamer->HDMI Extractor->RCA Spdif/Toslink->DAC+Amp->Headphone
The cheapest (objectively good) way to do that would probably be:
-£‎20 HDMI Audio Extractor from Amazon
-£‎77 Khadas Tone Board from their website
-£‎120 SMSL SH-6 from Amazon (or £‎110 from Shenzhenaudio)

As you can see, that's a lotta extra boxes and money, eating up your entire budget basically.

A better alternative would be a Streamer that supports USB Audio.
You could then plug in a USB DAC+Amp like the Apple A2049 (£16), Ugreen 80583 (‎£40 from Amazon.com), Moondrop Dawn (£65), or Topping DX1 (£100) and get a high quality DAC+Amp for a lot less money, boxes, cables.

As for the headphone, the HD560S and HE400se are pretty much the champs in that price range.

 

[ErinW]

Hi @ErinW welcome to the forum!

Since the Optoma HD131Xe maxes out at 1080p SDR, you can save some money on the streamer.
I don't have a recommendation there, but most of them should do the job just fine. Maybe make sure it has some basic A/V sync capability as that could be a problem.

I doubt the projector's 3.5mm audio out is any good objectively. Probably very low output voltage and high output impedance.
However, it's worth trying out regardless. If the sound is good enough for you, then you can save a bunch of money that way.

The enthusiast's approach would be Streamer->HDMI Extractor->RCA Spdif/Toslink->DAC+Amp->Headphone
The cheapest (objectively good) way to do that would probably be:
-£‎20 HDMI Audio Extractor from Amazon
-£‎77 Khadas Tone Board from their website
-£‎120 SMSL SH-6 from Amazon (or £‎110 from Shenzhenaudio)

As you can see, that's a lotta extra boxes and money, eating up your entire budget basically.

A better alternative would be a Streamer that supports USB Audio.
You could then plug in a USB DAC+Amp like the Apple A2049 (£16), Ugreen 80583 (‎£40 from Amazon.com), Moondrop Dawn (£65), or Topping DX1 (£100) and get a high quality DAC+Amp for a lot less money, boxes, cables.

As for the headphone, the HD560S and HE400se are pretty much the champs in that price range.

Thank you for this detailed write-up! This may be a dumb question, but what happens if I plug the headphones straight into an HDMI audio extractor? Is that possible? In my head that would give me audio straight from the streamer, bypassing the projector and would be better?

The USB solution sounds intriguing - I've had a look around but unfortunately can't find any streamer that supports USB audio - Apple TV, Firestick and Roku all seem to be HDMI out only. Could I somehow convert this to USB and then connect a USB DAC+Amp to that output? (sorry if that is another dumb question!)

 

[staticV3]

This may be a dumb question, but what happens if I plug the headphones straight into an HDMI audio extractor? Is that possible?

there are HDMI extractors with built-in DAC and headphone Amp, but the quality is most likely in the ballpark of what's built into your projector.

The USB solution sounds intriguing - I've had a look around but unfortunately can't find any streamer that supports USB audio - Apple TV, Firestick and Roku all seem to be HDMI out only.

Afaik the Nvidia Shield TV supports USB Audio output. On eBay it sells for £‎80 from time to time.

Apple TV, Firestick and Roku all seem to be HDMI out only. Could I somehow convert this to USB and then connect a USB DAC+Amp to that output?

Unfortunately not. You need a device that can act as USB host. Some streamers can do that, PCs, laptops, phones, etc. but not simple converter boxes.

 

[ErinW]

Afaik the Nvidia Shield TV supports USB Audio output. On eBay it sells for £‎80 from time to time.

Thanks again for all your help - I looked up the Shield but it seems to have trouble with a bunch of the UK streaming apps I would like to use, so I've decided against it.

I bought a Roku last night and connected it up - audio straight from the projector is, as predicted, horrendeous. I did try the Roku app audio from my phone like @charleski suggested, and it is much better than the projector audio. Still not the best, but maybe ok for the start. I'm going to see if I can find an old phone with a headphone jack and use that solely for the Roku audio with my Sennheisers, and then I'll look at investing into the enthusiast approach from further up.