Stereo DAC/amp with HDMI ARC Support?

[xSDMx]

Heya! I have a small credenza hosting a TV and passive stereo speakers and want a small stereo DAC/amp that supports ARC. I tried the Arylic B50 but am running into some intermittent audio crackling issues only when using ARC that I suspect are either due to the Arylic B50 or my LG C9 TV. As such, I'd like to test an alternative. On my list is the NAD D 3045, Sonos Amp, WiiM Amp, SVS Soundbase, Bluesound Poweredge Node, and the SMSL AO300. Are there any other options I should consider? I'm leaning towards the Poweredge because I suspect it will have the most mature ARC support, does anyone have experience using the Poweredge for HDMI ARC? Thanks so much!

 

[tjd]

Your list is about all of them. I'm shopping for the same thing. Looks like the AO300 doesn't support modifying the volume from the TV. The WiiM looks like it does it all but doesn't have much power.

In and ideal world I want the WiiM Amp as is, but double the power. I don't think that exists right now in this smaller format.

 

[xSDMx]

Your list is about all of them. I'm shopping for the same thing. Looks like the AO300 doesn't support modifying the volume from the TV. The WiiM looks like it does it all but doesn't have much power.

In and ideal world I want the WiiM Amp as is, but double the power. I don't think that exists right now in this smaller format.

The AO300 has no CEC support? Oof, that kills most of the value of the HDMI port.

 

[tjd]

The AO300 has no CEC support? Oof, that kills most of the value of the HDMI port.

Several reviews on here that indicate this.

 

[fuzzy_logic]

There is the new Loxjie A40 as well, though it looks like it performs similarly to the SMSL AO300 with HDMI Arc. There is also the Harmon Kardon Citation amp, but there is a thread on here reporting various issues with it.
I ended up going for the Sonos AMP, as it seems be generally well received other than issues with the analogue input (I won't be using this), and it has a few features that appealed to me (night mode, speech enhancement).

 

[tjd]

Is this the same amp you bought @fuzzy_logic ?

Review and Measurements of SONOS Amp

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SONOS Amp wireless/wired networked amplifier. It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me for testing. It costs USD $599 and seems to be price protected. This is the second generation amplifier from SONOS. The first one lasted...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[fuzzy_logic]

Is this the same amp you bought @fuzzy_logic ?

Review and Measurements of SONOS Amp

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SONOS Amp wireless/wired networked amplifier. It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me for testing. It costs USD $599 and seems to be price protected. This is the second generation amplifier from SONOS. The first one lasted...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Yes it is

 

[tom3k5]

The AO300 has no CEC support? Oof, that kills most of the value of the HDMI port.

The same for Loxjie A40. No volume control

 

[Smitty2k1]

MiniDSP Flex HT if you're willing to do a separate power amp?

 

[MusicMan77]

Just bought the SMSL AO300. My Sony TV optical out has been misbehaving for a long time so hope having a device w/ ARC will solve that problem.

 

[Overseas]

Or Smsl ps100 + some amp.

 

[xSDMx]

I got my WiiM Amp and absolutely love it.

 

[MusicMan77]

Now we're talking!! The new SMSL DO100 Pro has HDMI Arc on it. Somebody was finally listening. Will be pairing this with the upcoming Buckeye integrated amp.

 

[xSDMx]

Now we're talking!! The new SMSL DO100 Pro has HDMI Arc on it. Somebody was finally listening. Will be pairing this with the upcoming Buckeye integrated amp.

Glad to see more devices offering HDMI ARC support, but it looks like the HDMI ARC implementation isn't great:

Post in thread 'SMSL DO100 PRO - HDMI ARC DAC' https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...msl-do100-pro-hdmi-arc-dac.53361/post-1942686

HDMI ARC is hard to get right. My WiiM Amp has been fantastic and WiiM has been super responsive to fix any issues that have cropped up via firmware updates. I'm not sure I'd trust anyone else with a reliable HDMI ARC implementation at this point besides major AVR brands like Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, etc. (maybe also Sonos and Bluesound?) My Arylic B50, for example, was terrible. Even my NAD D 3045 had tons of issues that were never fixed.

 

[MusicMan77]

Glad to see more devices offering HDMI ARC support, but it looks like the HDMI ARC implementation isn't great:

Post in thread 'SMSL DO100 PRO - HDMI ARC DAC' https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...msl-do100-pro-hdmi-arc-dac.53361/post-1942686

HDMI ARC is hard to get right. My WiiM Amp has been fantastic and WiiM has been super responsive to fix any issues that have cropped up via firmware updates. I'm not sure I'd trust anyone else with a reliable HDMI ARC implementation at this point besides major AVR brands like Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, etc. (maybe also Sonos and Bluesound?) My Arylic B50, for example, was terrible. Even my NAD D 3045 had tons of issues that were never fixed.

I've got the SMSL AO300, but it's HDMI ARC is finicky as well. Hope SMSL can offer a FW upgrade and fix it.