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Pardon my newbeeness here, but is it possible to build a home cinema amp (say 5.1 hdmi) in the same spirit ?

jeffbee 6y ago
It's effectively impossible to DIY anything with HDMI but if you can get an adequate 6-channel analog output from an HDMI line-level converter then at that point all you need is three 2-channel amps or design one with all 6 channels in one box.
- mmastrac 6y ago
  Agreed. Aliexpress has some digital-to-6-channel decoders that work pretty well (and even support the more advanced codecs that are usually licensed by regular amps). Some of them even run Linux under the hood. :) I would suggest using TOSLINK rather than HDMI as you can almost always extract TOSLINK from HDMI. Technically HDMI can carry more audio bandwidth, but I'm not sure where that might get used (if at all). EDIT: I haven't specifically tested this one, but it's similar to one I've played with: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001491403444.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.3793397dO9XAXC&algo_pvid=64e896ea-3e0f-458b-bee6-55f9335047e8&algo_expid=64e896ea-3e0f-458b-bee6-55f9335047e8-4&btsid=0bb0622d16047914856123760eada3&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_ https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001491403444.html?spm=a2...
  - jeffbee 6y ago
    Yeah, but I can't really recommend building D/A converters any more, except as a learning exercise. Even the cheapest off-the-shelf gear now has performance that will be difficult to beat for the DIYer. This is somewhat disappointing for me as I have built many D/A converters over the years.
    - mmastrac 6y ago
      I think we're on the same page here. Plus with the advanced digital codecs, you should probably just outsource it to the all-in-one chip packages.
pjc50 6y ago
HDMI audio is a huge pain. Optical Toslink should be doable; you might be able to find the right board. But there's a lot more involved in doing the digital 5.1 decode and having more channels.
tuatoru 6y ago
Summarizing what jeffbee says in sibling comments: - Yes, it is certainly possible. But you need to acquire the prerequisite seven to ten years' experience first for a project of that complexity. When you've got that experience...you'll just buy one.

It's effectively impossible to DIY anything with HDMI but if you can get an adequate 6-channel analog output from an HDMI line-level converter then at that point all you need is three 2-channel amps or design one with all 6 channels in one box.

mmastrac 6y ago
Agreed. Aliexpress has some digital-to-6-channel decoders that work pretty well (and even support the more advanced codecs that are usually licensed by regular amps). Some of them even run Linux under the hood. :) I would suggest using TOSLINK rather than HDMI as you can almost always extract TOSLINK from HDMI. Technically HDMI can carry more audio bandwidth, but I'm not sure where that might get used (if at all). EDIT: I haven't specifically tested this one, but it's similar to one I've played with: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001491403444.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.3793397dO9XAXC&algo_pvid=64e896ea-3e0f-458b-bee6-55f9335047e8&algo_expid=64e896ea-3e0f-458b-bee6-55f9335047e8-4&btsid=0bb0622d16047914856123760eada3&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_ https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001491403444.html?spm=a2...
- jeffbee 6y ago
  Yeah, but I can't really recommend building D/A converters any more, except as a learning exercise. Even the cheapest off-the-shelf gear now has performance that will be difficult to beat for the DIYer. This is somewhat disappointing for me as I have built many D/A converters over the years.
  - mmastrac 6y ago
    I think we're on the same page here. Plus with the advanced digital codecs, you should probably just outsource it to the all-in-one chip packages.

pjc50 6y ago

HDMI audio is a huge pain. Optical Toslink should be doable; you might be able to find the right board. But there's a lot more involved in doing the digital 5.1 decode and having more channels.

tuatoru 6y ago

Summarizing what jeffbee says in sibling comments: - Yes, it is certainly possible. But you need to acquire the prerequisite seven to ten years' experience first for a project of that complexity. When you've got that experience...you'll just buy one.