Question

HDMI ARC or other possibility from TV to amplifier

  • 3 February 2020
  • 10 replies
  • 1020 views
B

Hi,

I will give you a summary of my setup.

I have a TV (Samsung NU7100) installed on a wall in the living room. From there (wall on which the TV is hang), many cat6 cables run through the walls to the mechanical room in the basement.

I also have 5 speakers (2 in the back: L and R; and 3 in the front: L, C and R) and a sub in the living room. All the audio cables and the optical cable (for the subwoofer) run in the walls and end in the mechanical room downstairs.

In the mechanical room, I have an amplifier (Onkyo TX-NR686), a TV receiver (Shaw Direct) and a Sonos Connect.

The TV receiver is connected to the TV through HDMI, but over cat6. So there is a HDMI cable in the mechanical room that's connected to the TV receiver and to an HDMI balun. From there, a cat6 cable is connected to that balun and is also connected to a HDMI balun in the living room. On the other end of that balun is a HDMI cable that is finally connected to the TV. Therefore, the image and the sound from the TV receiver get played on the TV. On the TV, there is also the Netflix app that I use a lot.

I would like to be able to play the Netflix and TV receiver sound on my 5.1 system that I have installed in the living room. Usually, I would use HDMI ARC to connect my TV to my amplifier and then play the sound through my speakers and sub. However, I don't know how to do this in my setup as it is impossible to pass a new HDMI cable through the walls. The only cables available are cat6 cables. I thought of using the audio out port of my TV (optical out only) and converting the signal to analog audio in order to run the audio signal over a cat6 cable with a pair of analog audio baluns and then connect the signal to my amp. However, I’m afraid that using this setup would only give me stereo sound and not the full 5.1 sound, am I right?

I saw HDMI ARC baluns, but I am not sure if it can truly be used to send signal in both directions as I'm used to see a transmitter and a receiver on HDMI baluns.

How can I manage to get the sound of my TV to play on my speakers?

Thanks a lot in advance!

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10 replies

B

A little UP please. ; )

 

If I use the optical audio out port of my TV, convert the signal to analog and then run the signal over a cat6 cable to finally connect it to my amp with an analog red and white RCA plug, would I loose the 5.1 sound and be stuck with simply a stereo sound?

 

Thanks,

B

Another alternative question: if I use a regular HDMI over cat6 balun, and use the HDMI ARC port of my TV, could I use that setup to transfer the sound of my TV to my amp (I would put the transmitter in the back of my TV and the receiver in the back of my amp)? A regular HDMI over cat6 balun would be way cheaper, but would it keep the 5.1 sound parameters?

Thanks!

Airgetlam

A little UP please. ; )

 

If I use the optical audio out port of my TV, convert the signal to analog and then run the signal over a cat6 cable to finally connect it to my amp with an analog red and white RCA plug, would I loose the 5.1 sound and be stuck with simply a stereo sound?

 

Thanks,

Yes. You’ll be getting only stereo. 
 

I’ve not answered anything upstream, because you’re trying to do things I’ve never needed to do. I understand the concept, but I’ve never seen HDMI-ARC work across CAT-6 baluns before. I’d be awfully tempted to pull the audio off the stream before it reaches the TV, and ignore the apps on the TV itself. If I needed those apps, I’d run them on a streaming box such as Apple TV, etc. There’s just to many potential failure points if you run the audio from the TV across all those extra connections. 
 

In all honesty, I’d also think that Sonos may not be the ideal solution for you. You seem to want to use a Sonos CONNECT to be part of your home theater solution, but the CONNECT is only a stereo device, and can’t handle a 5.1 signal. If you were trying to use Sonos, I’d suggest rather than using your Onkyo, you go with a Sonos sound bar (there are three choices), a SUB and a pair of Sonos speakers as surrounds. Then the sound bar could be under the TV and directly connected, and the SUB and surround speakers would connect wirelessly.  Then I’d repurpose the Onkyo as a music only solution.

If you’re looking for more advice on dealing with the audio signal from your TV to your Onkyo, there are more generic websites for home theater users that may have more experience to provide you answers. Most users here are Sonos users, and consequently may not have the experience to assist you. 

Bruce
B

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I understand your point. I'm using Sonos connect to use my HT speakers as Sonos skeapers when not using them as HT surround sound, ie when I only want to listen to Spotify for instance and not watching a movie. When watching a movie and wanting 5.1 sound, I use my Onkyo amp. I also have other pairs of speakers linked to a connect amp for Spotify in other rooms of my house.

Does that make more sense? At least regarding my usage of the Sonos ecosystem?

Thanks,

Airgetlam

Then the CONNECT as you have it right now, or the Port, which is the ‘new’ version, is all you need to get he Sonos ecosystem available to your Onkyo. Simply take the analog out from the CONNECT/Port and connect it to your tape in on the Onkyo. Then connect the tape out on the Onkyo to the analog in on the Sonos, and you’re done. Anything playing on the Onkyo will also play on your Sonos, with the normal delay expected on the Sonos line in, and anything playing on the Sonos system will play in sync across both your Sonos speakers and the speakers connected to the Onkyo.

This is a pretty standard setup, used by many Sonos customers. 

Bruce
B

Ok, thanks. I do not wish to play the sound from the Onkyo on the Sonos speakers, just the other way around (sound from the Sonos that needs to be played on the Onkyo). This already works. It's more the question of the TV sound being played on the Onkyo that remains. But as suggested, maybe I'm not in the right forum for that. ; )

 

Thanks

Airgetlam

From what I know about those baluns, most don’t have the capability to handle HDMI-ARC, and I suspect your Onkyo can’t handle it either. 

Bruce
B

Hi,

Thanks again for the help. My Onkyo amp does handle HDMI ARC, but thanks for the info regarding the baluns. I might try to look for an optical over cat6 baluns. That would keep the 5.1 parameters, right?

 

Airgetlam

Optical carries Dolby Digital just as well as HDMI-ARC. 

Bruce
B

Thanks

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