VAX01202 HDMI eARC Audio Extractor & Splitter

This does exactly what you'd want it to do, no messing around and fairly plug and play. My use case: I have an LG C1 with eARC, several hdmi 2.1 devices and an ARC only enabled soundbar (Sony HT-NT5 with wireless surrounds for a 5.1 setup). With standard ARC I could only get compressed audio or stereo PCM via ARC. Enter the feintech: it gets power with an included usb cable, I plug my eARC out from the LG into the labeled output, and then plug the other output into my soundbar in a standard input (this is important, don't use your device's HDMI out, the whole point of this device is to pass sound IN). Make sure you set the physical switches on the device to eARC ON and EDID to output 2 for this use case. HDMI-CEC works exactly as you'd expect, my devices turn on and off, adjust volume, switch inputs and mute as normal so the adapter is effectively transparent. A bonus: you can also use the provided input (hdmi 2.0b ONLY aka 4k 60hz, no Dolby Vision or VRR etc) in this mode to make up for the fact you lose a tv input to eARC. If you have more hdmi 2.1 devices than your tv has ports you might need to look elsewhere for a solution. Additionally for LG C series users, make sure you turn on eARC support in sound settings, and set audio output to “passthrough” rather than “auto” for this to work correctly. This is just a quirk of the TV rather than anything to do with this adapter.

I recently bought a new 4K TV, which is of course equipped with HDMI 2.1 and eARC. My Denon AVR-2809, which is getting on in years, only has HDMI 1.3. Now I was afraid that I would have to retire my receiver, even if it still works perfectly despite its age. After a little research, I became aware of this small box from FeinTech, which is supposed to solve exactly this problem. So ordered right away. I was not disappointed. The VAX01202 does exactly what it should and works perfectly in my application. A great and reasonably inexpensive way to continue using my AVR. Dolby Digital / Dolby Digital + / PCM and other HD formats transfer flawlessly to the AVR and I have had no loss of picture or sound quality.

Our new projector can do 4K HDR, but the old Denon receiver is not able to loop through 4K HDR via HDMI. Solution: splitter ran and good?! Result: From time to time there were strange picture disturbances, which I was only able to fix after a firmware update (please note the extra USB converter required for this) of the splitter. Now everything is running as planned without any worries. Sound and picture are also perfectly synchronized. Recommendation!

The Feintech EARC Extractor does exactly what it should and without any complaints. My LG OLED of the B series works perfectly with both AVRs that I have tested, both the Pioneer VSX-930 and the Marantz No. 1509. The principle is very simple EARC into the extractor and then into any port of the AVR, of course this doesn't work via the ARC/TV output(s) of the AV receiver, only inputs can be used. DTS, DD+ and Dolby Atmos up to 7.1 can be played on my own without any problems the TV settings were a bit nerve-wracking, very important to exhibit the AVR ARC and CEC, without that only stereo worked for me and not without restrictions. There is no audio delay or loss of quality for me, I mean being something special/audiophile and I'm absolutely thrilled with the part, a current AVR with HDMI 2.1, 4k@120hz and all HDR gimmicks is currently still difficult to find or simply too expensive, so a top product for r little money.

I used this little device to upgrade my AVR with eARC functionality, and it works splendidly!