Thought I’d post this here in case it’s useful to anyone else. Best £15 I’ve spent in a long time.
For years I had an optical cable from the tv to my ND5XS streamer. Works well but for two issues: another remote to control the volume, and occasional lip-sync issues.
I really needed hdmi arc and was preparing to sell everything and replace it with an atom, but then took a punt on another solution - a simple hdmi extractor called AY80.
The device is rebranded by many Chinese ‘companies’ but they’re essentially all the same.
Steps:
- Plug into the hdmi arc port on the telly. I used an hdmi 2 cable
- Enable AV bypass on the naim pre / amp
- RCA from the AY80 to the AV inputs on the amp
… and you’re set.
Tv volume now sets the overall volume. Perfect.
Note that if you take the digital route ie digital output from the AY80 into your dac then you’ll lose the ability to control the volume with the tv remote.
As an added bonus the sound quality is surprisingly good. It’s perfectly listenable with clear dialog and sound. Music from Spotify on the tv even sounds pretty good going through this little device.
A google search for ‘AY80 hdmi arc’ will return loads of results.
Enjoy.