SOUTHSKY 5.1/2.1 Audio Rush Digital Sound Decoder Converter,Optical SPDIF, Coaxial to 5.1CH 2.1CH Analog Audio (6RCA Output) for Old AV Receiver

The SOUTHSKY 5.1/2.1 Audio Rush Digital Sound Decoder works great for connecting my stereo Sennheiser headphones. I'm taking 5.1 surround sound from a gofanco extractor and decoding to analog RCA outs. This unit has a switch that combines the 5 surround channels making left front and right front mixed stereo outputs plus subwoofer out. I am finally able to keep surround sound playback in the room and provide headphone audio for my wife. Other splitters I have tried always switched my Receiver from 5.1 surround encoding to PCM stereo when I connected to use the left and right RCA outputs. This unit connected to a gofanco HDMI to HDMI extractor set to 5.1 surround makes my Receiver stay in surround mode so all my devices ( Firetv, Blu-ray player & Dish TV) play out surround sound.

This is exactly what I needed to convert a smart TV (with only SPDIF) to use a Sony receiver (with no SPDIF input) and surround system I was given. Works exactly how I wanted it to and works flawlessly. It is true that the sound depends on the source, so if the source says 5.1 and it turns out to be something else, you won't get exactly 5.1 surround, but you will still get sound. This has worked for everything I cared about on that smart TV and finally allowed me to use those beautiful speakers built into my walls that came with the house.

Dead on arrival, nuff said. Tried different sources, connectors, even different power supply. Even did an A/B with an existing decoder just to make sure it wasn't the source. It's a POS, stay away.

Update 1 year later: I'm still cautious about changing to 5 stars, but after a year it is still working just as well as it had been initially. For my speaker set up, I have a simple Logitech Z606 5.1. I used this to get the SPDIF output from my Samsung tv so I didn't have to use the lower quality speakers from the tv, and a few pairs of standard red/white RCA cables to my Logitech unit. Obviously I didn't want to spend a ton of money to get all new equipment when I already had speakers I wanted to use. Everything is just for my room, so I don't need a booming movie theater quality setup that will rattle windows, and for me, this worked out perfect. Volume is obviously controlled by my Logitech Z606, not this adapter. I sometimes notice little issues with sound, but I have no way to test if this is an issue with the unit, the speakers, or something funny with whatever I have running on my PC - which since changing the SPDIF port I'm using from the tv to directly to my new pc seems to have gone away. It wasn't a frequent issue to begin with though. All in all, this little converter seems to do what it claims to. I wasn't able to give it 5 stars because I'm unsure of how well it will last through the years. There seems to be a half dozen other listings for what looks to be the exact same item with a different logo printed on it. BUT! If you're looking for a cheap solution to get better sound and already have (or are getting) volume controllable speakers like a good deal of the sets/kits available, this could be the difference between frustration and being content.

Works really well for my 5.1 speaker set up has great sound, little wierd telling if its on 2.1 or 5.1 mode but orher than that its really good im glad i bought it

The device worked fine for a few months, but now I've got to twist it around into strange orientations in order for it to function - mostly but not quite upside-down for instance. I've taken the board out of the case and used my multi-thousand-dollar oscilloscope to determine whether there's a bad connection e.g. from the coaxial SPDIF or anywhere else on the board, and as far as I can tell that is not the case. From my experience designing and fabricating circuit boards, my best guess is that there's a fault somewhere in the board itself, as I don't see any bad solder joints anywhere. Additionally, when looking at various points on the board with my scope, I see a very clear and significant noise floor that's only a few decibels lower than the majority of the signals I get from a typical DVD. I've traced this back to the power brick itself, so if you care about sound quality with this device, find a better brick. It's been 4 months since I bought this so it's out of Amazon return period...

If you're trying to use this to take an optical audio from a game console/Blu ray/etc to connect to powered PC speakers, this is not an ideal solution. I ended up buying a whole new AV receiver and unpowered traditional speakers instead and am glad I did. Optical audio only supports Dolby digital, not any of the newer formats in the last 15 years. The signal being sent will be an encoded surround signal, not actual separate channels for 5.1. Your sound will come out as either just front channel stereo if you set the switch to that, or it will come out as kind of a fancy stereo which uses all 6 speakers if you set it to 5.1. This is very different from connecting your computer to 3 mini TRS jacks and getting true 5.1 sound or using HDMI out to a receiver and getting legit 5.1 surround with support for new formats including Dolby Surround, and ATMOS. There isn't any volume control either, so you'll have to use the dial on your PC speakers themselves. If you're just looking to get any signal and don't care about getting actual surround sound, this will at least work, but it's only a small step up from just 2 stereo red-white rca plugs. Use HDMI and a receiver instead.

I Used this product to create a surround sound straight from TV to active speakers. Eliminating the need for a large reciever. I swapped the power plug with a USB to dc plug and velcro to the back of my TV. Easy setup and great audio separation. Separation selection from 2.1 to 5.1 as you build your (active speaker) surround system.

Needed to connect a new tv to an old stereo receiver. It was very easy to setup. No issues getting 5.1 vs 2 channel as some noted. I thought this would be the best connection method, take advantage of the 6 channel input on my stereo. There is one aspect I didn’t think of. there is no method to tune or balance the frequencies of each channel. The cut off to the center and fronts is quite high and thus without a subwoofer connected there is very little bass. Perhaps the alternate method to buy a digital to analog converter and use the stereo’s surround options and settings to get the best sound is a better option for my scenario. But I can’t reduce the rating based that.

Was trying to use a set of computer speakers for my home theatre setup. The sound floor is awful, the speakers buzz quite a bit at anything more than half volume and they’ll be there a lot because it made the speakers really quiet. While the surround sound effect was really good with great locational audio (sound stage)

Feels a little bulky, durable, fairly-built. Easy to connect and configure. Worked well on my a/v receiver, that was hooked up to my PS5. Sound is is okay. On the "DVD 5.1 Channel" format, it won't allow you to change any sound settings whatsoever (equalizer, treble, bass, gain, etc.) Sound is good. When 2.1 mode is on, the front speakers are loud, surround speakers are faded. When 5.1 mode is on, all speakers are the same volume but are not as loud as the front speakers would be if it was on 2.1 mode.

I have an old Onkyo AV receiver that does not support Dolby Digital (AC3), but does have 7.1 inputs using RCA.. I installed this DAC using 3 pairs of RCA patch cords (FL,FR,SR,SL,Cen,SW) 5.1 and set the Onkyo to Multi-input.. BAM worked right away. Loud and Clear, 6 channel audio. I tried using the TOSlink and the Coax digital inputs and both are equally effective.. Highly recommend this for older AV receivers. !!

helps direct the optical true 5.1 audio output of a tv into a surround sound system designed for 3 stereo minijack inputs of a 5.1 system designed for computers, without downmixing or having to simulate 5.1