I am working on a 7.1 home theater setup and would greatly appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
Background:
I’m currently considering the Arylic H50 amplifier, which is an excellent stereo amp with features like AirPlay 2 and HDMI eARC. However, its limitation to stereo output restricts its use in a proper home theater setup. While there are great options from Denon and Yamaha offering 7.1 systems with eARC and AirPlay 2, I prefer a DSP-based solution that gives me control over individual speaker drivers.
After extensive research, I decided to go for a setup that uses DSP-based amplifiers for precise control and leverages HDMI eARC for seamless TV integration, including volume control via the TV remote. Although Wi-Fi functionality isn’t a must for now, I’ve chosen the BP50 Bluetooth Preamplifier for this purpose.
Option 1 Planned Setup:
- TV to BP50 Amp with (eARC) →
- BP50 Amp Coaxial/SPDIF Out(Master) →
- Sure Electronics Audio Converter Board (Slave: Coaxial/SPDIF to I2S (Master) →
- I2S Splitter to 2 I2S Outputs →
- DSP-based Amplifiers with I2S Input (Slave Mode) (e.g., JAB5 or Arylic Amp Pro 2.1)
Questions:
- Will this many connections cause any noticeable audio loss?
- I know I can simplify the chain by connecting the BP50 directly to the amplifier using analog, but how significant would the quality degradation be?
- Would volume control via the TV remote work seamlessly in this setup?
- Is it practical to use an I2S splitter to connect multiple amplifiers?
Option 2 Planned Setup:
- TV to H50 Amp with (eARC) →
- Combine multiple Arylic Amp with H50 via Bluetooth or WiFi?
Question:
- Would this option even work?
- If it is, will there be any delay?
If Arylic H50 had native 5.1 support or BP50 offered I2S output, it would make things much simpler. 
I look forward to your thoughts and insights!