Review on 🔊 SouthSky 5.1 Channel DAC Converter Audio Decoder Digital Optical Coaxial Toslink to RCA 3.5mm Jack with Dolby AC-3 DTS 5.1 2.0 Channel Support for Xbox PS2, PS3, PS4, TV (SPDIF/Coaxial to 6RCA + 3.5mm) by Roy Boone

This review compares Ambery/AllAboutAdapter's AU-DA100 5.1ch Decoder to Southsky 5.1ch Decoder. My configuration is as follows: * Optical S/PDIF connection from ASUS H87I Plus motherboard * Coaxial S/PDIF connection from Sony BDP-S3700 Blu-ray player * Logitech Z-5300 5.1 surround sound system containing three 3.5 -5.1ch* 3.5mm stereo jack to 2 RCA adapter inputs. Southsky only supports 1 optical and 1 coaxial input. Channel Switching:* Ambery supports manual channel switching by pressing Enter. It does not support automatic channel switching. *Southsky only supports automatic channel switching, and coaxial input always has priority over optical input, when power is applied to the coaxial input. Note that I had to disable "Fast Boot Mode" on my Blu-Ray player to disable the coaxial cable when the Blu-Ray player was off. Otherwise, the coax port is powered and Southsky recognizes this and wins. do not play via the optical S/PDIF input. Format Switching:* Ambery tends to lose decoding when an input changes digital audio formats, requiring the channel to be fully switched back to the desired input before Ambery recognizes a new digital input. Easily pause, fast forward, skip chapters with my Blu-ray player, or when switching from the Blu-ray disc menu screen to actually playing the movie, the Ambery decoder stops decoding and requires someone to press enter on the Ambery to disconnect it and then reconnect it to the coax connector. AllAboutAdapters has confirmed that this is the expected behavior. * Southsky doesn't seem to have any problem detecting digital audio format changes - it does it quickly and reliably and I haven't noticed any problems. Volume control: * Ambery does not have an output volume control. * The Southsky has an 8-position volume control, although given the Southsky's lower audio levels, I left it at maximum for all my testing. The finest sound system. In order to avoid annoying noises, I had to significantly reduce the volume of my Logitech sound system. * The Southsky also has a distinct noise floor, but it's much lower (I measured it about 15dB lower than the Ambery). a significantly stronger signal, measured about 10 dB higher than that of Southsky. Ambery could overload my Logitech at maximum volume. * Southsky couldn't take full advantage of my Logitech at max volume, but the signal was strong enough for my usage needs. Layout: * Ambery has analog RCA output jacks. on one side of the device, and on the other side the S/PDIF inputs (optical and coaxial) and the power connector and buttons. Also, the LED indicators are located on the bottom of the device and are typically hidden by the S/PDIF input cables. I ended up turning the device upside down to get a better view of the LEDs, but then of course the label is upside down. *Southsky has all cables on one side and controls on the other, making cable connections much easier. The red power LED on the Southsky is too bright, but that's easily fixed with a dim sticker. Summary: Ultimately, the most important issue for me was the loss of Ambery decoding when the Blu-ray player was stopped. It was a show stop where someone had to be at the device and press enter for 5 seconds when the movie resumed. To avoid skipping dialog, we had to rewind the movie far enough to cover the time it takes for audio decoding to work again when playback resumes. While this supports a stronger output signal, which allows me to to compensate for the volume of the sound system. Based on my rough measurements with the iPhone app, the Southsky's signal-to-noise ratio was about 5 dB better. I wish the Southsky had a slightly higher output level, but this level was sufficient for my use. Southsky's inability to prioritize optical over coax can pose a problem in some scenarios where coax cannot be easily disabled. , but in my case it was actually the perfect solution - if "Fast Boot Mode" is disabled on the Blu-Ray player, turning on the Blu-Ray player automatically gives it priority, and turning it off gives up audio from the player back the channel. Computer. it seems that the Southsky's signal-to-noise ratio was about 5 dB better. I wished, the Southsky would have had a slightly higher output level, but that level was adequate for my use. Southsky's inability to prioritize optical over coax can pose a problem in some scenarios where coax cannot be easily disabled. , but in my case it was actually the perfect solution - if "Fast Boot Mode" is disabled on the Blu-Ray player, turning on the Blu-Ray player automatically gives it priority, and turning it off gives up audio from the player back the channel. Computer. It looks like the Southsky's signal-to-noise ratio is about 5dB better. I wish the Southsky had a slightly higher output level, but this level was sufficient for my use. Southsky's inability to prioritize optical over coax, can pose a problem in some scenarios where coax cannot be easily disabled. , but in my case it was actually the perfect solution - if "Fast Boot Mode" is disabled on the Blu-Ray player, turning on the Blu-Ray player automatically gives it priority, and turning it off gives up audio from the player back the channel. Computer.