Evolve II-4K HDMI Multichannel DAC User Testimonials; Is Your Vintage AVR Ready to Evolve?

Bob Rapoport · May 13, 2025

I designed the Evolve II-4K to sell at $349 as an upgrade path for people that own 1080p AVRs or PrePros from 2000 to 2015 that still work and sound great but lack the HDMI v2.0 connectivity to support 4K video content on UHD Blu-ray and the original multichannel Hi Res Audio soundtracks.

This handy workaround supports AV Streaming from the Apple TV4K beautifully, delivering dazzling 4K content and hi res audio at 24 / 48K. As the old saying goes, "if you want your system to sound and look better, feed it better content".

With a single HDMI v2.0b input and output plus 8 RCA analog outputs, you can position the Evolve II-4K upstream from your AVR, plug in your 4K HDMI source into the HDMI input, then from the HDMI output to your 4K TV. Then you connect the RCA analog outputs to the 7.1 channel analog input section on the back of your AVR. It sells for $349 on the Essence For Hi Res Audio site. Best of all, it sounds amazing.

Read the User Testimonials for greater insight.

Audio_Guy_UofW · May 18, 2025

This looks very interesting! I have a particular use in mind, and wondered if this device strips out the audio, or does it also pass it along on the HDMI output?

Bob Rapoport · May 19, 2025

Audio_Guy_UofW said:
This looks very interesting! I have a particular use in mind, and wondered if this device strips out the audio, or does it also pass it along on the HDMI output?

Hi Audio Guy, HDMI was developed to protect the copyrights of the content creators, please tell me more about your intended application and I'll tell you if what you have in mind will work. Thanks.

Audio_Guy_UofW · May 19, 2025

I want to extract centre channel to pass to a hearing aids transmitter, then pass the HDMI on to a soundbar & TV. Will that work? Thanks.

Bob Rapoport · May 19, 2025

Audio_Guy_UofW said:
I want to extract centre channel to pass to a hearing aids transmitter, then pass the HDMI on to a soundbar & TV. Will that work? Thanks.

I'd need to see the inputs on the hearing aid transmitter to confirm it has an RCA analog input, if so then yes that part would work. I need to know which soundbar brand and model so I can check its inputs too. Generally feeding the HDMI output of the Evolve II-4K to anything other than a TVs HDMI input results in failure because of the copyright protection. If the soundbar has analog or other types of digital inputs, it might work. What are you using for a source?

Audio_Guy_UofW · May 19, 2025

It is a system for a friend. Source would be TV settop box. Just shopping for TV and soundbar, so not firmed up yet. Probably Sony TV. Not sure of HDMI/audio flow - depends on soundbar selected, I think. Could be via HDMI eARC, Toslink, or soundbar HDMI pass through. Which options would work with your device?

Bob Rapoport · May 19, 2025

Audio_Guy_UofW said:
It is a system for a friend. Source would be TV settop box. Just shopping for TV and soundbar, so not firmed up yet. Probably Sony TV. Not sure of HDMI/audio flow - depends on soundbar selected, I think. Could be via HDMI eARC, Toslink, or soundbar HDMI pass through. Which options would work with your device?

I would advise the use of Bluetooth hearing aids for full range quality sound. Get a smart TV with all the apps built-in and Bluetooth Tx, no set top box required. Your friend will connect the TV to his Wi-Fi network. Forget the soundbar. In order to hear all the dialog clearly, the hearing aids are like a good pair of headphones and much lighter. You wont need my box to do this. My box is for high performance AV systems, does not support eARC because it creates audio latency, the video is on screen before the audio creating a lip sync mess. These days people are going 5G cellular to support their TV, phone, and internet, its much less expensive. Good luck.

Evolve II-4K HDMI Multichannel DAC User Testimonials; Is Your Vintage AVR Ready to Evolve?

Bob Rapoport

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