Gefen Digital Audio To Analog Audio Adapter/Converter (GTV-DIGAUD-2-AAUD)

I received this rather promptly. HOWEVER. I ordered this for a job I had with a very good client. When I got to the site and got everything installed. This particular piece DID NOT WORK. I guess, you get what you pay for. I will never order from these guys again. Save your money.

I have a 2nd Gen Apple TV (which is fantastic BTW). I use the ATV and Airplay for streaming itunes music throughout my home. I also use the internet radio feature for the same purpose. As for amplification I use my Yamaha AVR for the home theatre room and then I have an older Onkyo integrated amp that I use to power my in wall speakers in the rest of the house (BTW, running them through a Niles balance box and using in wall Niles volume controls in each room). The problem I had after installing the ATV is that the Onkyo is analog only, with the ATV pushing out a digital audio signal. I purchased and installed the Gefen DA converter between the ATV and the Onkyo using the optical out on the ATV to the Gefen then RCA audio cables from the DA box to the Onkyo. Works great, sounds great.One issue I ran into had nothing to do with the Gefen but I will bring it up here in case anyone runs into something similar. I hooked everything up on the first go round (it was the first time I used optical cable) and it didn't work. I checked the settings on the ATV and it still wan't producing sound. I could see the red light in the cable so I new the ATV was putting out something, why wasn't it working? Was the Gefen a dud? After reading some forum postings, I realized I had not removed the little, hardly noticeable clear covers on the each end of the optical cable. I removed those, reconnected the cable and it worked perfectly.Note: I ordered a toslink optical cable from Amazon when I ordered the Gefen. It turned out Gefen supplies a cable with the DA converter, so if you order one of these, no need for a cable. That said, the Amazon branded cable seemed nicer and more "heavy duty" (Amazon cabling products are usually excellent values) but in the end the Gefen cable would likely have been fine.Again a nice product that is working well for me in my particular application.

I read the online reviews about this device, and, while more expensive than others, it worked great. I recommend this box with 5 stars because it a) serves my needs and b) Genfen's technical support staff is outstanding.My environment: I have a newer digital AV receiver (Onkyo TX-NR808) for 5.1 home theatre and an older analog receiver to run my Zone2 whole house audio with an AppleTV Model 2 containing only HDMI and Digital Optical TOSLink outputs.Question: why not just use your receiver's Zone2 powered output to drive your whole house audio and fugittaboutit???Answer: most new digital receiver's Zone2/3 outputs [powered/line] cannot convert digital input sources into analog output signals, so any digital [HDMI/Optical/Coax] input signal cannot be outputted to Zone2/3 [just dead air]. I checked the fine print in my receiver's manual and ended up running parallel digital and analog cables from each source to the corresponding receiver; exception: my analog tape deck goes into my digital receiver's VCR/DVR input, and the VCR/DVR output goes into my analog receiver's Tape1 input via RCA. It really helps to create an Excel sheet documenting each device's output matched to receiver inputs/outputs by function...About Genfen Tech Support: About 25 days into using it, I started to hear static through my analog receiver when using my AppleTV via Genfen. I performed some troubleshooting:1. Is it the optical cable? No [connected DVD optical to Digital receiver Aux optical port directly].2. Is my source outputing digital? No [connected AppleTV via same optical cable to same Aux port].3. Is it my Monster RCA cables? No [connected existing AppleTV output cables to Tape deck output into receiver's Aux RCA ports].4. Is my destination receiver's Tape1 input ports receiving from another established analog source? YES [connected same Tape deck/cables to analog receiver].With no indications from above, I then called Genfen's tech support line; they were very friendly and mentioned to check the unit for heat (a problem) and check the connections. I reseated both optical and RCA connectors, moved the Genfen box to a safer location inside my cabinet (i.e. away from the other cable spaghetti), verified the Genfen unit was not hot, and it worked again!!!I think my problem is that my Genfen unit was located on the same cabinet shelf as my powerstrip, AppleTV 2, BD-DVD player, Cable box, cooling fan and 8-port Ethernet switch [rather crowded]. I moved it to the lower shelf containing just the analog receiver for less movement, more open space and fewer cables to snag; the analog receiver does not run as hot as the cable box, and the lower shelf should be cooler as: a) heat rises, b) the upper shelf has the fan and c) the cabinet door's black breathable mesh spans top and bottom shelves.

I recently updated from an AppleTV (1) to an AppleTV (2). Like others have noted the ATV2 has digital out only. I have a newer Onkyo A/V receiver with HDMI connections. We have a set of outdoor speakers on the patio for Summer get togethers and such and it was great to pump iTunes though the Zone2 portion of the Onkyo out to the patio. Only problem is the inputs on the receiver are analog only for this hook up. This looked like the only viable option available. Hook up was a breeze, literally less than 5 minutes. Works perfectly! Nice and clear, no buzzing or hissing. Good loud signal to boot. Nice when something works as advertised right out of the box. I wish it would have cost only $30 but oh well, at least it worked as advertised for 2 channel stereo which is all I wanted. The addition of the optical cable being included helped offset the high cost a bit I suppose.Overall very satisfied. Hopefully it will last me a longtime. If it dies within the first year I will update my review for sure. For now, works perfect!

I purchased this product because the Zone 2 on my Onkyo HTS7200 only accepts an analog signal, which I wish I would have known before purchasing that system...but that's another review. So to make it a long story short I had to purchase a converter. I didn't think there would be many differences between this converter and the other more expensive models, but unfortunately I was wrong. This converter won't accept a 5.1 signal and the sound output isn't too high. This really isn't a problem for me since this is only for my outdoor speakers, but if you really want to turn up the sound I'd suggest the more expensive model. Oh and as to the 5.1 signal after a little tinkering with the sound card program on my computer I was able to get it to accept the 5.1 signal. I'm not sure why this worked, because at first it didn't, but after switching the output to 2 channel then back to 5.1 it magically worked! At the end of the day I'd consider the higher end model.