Belkin SOUNDFORM CONNECT Audio Adapter with AirPlay 2
I am usually a happy Apple user and I accept the walled gardens as long as everything is working smoothly. However the update to tvOS 15 was a real disaster. It broke compatibility with Airplay 1 devices and efficiently rendered my Shairport-sync based DAC useless. Even if Apple correct this in a later update I however expect Airplay 1 to be considered a second class citizen in the Apple universe from now on so I started to look for an Airplay 2 solution. I only need it to stream audio from my Apple TV 4K (connected to a ceiling mount projector) to my amplifier (preferable through an analog connection).
The Belkin SOUNDFORM CONNECT Audio Adapter with AirPlay 2 came out as pretty much the only commercial option with I find a bit surprising. I am not in the market for a complete amplifier with AirPlay 2 support because I want to use any of my DIY and restored vintage amplifier. And I am defenitly not looking for anything like a full blown Sonos system. So the concept of an AirPlay 2 adapter with analog and digital outputs seems like a no brainer but the only options on the market seems like the one from Belkin. So whats wrong with the Belkin SOUNDFORM CONNECT Audio Adapter? Conceptually almost nothing but the implemenation got its flaws and that is why I want to document them here because I could not find much hard facts about it when I was doing my research.
Some I found, like its way overpriced. This might be a highly subjective question but to be fair, the hardware itself doesn't live up to the $100 price tag. Apple might charge Belkin for using their Airplay 2 technology but I still find this dongle is overpriced for what it is. I let Apple get away with it since they usually provide premium hardware and software where the Belkin SOUNDFORM CONNECT Audio Adapter hardware is nice but nothing special and the software is quite lack lustre. Pairing doesn't work as advertised, the text on the casing too small etc. The device shows up in the Apple "Home" app as a "stereo accessory type" and not a "speaker accessory". This make it much harder to integrate it into the Apple audio universe through Homekit.
Not having a wired interface and entirely rely on Wi-Fi is just asking for trouble in many homes. My Wi-Fi network is as flawless as it gets (UniFi AP hardware running OpenWRT) so I have had no connectivity issues but still, I prefer to have all my streaming devices hard wired to my LAN. Another annoyance is automatic firmware updates with no way for me as a customer to take control other than restore to factory defaults. A built in microphone for audio sync setup but who wants a network attached microphone that you can't control. It also seems like this device can't attach to a Wi-Fi network with a hidden SSID (but I haven't tested it myself). I get the convenience for non tech persons point of view but I personally expect more control over my IoT devices.
So a bit lack lustre but it is doing a decent job of streaming over AirPlay 2 even though Apples implementation of AirPlay speakers in tvOS 15 has changed, for the worse. I can only hope for future updates that will make it better (but I am not holding my breath). So apart from everything above, any other flaws? I had read about issues with low volume on the analog output but I thought how bad can it be? I have to admit that it proved to be far worse than I could have ever imagined!
Analog line level from this kind of device, what to expect? Like most CD players, i.e. 2.0 Vrms, seems resonable to me. If not 2.0 Vrms, at least 1.0 Vrms right? Any if any lower you would at least expect a Consumer Audio line level of −10 dBV, i.e. 0.316 Vrms, right? Well none proved to be right, the output with a 1kHz sine signal played through AirPlay on full volume generates an output of only 0.288 Vrms! So I totally understand why people find the volume too low when using the analog out on this device. Why on earth would you design a device with an analog output with only 0.288 Vrms? That is really setting yourself up for a failure with non tech customers running modern gear expecting a far higher line level to things like amplifiers, sound bars etc.
My solution was to add a preamp (Rod Elliotts excellent P88) to one of the inputs on my Ultimate Integrate amplifier. The DSP expects an input level of max 1.0 Vrms so I set the amplification of the extra analog preamp stage to 10.8 dB and it brings up the mediocre output from the Belkin SOUNDFORM CONNECT Audio Adapter to 1.0 Vrms on full volume. But honestly, you should not have to provide additional amplification to a product like this to make it work in an ordinary sound chain like hooking it up to you amplifier, I mean what amplifier got an input sensitivity of only 0.288 Vrms?
