Doesn't z506 also have red and white rca connectors? I've had my tv connected to those and the PC connected to the 3.5 jacks for years. Both audio streams play on top of each other but I just mute or stop the PC sounds using an IR remote
Yes, it does, but I assumed that the red/white rca would only give stereo sound, which would be a shame since I'd like to use it as a the 5.1 it is
Try it, you might be pleasantly surprised! It's not true surround but the z506 will do some sort of "virtual surround" using the red and white cable and splits the stereo into surround channels. ,
The challenge you have is that a device that meets your spec is going to have to decode the optical surround sound signal from the TV which means it is going to need a chip and support for the codecs such as Dolby Digital and DTS. That is going to drive up the price and why what you're seeing are AV receivers. Unfortunately you don't need a switch, you need a surround sound DAC and those are not very common.
Aaaah I think you might have solved it. A DAC does seem to be what I need. Dunno why it was so hard to fi d the right term
I've found this one :
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B071HPGZJJ
Which seems to have 2 optical in, and an out that doesn't split the 6 channels but rather combines them into 3 pairs, like I need as an input for my system.
If you dont mind only getting stereo et not 5.1 you could get an analog switch like that:
I don’t think you’re going to find this. You’ve got a surround sound speaker set up for a computer not for home theater, you might be able to find an audio capture device with an optical in you could use to plug your tv audio into the pc and output through the speakers. More than likely you’ll be limited to the rca stereo outs to the pc.
BudgetAudiophile
A place for AUDIO enthusiast to share, discuss and listen to others people setups