Thanks Brad. Had to pay more attention to the pinout on some of the cheaper ones I had. Just ordered the DL85 for it.

Also,with some of the other posts here, I was thinking of making a small setup with this decoder:
Ranhe RH-619 5.1 CH USB Digital Sound/Media Player DTS/AC3 SPDIF Decoder DAC 24bit
[Link: s.aliexpress.com]

And then put together this amp:
[Link: parts-express.com]

Where the Ranhe is like a mini prepro. Only doing 3 channels for LCR and have the sub out to a wireless subwoofer. I temporarily put a Marantz slim NR receiver behind the TV and it sounded fantastic. Unfortunately slim or not, it would still stick out above the TV. Currently just using a small digital amp and piggyback RCA's to add the sub since it's just 2.0.

Since I don't have access to buy SnapAV products, I'm looking at alternatives for the few customers I get. If I can perfect the setup above for me, I can make more complete boxes as they make that Ranhe as just the board and LCD. Could essentially make a many 6.1 setup in a small enclosure with a laptop style brick for power. Surprised someone doesn't do something like the Episode or Russound with more channels and DD/DTS.

1) Cheap digital amps kind of suck. They are OK for background sound or when someone doesn't really care about the sound quality to much. But they certainly are not going to please anyone that is serious about sound quality.

2) Check the specs on your project amp. They tell you what digital amp chip the Sure piece is using. A quick read on the ST chip lets you know, that you are going to get about 25-35 watts per channel, with typical HT speakers (8Ω). That 100 watt rating is peak (when the lighting is striking).
Also, you have to get a power supply to go with it. The recommended power supply is bigger than the amp board and cost as much too.

3) At that price and size = the SnapAV mini amp is smaller and already all together. Has more features. About the same power (when talking 2ch).
Russound has the new TVA2.1, which is the same as all these too. Russound is a whore brand, so anyone can buy it for dealer cost or less:
[Link: ebay.com]

[edit]: To your point of having a 5.1 system fit behind a TV. All you have to do is buy a 'Home-Theater-in-a-Box' system for about $200-$300 (throw the speakers away if you want). Slide the small receiver behind the TV (much more slim than a Marantz digital receiver). And there you go! They have about the same power per channel as those custom digital amps (25-35 watts per channel), with WAY more features for streaming, etc...
[Link: amazon.com]

I would MUCH prefer to sell a customer a 'real' system however - install & all.

Well I found out my IR on my Episode Mini is borked. The Xantech doesn't work either. Unless the Harmony codes are wrong, but others have said it works. So between the voltmeter and the xantech, I'm concluding it's not working. Sad thing is the tech from SnapAV stopped returning my emails about fixing it. I sent another email back to the regular tech support email.

In the meantime I've figured a workaround. My TV does variable audio out via RCA so I have that hooked up to the analog on the mini. Then my chromecast audio can go to the optical input. The CA also controls volume and remembers the last volume setting. So I have my workaround without blasting the neighbors everytime it powers on as it seems to default to max volume.

And while there are also cheap digital amps, there are fairly nice ones with very low standby wattage and clean sound. The one was just an example. And throwing my thin Yamaha reciever behind the TV temporarily made a bit of difference with the front 3 giving real Dts over the Mini's matrix surround. Considering the breakdown in the mini shown posts before and the existence of the decoding board, you would think someone could put together a decent 3.1 channel mini amp with real DD/DTS decoding and even options for a wireless sub and/or surround speakers.

What is MSRP on the Mini amps? Or if someone were to buy one from an Authorized reseller, what's a typical selling price? If you don't mind me asking. As a part timer, the Russound and better China options (like the SMSL Q5 Pro) are more common as an option.

I had the same problem trying to get those mini amps to capture IR. Just didn't work. I ended up using a Control4 driver and a mono cable to the target input.

I notice you are using a similar decoder. I have a Ranhe Model Number RH-618.

How can I find the IR volume codes? If I could simply learn of a brand name receiver with the same IR codes, then I could program my TV remote (LG) to change its volume commands. THANK YOU for any ideas!

-Bill

Here's one online:
[Link: aliexpress.com]

Another:
[Link: ebay.com]

I think you misunderstand the way these amps control volume (or I do; that's always a possibility).

You don't search for the commands that the amp uses for volume control, then program your TV remote. Instead, you put the amp into a mode where it learns the volume commands of the TV. The TV's original remote volume commands are taught to the small amp, and the small amp then responds to the TV's volume commands.

Thanks for your response, Ernie. I didn't phrase my question properly. I do not use the TV to control my volume because I have a power amp (5.1 channels) fed by a digital-to-audio converter (the RH-618) attached to the TV via TOSLINK. The DAC is not able to learn new codes. (In your model, this would be the 'small amp'.) I also use a TOSLINK switch for other optical audio inputs (like my HDMI-less mac). I'd like to 'teach' my LG remote the corresponding volume codes for the DAC. Since the DAC is a generic one, there are no relevant model numbers in the LG on-screen software RH618. As a result, I'm looking for the 'raw' volume codes, up and down, in order to search for other name-brand audio gear using those same codes. This would enable me to tell the LG software what would-be receiver I'm using, then the software would modify my LG remote's IR signals.

Put another way, what name-brand products use the same volume codes as the RH-618? If unknown, what are the raw codes of the RH-618, and if those aren't known, I'll need to figure out some way to read the IR codes from the not-so-great RH-618 remote control.

I picked up a Mini 2ch with remote and IR. Works like a dream. Tried their receiver and remote in the Mini 3ch and still nothing. My solution to control volume before it hits the amp only partially works. Because the amp is at max volume at lower listening levels you can hear the amp hiss. It's actually annoying so I put the 3ch in the box and installed the 2ch.

I hope I can get a live person at snapav. I can't get any response via email anymore. A bit disheartening.

I don't know of any other small amps that autosense the input. If I'm stuck with two channel, then I shouldn't be tied to them.

And while I haven't used the Rahne decoder, I did give one of the other more basic boxes a try. They really do a nice job of decoding. Had one hooked up to my Teac 3ch tripath. Did great for the Atlantic Tech FS4000 LCR I have in the bedroom. Sadly it doesn't auto sense, and I couldn't get any learning remote I have to learn from its remote. So I sent it back.

Really is a shame someone doesn't take that decoder and build it into an Episode Mini. If I was more skilled with the soldering iron I would take apart the Episode and decoder box and combine them into a single box.

According to the Parts Express comments, it provides "audiophile sound quality", but 20-20KHz +/- 3dB IS NOT 'audiophile quality' for an amplifier- I have owned amplifiers that were in the 10-100KHz, +0/-.1dB range.

If you want a small amp, look at the Parasound ZAmp and Zone Control models.