FeinTech AX341 Review: HDMI 2.1 eARC Audio Extractor

If you run a premium soundbar like the Sonos Arc Ultra alongside a gaming console and two different screens, you already know the pain. Most soundbars have only one HDMI eARC port, and standard projectors lack eARC entirely. The FeinTech AX341 solves this exact problem by splitting full 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 video to two displays while routing uncompressed Dolby Atmos straight to your soundbar.

The modern home theater bottleneck

High-end home setups look clean until you examine the back of the gear. If you have a PlayStation 5, an Apple TV, a 4K projector, and a TV, managing your audio becomes a daily chore. Soundbars like the Sonos Arc or Arc Ultra sound fantastic, but they give you a single HDMI input. As I said in my video, "You're basically living in 2005: manually swapping cables like a human switchboard just to get audio and video."

When you hook up a projector, things get worse. Very few projectors feature eARC ports capable of returning uncompressed sound. If you run your console into the projector first, the projector usually downmixes the audio signal. You end up watching a massive 4K picture while listening to compressed stereo or basic 5.1 audio. You paid for Dolby Atmos, but your routing chain strangles it.

Why cheap HDMI switches break your setup

Many people try to fix this with a twenty-euro switch from Amazon. That is almost always a mistake. Those budget boxes are nearly all HDMI 2.0 switches. The moment you run a PS5 or Xbox Series X through an HDMI 2.0 switch, you lose 4K at 120Hz. You also lose VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM.

Cheap splitters also introduce horrible handshake problems. You switch inputs and wait five seconds staring at a black screen, wondering if the handshake failed. Worse, they frequently mess up audio synchronization. Speech leaves an actor's mouth half a second before the sound reaches your ears. As I put it during testing, "You introduce the ultimate immersion breaker: audio lag."

FeinTech engineered the AX341 specifically to handle full 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, avoiding those handshake bottlenecks.

Hardware ports and build quality

The AX341 is housed in a sturdy matte metal chassis that feels built for an AV rack. It does not feel like cheap consumer plastic.

Here is how the physical connections break down:

• Four HDMI 2.1 inputs supporting full 48 Gbps bandwidth
• Two HDMI 2.1 display outputs (up to 4K @ 120Hz or 8K @ 60Hz)
• One dedicated HDMI eARC audio output for soundbars
• One optical Toslink S/PDIF output
• One 3.5 mm analog AUX stereo jack
• USB-C port for firmware updates and service

On the front panel, you get status LEDs, manual input selection buttons, an eARC toggle, and EDID management switches. FeinTech also includes a basic infrared remote control and a 5V DC power adapter. The EDID switches are handy if you need to force a specific audio profile when mixing displays with different capabilities.

Real-world performance with PS5, projector, and Sonos Arc

I tested the AX341 in my own living room setup using an XGIMI Horizon 20 Max projector, a Samsung Mini LED TV, a PS5, and a Sonos Arc soundbar. Previously, I had to physically crawl behind the setup and move cables whenever I wanted to switch between gaming on the TV and watching a movie on the projector screen.

With the AX341 in place, the PS5 runs into HDMI Input 1. Output 1 runs to the TV, and Output 2 runs to the projector. The dedicated eARC port connects directly to the Sonos Arc. When playing games on the TV, the PS5 output hit a solid 4K at 120Hz with HDR and VRR enabled. The Sonos Arc registered full Dolby Atmos via eARC without any lip-sync drift.

Switching to the projector was just as straightforward. The AX341 stripped the uncompressed Dolby Atmos TrueHD audio track and sent it directly to the Sonos Arc, while passing clean 4K video straight to the projector. On 30 January 2026, the AX341 retailed around €200 on the FeinTech official store and Amazon NL. It is not pocket change, but it delivers what it promises.

Who should buy this and who should skip it

Buy the FeinTech AX341 if you run a premium eARC soundbar like a Sonos Arc or Arc Ultra and you want to feed it from multiple HDMI 2.1 sources without losing 4K 120Hz gaming features. It is especially valuable if you split your viewing time between a television and a home theater projector.

Skip the AX341 if you already own a modern AV receiver with dual HDMI 2.1 outputs, because your receiver already handles this signal management internally. If you only have one TV plugged into one soundbar and use basic built-in TV apps, you do not need this box either.

Frequently asked questions

How do I connect a Sonos Arc to a projector without eARC?

You connect your media sources, like a console or streaming box, into the HDMI inputs of the FeinTech AX341. You then run one HDMI output to your projector for video and the dedicated soundbar port to your Sonos Arc for uncompressed audio.

Does the FeinTech AX341 support 4K 120Hz and VRR on PS5?

Yes, the AX341 provides full 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 passthrough across its ports. In my testing with the PS5, it passed 4K video at 120Hz with HDR and Variable Refresh Rate active without handshake drops.

Can the AX341 send video to two TVs at the same time?

Yes, the AX341 features two HDMI 2.1 outputs and includes automatic downscaling. It can duplicate a source across two displays or switch between them, while extracting audio independently to your soundbar.