I did run a search on the matter and read the docs. A common beginner’s guide stating that HDMI is unsupported is deprecated. Back in 2020 HDMI output was reported as being a potential feature: Raspberry Pi4 without HAT and Ropieee => output to HDMI? - #21 by spockfish
This Reddit post confirms that a Raspberry can be used via HDMI with the built-in DAC of a receiver, no DAC required: Raspberry Pi4 without HAT and Ropieee => output to HDMI? - #24 by Johnny_Ooooops
But it’s true that there’s conflicting information whether they made it work with RoPieee or not. Perhaps @spockfish can confirm if this feature was dropped altogether?
And if not a Raspberry, then what? All I’d like to do is reroute the multichannel audio to the Denon with the least possible impact on quality without breaking the bank. A mini PC for this seems way overkill, unless that’s the only feasible choice…?