What DAC are you using?
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Audiopraise VanityPro Review (HDMI Audio Extractor)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
What DAC are you using?
(Tough it out with/for Ukraine, that's what we're all doing to some extent - although definitely not like the level at which they are for sure!).Yeah, perhaps the rate for electricity has gone up and hidden any savings. We have run-away inflation too. I chatted other peeps in Europe and they have the same dilemma. It's all over. Red meat is up maybe 35%-40% and the pasta aisle shelving is bare @ Walmart from people economizing and eating pasta. I'm pretty sure my grocery bill has gone up by ~$100+ per month. Crazy stuff.
Nattage
Member
My front Genelecs have DACs built in. For rears I'm using a topping Ex5.
I have reached out to Berkeley to find out what's behind that locking anomaly. I will post an update here if anything comes out of it.
Nattage
Member
Shorter update/review.... This VanityPro continues to be such a joy to listen to.
Nattage
Member
Thought I'd share how "simply", it might be used.
Bear in mind that these speakers have built in DACs and amplifiers.
I've omitted the Genelec 9301a, (would sit between the VanityPro and the digital speakers) which can route bass tones from all channels to the sub output, makes it easier to daisy chain subwoofers and utilise the Subs in stereo only content.
Clearly everything needs a power supply and also not shown is the loop of network cables between all the Genelecs and the GLM kit, for standby and volume control.
Nattage
Member
I've not found one and I've been searching off and on for a few years.
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I might have found a cheaper way: Blackmagic HDMI to SDI --> Blackmagic SDI to Audio (8 channels AES) converters. It can only do 48kHz LPCM, but that is all I need. The gear seems to be used in the pro market and is readily available on the second hand market. Only some cable soldering for the SPDIF conversion involved. I will ponder a bit more and then give this a shot.
Blackmagic
Blackmagic
And how do you handle HDCP? The Blackmagic converters do not accept HDCP encrypted sources.
Nattage
Member
does this need soldering and your source to be a PC then? Do PCs decode DD+ and Atmos etc to multi channel PCM like and ATV4k? Or could you feed this Black magic thing with an ATV4K?
With the PC and the "right" player (for video I use Kodi) I can choose to bitstream (AC-3,DD+,DTS, True-HD, Atmos etc.) via SPDIF from the soundcard or HDMI from the gpu or I can choose to decode into LPCM and stream that. I still have a very old but very good AVR that lacks HDMI input, which is my motivation to send the LPCM to its multiple SPDIF inputs. Also in the future I could get rid of my AVR all together and use more dedicated amplification for each channel like I do for stereo music.
With the ATV4k the HDCP mentioned earlier might be more of an issue, but I have never used one so can´t comment much on that.
The soldering would be to drop the high voltage from the AES output of the "blackmagic SDI to Audio" jacks to the lower voltage required for SPDIF. 6.3mm stereo Jack on one side and RCA connector on the other side with some dropping resistors (see attachment).
With the ATV4k the HDCP mentioned earlier might be more of an issue, but I have never used one so can´t comment much on that.
The soldering would be to drop the high voltage from the AES output of the "blackmagic SDI to Audio" jacks to the lower voltage required for SPDIF. 6.3mm stereo Jack on one side and RCA connector on the other side with some dropping resistors (see attachment).
Attachments
Yes it seems like HDCP will be an issue with the apple device. But give this a read:
HDCP stripper
If I decide to test this, I will report back, if it worked. Although I probably won´t need the stripper.
Hi there, just a quick update on the the USB Output board.
It is all working well and it can turn the VanityPRO into a multichannel HDMI audio to USB audio converter with resampling. More details on our forum. I will just paste a little taster here of a PC audio analyzer software screen with 8 channel meter showing playback of a 96kHz 7.1 channel audio track from a disc player into the VanityPRO and resampled to 192kHz by the USB Board. VanityPRO Meters Screen pasted in for reference.
Comments and questions are welcome!
Regards,
Pavel
Nattage
Member
Just got one of these so I'm not having to switch XLR cables when switching between a RasberryPi with AlloDigital output (used for roon music) and the AudioPraise (used for ATV4k streaming and MKVs)...
I was then able to plug my ROCK server directly to the AudioPraise via HDMI (instead of the ATV4K)
And then A/B between the ROCK server as a ROON output and the AlloDigital as a ROON endpoint. Had exactly the same EQ and volume levelling applied.
I set off the same test track on both and let them both play simultaneously, then had someone press the buttons on this physical switch, so I didn't know which was playing when.
So a true blind test.
And this time I couldn't for the life of me tell the difference!
So we have here an HDMI extractor that can pass on a digital signal as well as my best home made dedicated streamer.
I was then able to plug my ROCK server directly to the AudioPraise via HDMI (instead of the ATV4K)
And then A/B between the ROCK server as a ROON output and the AlloDigital as a ROON endpoint. Had exactly the same EQ and volume levelling applied.
I set off the same test track on both and let them both play simultaneously, then had someone press the buttons on this physical switch, so I didn't know which was playing when.
So a true blind test.
And this time I couldn't for the life of me tell the difference!
So we have here an HDMI extractor that can pass on a digital signal as well as my best home made dedicated streamer.
Nattage
Member
because it can
The link you provided appears to be the wrong LittleBear (2-into-1 or 1-into-2 models)
Although advertised as "Mini 2 Way HiFi Stereo Audio XLR A/B Passive Switcher Box & Mixer Sound Splitter (2-IN-1-OUT)", it appears to be a single channel 'switch' (split/mix) in need of another one for a Stereo pair (L/R).
Unconfuse me please!
Nattage
Member
...not when you're using it to switch AES/EBU over XLR connectors. Then a single cable transports 2 channels.
Anyway it's going back as it's shown I can retire my streamer box and just use the Roon ROCK server's HDMI output, no need for isolation of source and playback, when you#ve got an AudioPraise.
Anyway it's going back as it's shown I can retire my streamer box and just use the Roon ROCK server's HDMI output, no need for isolation of source and playback, when you#ve got an AudioPraise.
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