Vanity Pro HDMI Audio Extractor

[abdo123]

Would be nice to know. No promise because the VP and the Apple TV 4K are in different systems/house/states.

Oh! i thought it was the go to method of streaming multi-channel music now that Dolby Atmos is available on Apple music.

Do you use something else?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Oh! i thought it was the go to method of streaming multi-channel music now that Dolby Atmos is available on Apple music.

It is.

Do you use something else?

I do not do Atmos or movies on my main system. Music only.

 

[Sprint]

I guess if you use Genelecs with built-in room correction this device might be attractive to some.

Can you please confirm whether you get 7.1 output from an Apple TV 4K? Thank you!

@abdo123 I have the same requirement. I want to get rid of expensive AVR's. My source is only Apple 4KTV for both music and movies. Occasionally I do blu ray for good movies. In that case I will use a HDMI splitter or manually change the cable.

This vanity Pro costs 1500 Euros and is much cheaper than highly rated Storm audio that has AES out. If you use Auto setting, then Apple 4K TV will send decode PCM. This is what I got from one of the Apple threads.

 

[DigiPete]

Looking for a pure digital surround streaming solution . . .

I'm a Genelec SAM guy as well.
So I need 5.1 or 7.1 AES/EBU into Genelecs and use GLM for all room compensation & volume.

I have been struggling with getting surround streamning from Tidal (and perhaps Apple music) without needing an expensive AVR and/or Storm audio device.

I've been a surround audio junkie for +10 years, running from a Promise pegasus DAS containing all my ripped MC files.
It's a shame that Tidal insists on having a Dolby Atmos AVR is the signal chain to even allow me to stream more than stereo.

I currently use a Motu 8D to play 8 channels of AES/EBU (Mac - USB-C - 8D), and I would naturally vastly prefer to keep to this simple setup.
But how do I trick Tidal into giving me the Atmos stream?
A stack of HW including a Vanity Pro ???

Hope I'm missing some hack!!!

 

[stevenswall]

Looking for a pure digital surround streaming solution . . .

I'm a Genelec SAM guy as well.
So I need 5.1 or 7.1 AES/EBU into Genelecs and use GLM for all room compensation & volume.

I have been struggling with getting surround streamning from Tidal (and perhaps Apple music) without needing an expensive AVR and/or Storm audio device.

I've been a surround audio junkie for +10 years, running from a Promise pegasus DAS containing all my ripped MC files.
It's a shame that Tidal insists on having a Dolby Atmos AVR is the signal chain to even allow me to stream more than stereo.

I currently use a Motu 8D to play 8 channels of AES/EBU (Mac - USB-C - 8D), and I would naturally vastly prefer to keep to this simple setup.
But how do I trick Tidal into giving me the Atmos stream?
A stack of HW including a Vanity Pro ???

Hope I'm missing some hack!!!

I've used Tidal to do Atmos on my surround system using a Dolby DP564... In some ways it is superior to this since it does simultaneous digital and analogue output. This is how I connect my blend of Genelec and Kali devices.

 

[Keened]

Looking for a pure digital surround streaming solution . . .

I'm a Genelec SAM guy as well.
So I need 5.1 or 7.1 AES/EBU into Genelecs and use GLM for all room compensation & volume.

I have been struggling with getting surround streamning from Tidal (and perhaps Apple music) without needing an expensive AVR and/or Storm audio device.

I've been a surround audio junkie for +10 years, running from a Promise pegasus DAS containing all my ripped MC files.
It's a shame that Tidal insists on having a Dolby Atmos AVR is the signal chain to even allow me to stream more than stereo.

I currently use a Motu 8D to play 8 channels of AES/EBU (Mac - USB-C - 8D), and I would naturally vastly prefer to keep to this simple setup.
But how do I trick Tidal into giving me the Atmos stream?
A stack of HW including a Vanity Pro ???

Hope I'm missing some hack!!!

AppleTV used to decode Atmos to MAT2.0 so you could play in 5.1/7.1 with Atmos tracks. If Tidal is available on that platform that might be an option.

Alternatively if you have a TV capable of outputting eARC Atmos you can use this to process it down to multi-channel (I think). You'll have to reach out to them to confirm and make sure your TV puts out multi-channel formats, apparently some Vizio TVs are limited to 2 channel eARC Atmos.

I am currently investigating a similar issue myself and might have a route but won't know for another month or two until I get the parts, have time to put everything together, test, etc.

 

[Sprint]

@DigiPete You have been one of the main motivator for me to go for a Genelec set up and I have been learning from you from the Genelec forums !

I got in touch with the VanityPro team today to find out more on the capabilities. There is now more information in the EU website like the manual. What I learnt was that it has been tested with various Blu Ray Players and Fire stick. So I am hoping that it will work with Apple 4K TV as it sends uncompressed decoded multichannel LPCM. Apple TV can also send compressed 5.1, stereo but I am not sure if VanityPro can decode. As per the manual the VanityPro has no decoder. Singal in and Signal out.

The output options are 4 AES Out with 2 channel each.
For 5.1 or 7.1 digital surround, I see it should work as it needs only 6 or 8 channels.
For 5.1.2 Atmos, 8 channel Atmos should be sufficient but the main question is how the Dolby MAT 2.0 will be decoded in VanityPro to the 2 height channels. Here is a good discussion from reddit.
For 5.1.4 and higher, I don't think the AES can handle.

The concept of VanityPro is excellent. It even has digital volume control. Additional HDMI inputs, few decoders like Atmos decoder, 4 more AES outputs, within a reasonable price will make this product a huge hit.

 

[DigiPete]

@DigiPete You have been one of the main motivator for me to go for a Genelec set up and I have been learning from you from the Genelec forums !

I got in touch with the VanityPro team today to find out more on the capabilities. There is now more information in the EU website like the manual. What I learnt was that it has been tested with various Blu Ray Players and Fire stick. So I am hoping that it will work with Apple 4K TV as it sends uncompressed decoded multichannel LPCM. Apple TV can also send compressed 5.1, stereo but I am not sure if VanityPro can decode. As per the manual the VanityPro has no decoder. Singal in and Signal out.

The output options are 4 AES Out with 2 channel each.
For 5.1 or 7.1 digital surround, I see it should work as it needs only 6 or 8 channels.
For 5.1.2 Atmos, 8 channel Atmos should be sufficient but the main question is how the Dolby MAT 2.0 will be decoded in VanityPro to the 2 height channels. Here is a good discussion from reddit.
For 5.1.4 and higher, I don't think the AES can handle.

The concept of VanityPro is excellent. It even has digital volume control. Additional HDMI inputs, few decoders like Atmos decoder, 4 more AES outputs, within a reasonable price will make this product a huge hit.

@Sprint Thanks, appreciated. Hope you are happy with the result!

I'm amazed, how many still refer back to my posts in Genelec forum or my "blog" @ Computer Audiophile (now Audiophile Style)
IMO My conclusions 10 years back still stands, and I have not regretted my Genelec immersion a minute.

Surround streaming is blowing new life with so much material, but also the challenge of Atmos in the mix.
I hope we soon find good Atmos to digital solutions in the price reasonable range!!!

 

[Sprint]

@Sprint Thanks, appreciated. Hope you are happy with the result!

I'm amazed, how many still refer back to my posts in Genelec forum or my "blog" @ Computer Audiophile (now Audiophile Style)
IMO My conclusions 10 years back still stands, and I have not regretted my Genelec immersion a minute.

Surround streaming is blowing new life with so much material, but also the challenge of Atmos in the mix.
I hope we soon find good Atmos to digital solutions in the price reasonable range!!!

Ofcourse, I am super happy. This was one of the best investment. BTW, here is my set up with 8340/8330 surrounds. Wish I had the budget for 8351 or the white color available for 8350, I would have gone for bigger fronts. Hopefully sometimes in the future .

There are still some checkboxes to tick. Still to come are a couple of Genelec 7360 subs for the best Bass Management. Currently the bass management was done in the AVR and correction is done via miniDSP DDRC24 with Dirac. Then 4 more 8320 to get installed for ATMOS which would need some wall and ceiling cutting/plastering or atleast artificial ceiling with indirect lights to cover the cables.

Of course, the long dream to make it fully digital will always be there.

Let us know if you find a nice solution for ATMOS via digital.

 

[stevenswall]

Let us know if you find a nice solution for ATMOS via digital.

If you're only doing 5.1 or 7.1, I've enjoyed Atmos scaled down to fewer channels by using a Dolby DP564.

LG OLED Tidal app>Optical>Dolby DP564>AES over XLR to Genelec system, and analog over XLR for Kali surround speakers. I want to get a center channel but the phantom center setting on the Dolby works well for now.

 

[Sprint]

If you're only doing 5.1 or 7.1, I've enjoyed Atmos scaled down to fewer channels by using a Dolby DP564.

LG OLED Tidal app>Optical>Dolby DP564>AES over XLR to Genelec system, and analog over XLR for Kali surround speakers. I want to get a center channel but the phantom center setting on the Dolby works well for now.

Cool!! This is really good. I would love considering this. I am from EU and could not find any Dolby DP564 used or new here. Not sure if I should take the risk of buying one from eBay USA to be shipped to EU.

 

[egradyh]

I've reviewed the comments on this product and can't find an answer to my two questions. First, will it pass hi rez from it's HDMI input through it's AES/EBU digital output? I have some 24/192 blu rays I'd like to send to my Berkeley DAC using AES/EBU but no product exists to do it. Until now I hope. Second, can you select the DSD to PCM conversion rate at 24/88 OR 24/176? As my Berkeley won't accept DSD I have to convert it to PCM. It would be nice to have a choice.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

First, will it pass hi rez from it's HDMI input through it's AES/EBU digital output?

Yes, up to 24/192.

Second, can you select the DSD to PCM conversion rate at 24/88 OR 24/176?

Yes.

 

[egradyh]

Yes, up to 24/192.

Yes.

Kal,

Have you sent a bitstreamed DSD signal from your Oppo and used the Vanity to convert it to PCM at 24/176? If so, are the filters in the Vanity effective in eliminating noise above 50K? Based on the owners manual it appears the two filter choices available for 24/176 are designed to address this but I want to be sure.

Right now I'm using the GeerFab. It works very well but I'd like to use the AES/EBU connection which the GeerFab lacks. I'd also like to convert DS D to PCM at 24/176 which I can't now because of the lack of a 50K filter. The Vanity looks like a perfect fit for my needs, other than it won't decode Dolby True or DTS MA which the GeerFab will do. It's always something!

 

[amirm]

I just reviewed this: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-vanitypro-review-hdmi-audio-extractor.30440/