Audiopraise VanityPRO

28 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

I can’t of cause say for sure, but since it supports CEA-861-D that corresponds with HMDI 1.3, I guess no. 
ARC came with HDMI 1.4. 
 

However my guess is that nothing stops Audioprase to accept the ARC signal on pin 14. Hope they answer.

 

”The VanityPRO is built on a completely programmable processing and control platform utilizing a medium size FPGA and a 32-bit processor. New features and functionality can be added at any time….”

 

I guess for bandwidth purposes, this is really a question about eARC, not ARC. ARC cannot even transfer 16/44 or CD quality.

16 minutes ago, svart-hvitt said:

 

I guess for bandwidth purposes, this is really a question about eARC, not ARC. ARC cannot even transfer 16/44 or CD quality.

eARC is HMDI 2.1, so then no according to data sheet. 
https://audiopraise.com/documents/Vanity_PRO_Product_Brief_web.pdf

However:

”It's worth noting that some HDMI 2.1 features, most commonly eARC, are available via some HDMI 2.0 devices and cables, but anything that requires very high bandwidth, most notably 4K/120fps and 8K/60fps, will require new hardware.”

https://www.whathifi.com/advice/what-hdmi-21-everything-you-need-to-know

“Enhanced Audio Return Channel (also known as eARC) is the next generation of ARC. It’s a feature implemented in the most recent HDMI 2.1 specification.

The main benefit of eARC is a big boost in bandwidth and speed. This allows you to send higher-quality audio from your TV to a soundbar or AV receiver.

There’s scope for eARC to deliver up to 32 channels of audio, including eight-channel, 24bit/192kHz uncompressed data streams at speeds of up to 38Mbps.“

https://www.whathifi.com/advice/hdmi-arc-and-hdmi-earc-everything-you-need-to-know

21 hours ago, svart-hvitt said:

Does the VanityPRO accept EARC/ARC from the TV?

The VanityPRO has the ARC channel wired up, but it hasn't been software implemented or tested.

18 hours ago, R1200CL said:

Will this be developed by John Swenson ?

 

Would USB out be considered ?

 

We have not decided to move forward with custom modules yet. We are not considering USB with regards to this project.

I just came across this post from 2013. John already had a working HMDI output design back then. 

https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=126550

I hope one day what happens behind the scenes can be revealed. Squeeze box was really ahead of its time. I can’t understand why they shut it down. 

Just to follow up on the ARC discussion...I am confident they can make ARC work via a firmware update. No ETA as of yet, but I have requested the feature. 

There are so many uses for this. The wheels in my head are turning.

Keep us posted!

Streaming surround music to AES / S/PFIF . . . 

I've been looking for ways to stream surround Tidal or Apple music, and just strip the 5.1 or 7.1 PCM and output it digitally to my Genelec SAM setup.
Looking to avoid an expensive and mostly useless AVR.
The VanityPRO could be the gateway . . .

I assume that then depends on IF:

• the source can be set to output the 6-8 PCM channels
• Tidal or Apple or other streaming source accepts to send Atmos or just the PCM

Sources could be 

• Apple TV 4K
• Chromecast with Google TV
• Fire TV Stick 4K
• Roku Ultra

Do I need a splitter + a "fake" Atmos dongle or something?

Any thoughts or experiences?

Thanks

I have been using the Apple TV 4K and it’s streaming multichannel PCM (up to 8 channels) and stereo PCM interchangeably based on source content. 
 

The short answer about Atmos is that it’s not supported. This is based on my understanding that all the devices in the audio chain need to support Atmos. Unfortunately, I don’t think the Atmos protocol allows the source to decoded Atmos content and stream it as PCM. This device is really intended for PCM and DSD streaming.

2 hours ago, vortecjr said:

I have been using the Apple TV 4K and it’s streaming multichannel PCM (up to 8 channels) and stereo PCM interchangeably based on source content. 
 

The short answer about Atmos is that it’s not supported. This is based on my understanding that all the devices in the audio chain need to support Atmos. Unfortunately, I don’t think the Atmos protocol allows the source to decoded Atmos content and stream it as PCM. This device is really intended for PCM and DSD streaming.

Cool, so can you say which services that allows you to stream 5.1 or 7.1 with ONLY the Apple TV 4K and VanityPRO connected.
As in: with NO Dolby Atmos AVR or TV connected.

This is the core of my challenge.
Thanks

I don’t have a list for you, but some of the video apps tell you if they have 5.1 audio. I have not seen 7.1 content on the Apple TV 4K, but I have not been looking for it. A source like a BluRay player could provide audio or audio/video with multichannel. 

Very interesting product! Nearly exactly what I’ve been looking for to complement my genelecs. 

Anyone know how the following can work or if there is a workaround:

1. Streaming music, if I understand correctly you need a hdmi source to extract the music from. Usually for entertaining I want to listend to something else than What’s being shown on TV. If The vanityPRO had a usb in and a way to switch the inputs (maybe even an automatic “if x input being used it automatically switches”. Is there any workaround or future version to cover this? What source does current owners use for listening to music? 

2. Is there any plan to implement HDMI 2.1 in a future version? 4K120Hz/8K owners/users are few but exist. 

3. To optimise it’s output signal I guess battery’s/LPSUs will be needed?

4. I’m confused about the clock ports. Have not seen any video streamer with clock input. What would the clock outputs be used for? 
 

I should have an article about this done this week. Let me know what things people want me to try. So far this thing is really cool. 

4 hours ago, Rex95 said:

Very interesting product! Nearly exactly what I’ve been looking for to complement my genelecs. 

Anyone know how the following can work or if there is a workaround:

 

1. Streaming music, if I understand correctly you need a hdmi source to extract the music from. Usually for entertaining I want to listend to something else than What’s being shown on TV. If The vanityPRO had a usb in and a way to switch the inputs (maybe even an automatic “if x input being used it automatically switches”. Is there any workaround or future version to cover this? What source does current owners use for listening to music? 

2. Is there any plan to implement HDMI 2.1 in a future version? 4K120Hz/8K owners/users are few but exist. 

3. To optimise it’s output signal I guess battery’s/LPSUs will be needed?

 

4. I’m confused about the clock ports. Have not seen any video streamer with clock input. What would the clock outputs be used for? 
 

Not sure about about 1 and 2, but I not heard about them. On 3 I supplied Chris with a unit and two inexpensive linear power supplies. I tested the unit with those power supplies and it performed very well. Of course one can experiment with different power supplies. On 4 you can use the clock output to sync the external DACs.

3 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I should have an article about this done this week. Let me know what things people want me to try. So far this thing is really cool. 

DSD playback with conversion to PCM into your Berkeley DAC….please and thank you.

51 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

DSD playback with conversion to PCM into your Berkeley DAC….please and thank you.

What are common ways people would get DSD into this unit? 

How about an Oppo or some other SACD compatible player?

55 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

How about an Oppo or some other SACD compatible player?

That works!

I haven’t had a disc spinner for over a decade. 

7 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I should have an article about this done this week.
Let me know what things people want me to try. So far this thing is really cool. 

I'm really interested in what it takes to stream surround media through this thing.
AVR's are crap and unreasonable expensive on top.

Questions:

• How little HW can we get away with, if we just want the 5.1 or 7.1 PCM out of the different music and video streaming services?
• What are the best little streamers (mentioned above)?
• Can anything "fake" the streaming service to deliver (probably) Atmos, so we can extract the PCM? 
• And how high quality can we get from the different combinations?

Funny, I really just wanna pay for streaming . . .
But I may be forced rip / download surround streaming to benefit.
All driven by the same stupid paranoia as in the Napster days.
I hope there is a way!
 

3 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I haven’t had a disc spinner for over a decade. 

I only spin once.
To rip surround music from mostly Blu-rays.
 

13 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I haven’t had a disc spinner for over a decade. 

Ha ha ha…same issue here.

22 hours ago, DigiPete said:

I'm really interested in what it takes to stream surround media through this thing.
AVR's are crap and unreasonable expensive on top.

Questions:

• How little HW can we get away with, if we just want the 5.1 or 7.1 PCM out of the different music and video streaming services?
• What are the best little streamers (mentioned above)?
• Can anything "fake" the streaming service to deliver (probably) Atmos, so we can extract the PCM? 
• And how high quality can we get from the different combinations?

Funny, I really just wanna pay for streaming . . .
But I may be forced rip / download surround streaming to benefit.
All driven by the same stupid paranoia as in the Napster days.
I hope there is a way!
 

It’s hard to answer everything because there are endless combinations so take these as brief answers only. For video I’m just using an Apple TV and it’s apps. For audio let’s wait for Chris’ review to see what he comes up with. I’m not an Atmos expert, but my gut feeling is that it may be hard to fake. The current product specs are as follows: Up to 8-channel 192kHz/24bit PCM and 6-channel DSD64 audio extraction.

On 1/16/2022 at 3:42 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

What are common ways people would get DSD into this unit? 

I forgot to mention that I tasked Andrew with getting HDMI streaming on SonicTransporter so that may be an option soon?