Digital Processor Reviews

The increasing prominence of Blu-ray explains why a device to extract audio from an HDMI stream has become necessary. At first, Blu-ray players had HDMI outputs for video and audio, but to speed their adoption, they also sported analog audio outputs to help users who had older AV receivers (AVRs). Bye the bye, those audio outputs were pared off. First, the multichannel jacks, then the stereo jacks, and finally the S/PDIF jacks were eliminated. In parallel, dedicated SACD players began to disappear, except at the very high end. The result: Most players, including so-called universal disc players that handle CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and often SACD, output only HDMI.

If you want to get audio out, HDMI is the only way. Those of us who want to play discs on our dedicated audio systems, few of which are compatible with HDMI, have long sought out breakout boxes to extract audio from the HDMI stream. Those legacy players with other outputs won't last forever.

HDMI audio extractors aren't new, but most are cheesy gadgets targeted at users of older, non-HDMI AVRs and they rarely support lossless multichannel. The AudioPraise VanityPRO ($1595) is different. It comes from two companies, AudioPraise and JVB Digital, with long histories of high-end audio and video modifications. Some readers will know them best as the source of boards to modify Oppo disc players so that they output multichannel digital. The VanityPRO was developed to extract a digital audio signal from the HDMI stream and optimize it for playback on a high-quality audio system. Once the audio data are freed from the constraints of HDMI, there are many things you can do.

The AudioPraise VanityPRO comes in several versions. The version I auditioned was fitted with an output module with four AES3 (XLR) stereo outputs that support up to eight channels of audio. This multichannel version is also available with four electrical S/PDIF outputs with either RCA or BNC connectors. The version with the stereo output module, which costs the same, comes with AES3, S/PDIF over RCA, and TosLink-one of each. Unless you anticipate needing that kind of output versatility, it makes sense to buy one of the multichannel versions, since, with a stereo source, two-channel audio is output through the first digital output. But of course, you can't do multichannel with the stereo version.

All four versions have a single HDMI 2.0a input and a single HDMI 2.0a output. The output is Audio Return Channel (ARC) compatible (footnote 1).

The HDMI and audio data sections of the VanityPRO are powered separately, each with its own power supply. The two sections are said to be galvanically isolated. You can buy the VanityPRO without power supplies (supply your own) or with any of three that add between $55 and $65 to the price. The VanityPRO is sold online at jvbdigital.com with free shipping and a 14-day home trial.

In the May 2020 issue of Stereophile, I reviewed the GeerFab Audio D.BOB digital breakout box, which can extract the DSD stream from an SACD player and output it as DoP. The VanityPRO can do that, too-but it can also convert the stream to PCM via processes that significantly reduce signal jitter and noise. An AudioPraise white paper describes the issues, the signal processing, and the results, with traditional and newer methods of jitter testing. They do not state so explicitly, but AudioPraise implies that their approach is superior to simply packing the DSD data into a DoP package. At the very least, it obviates the need for a DSD-capable DAC while also allowing downstream DSP.

Setting up the VanityPRO will be simple for anyone who has ever hooked up a DAC or installed a disc player with HDMI output. The manual is brief, but it covers everything you need to know clearly. I simply connected an HDMI cable from the output of my Oppo UDP-105 to the input of the VanityPRO and another from the output of the VanityPRO to my video monitor. Then

I connected an XLR cable from the AES3 output of the VanityPRO to an input on my Okto dac8 PRO or, alternately, the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+. Since the VanityPRO isolates its HDMI circuitry from its audio circuitry, I connected the two mini power supplies provided to the two power inputs on the VanityPRO.

The VanityPRO in Action
The VanityPRO display screens offer rich information and a rich set of options. The Home screen shows the format of the incoming data (PCM or DSD), its sampling rate, bit resolution, run/stop status, number of channels and-the most useful bit-the status of the HDMI input and output. The Audio Setup screen offers interesting DSD-to-PCM choices including output sampling rate (88.2, 176.4), bit resolution (16, 24), conversion filters (footnote 2), PCM/DSD level matching, DoP output, DSD 4.0 Downmix (about which, more in a moment), and Output Volume. These two screens get the most facetime.

The System Setup screen has options for Extended Display Identification (EDID) mirroring, screen brightness, screen timeout, LED brightness, and On/Off for the clocks. It's basically set-and-forget. The remaining screens-HDMI AV Info, Audio Meters, and System Status-are rich with information but will get little facetime except from techies, obsessives, and the constitutionally curious.

The VanityPRO offers several options for processing and outputting the extracted audio. Let's begin with the simplest and progress to the more complex and interesting.

Extracting DSD and outputting DoP
I began with the Oppo playing an SACD, sending stereo DSD via HDMI to the VanityPRO; the VanityPRO was sending it out to the Mytek as DoP. Operation was flawless, and the sound was similar to that coming from the analog outputs of the Oppo. I saw no evidence that the VanityPRO was doing anything to the datastream other than packaging it inside a DoP carrier. The Mytek's sound (via the VanityPRO) was at least as good as the Oppo's direct from disc.

The less-expensive GeerFab Audio D.BOB can do this, too. But the VanityPro can do more.

Extracting DSD or PCM and outputting PCM
I navigated back to the Audio Setup screen, turned off DoP, and replayed the same SACDs I used for the DoP test. Now the Mytek showed PCM 24/176.4 as the data format instead of DSD64. I had also invoked the VanityPRO's option to match PCM and DoP output levels by attenuating the PCM by 3dB, so I was able to make fair A/B comparisons between the two. I had the consistent feeling that the PCM output was clearer, more articulate, and a bit more dynamic. That's just the sort of impression one might get if there were a slight level imbalance in favor of the PCM, but there wasn't; I checked.

Moreover, with PCM data (from DVD, DVD-A or Blu-ray discs), both HD and non-HD Dolby Digital and dts played at their native bitrates and benefited from the DACs in the Mytek or the Okto dac8, a distinct advantage that the Oppo's analog outputs. The VanityPRO does not support any compressed formats, lossless or lossy, so the disc player must be set for PCM output.

Extracting DSD or PCM, DSP and playback
That's not all the VanityPRO can do, assuming you have the necessary associated equipment. The AES3 output (and the S/PDIF outputs if you get the stereo version) can be connected to a PC-based audio processor for DSP and other operations. After it has been processed, it can then be output in real time or stored.

I connected the VanityPRO to an AES3 input of my Okto dac8 and used its USB connection to pipe the stream into JRiver running on my Baetis server. JRiver's output was directed, by USB, back out to the Mytek; it could have been directed to any endpoint or player, connected directly or by LAN. One could also run it the other way, the Mytek sending PCM data to JRiver and its output going to the Okto or another DAC, although I did not try this. What I did do was to run this option with both input and output routed through the Okto in its "AES/USB" mode.

This is the most exciting application for the VanityPRO. It offers the opportunity to apply DSP, channel-level adjustments, active crossovers, and room correction while playing discs, without redundant D/A–A/D conversion. It's a pleasure to run DiracLive—to balance channels and compensate for room acoustics-not just with files but also while playing discs. Very cool.

Multichannel
Now for the icing on the cake: The VanityPRO can do all of the above in up to 8 (as in 7.1) channels! As stated in the Specifications sidebar, the VanityPRO I received (upon my request) has four stereo AES3 outputs, which I can feed into the similar inputs on the Okto dac8 Pro. A miniDSP U-DIO8 or a stack of Brooklyn DAC+s would do as well. For the latter, the VanityPRO offers clock outputs that can be daisy-chained through the Brooklyns to keep all the low-jitter signals in synch.

For some time now, I have been auditioning new discs with the Oppo's multichannel RCA outputs feeding my otherwise balanced system without DSP, to decide if I want to rip them for my library. I could appreciate them in their full, DSP'd glory only after they're ripped. With the AudioPraise VanityPRO, I can now enjoy the full advantages of DSP without ripping first.

Finally: The VanityPRO includes yet another feature that will be welcomed by quad fans: an option to properly downmix 5.1 DSD to 4.0, a task that eludes many AVRs.

Simple conclusion
In stereo or multichannel, the VanityPRO turns your disc player into a transport and enhances the quality of the output from all discs, including CDs, DVDs, DVD-As, Blu-rays, BD-As, and SACDs. Did I miss anything?

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Footnote 1: Support for eARC is supposed to be forthcoming, which will permit connection directly to a smart TV.

Footnote 2: Sharp High Bandwidth, Slow High Bandwidth, Sharp Low Bandwidth, Slow Low Bandwidth. All explained and illustrated with recommendations in the manual.