TOPIC:

I have recently setup a nanoAVR DL between a Cambridge Audio CXUHD (similar to Oppo 203) and an Audiolab 8200AP surround processor and the improvement to surround HDMI sources is amazing!

I would also like to apply DIRAC to my digital stereo sources and use my separate stereo DAC/preamp without further significant outlay.

My thoughts are as follows:

1. Apply Dirac to my Squeezebox Touch digital RCA output (upto 24bit 96khz) , perhaps using an 'audio embedder/injector to HDMI' type device?

2. Extract RCA or optical digital stereo from the nanoAVR DL HDMI output (upto 24bit 96khz), to my stereo DAC/preamp, but also pass-through the 8CH surround HDMI when other surround sources are in use, perhaps using an HDMI audio extractor device.

does this sound feasible?

Well, if you can get your digital sources to AES/EBU levels from SPDIF, you can convert 4 x 2ch worth to be carried over SDI with a Blackmagic Audio to 3G SDI converter, and then use a Blackmagic SDI to HDMI converter to feed the nanoAVR DL.

On the other side you can either extract SPDIF audio from the HDMI output of the nanoAVR or convert HDMI to SDI with a Blackmagic HDMI to SDI converter and then use a Blackmagic SDI to Audio converter to get 4 x 2ch AES/EBU digital audio (albeit at 48 kHz sampling rate 'cause that's all the nanoAVR DL will do) or 4 balanced analog audio signals.

The Blackmagic SDI to Audio and Audio to SDI converters run $195 each, and there is a bidirectional HDMI to SDI and SDI to HDMI converter for about $65.

One BIG caveat: the nanoAVR DL (and HD) I have seems to apply HDCP on it's outputs even if there is no HDCP on its input. I have reported this as a bug to minidsp. SDI does not support HDCP. Rumour has it that here are HDMI to SDI converters that will sink HDCP, on the HDMI side (defeating it) but neither Blackmagic nor AJA make them,

Using an audio embedder to hdmi is to me the most simple solution.
I'm using this function which is integrated in my Dvdo scaler and it's very useful :
if I need Dirac I use the hdmi circuit and if I needn't, I'm using the dac from the player and the rca input of the processor.

With the audio embedder to hdmi, it's transparent and you stay in the digital domain!

I went for it and bought the following:

£33 LIGAWO Toslink / Coax to HDMI Audio Embedder 6518772

I used a coax cable from my Logitech Squeezebox Touch digital output to this device and HDMI to nanoAVR DL, to 8200AP surround processor and it worked!

Next I added in one of these:

£17 Neoteck HDMI Audio Extractor 4K 2160P HDMI to HDMI + Toslink + DAC Stereo R/L.

From my nanoAVR DL I connected to this device with HDMI then optical out to my 8200CDQ preamp and also HDMI out to my 8200AP and it also worked! with both a CD in my CXUHD and also the audio embedded SBT!

The 8200AP doesn’t need to be on for either.

While I was at it, I also bought the following:

£11 Gana PAL/NTSC RCA to HDMI

This converts the setup OSD coax only output, back to HDMI, which I can more easily access from the TV.

All appears to be working, but my system is looking very messy now.

While this will get you uncompressed LPCM and compressed multichannel audio, it will not get you 48 khz sampled 7.1 ch uncompressed LPCM which was my goal. You'd have to get that from HDMI sources.

My goal was different: Dirac corrected room and transient speaker response without a traditional pre/pro or AVR. So I needed a way to extract 7.1 ch LPCM after the nanoAVR.

A very interesting product for NanoAVR DL :
4 input hdmi 2.0 4K HDR
1 output hdmi 2.0 4K HDR
1 output hdmi for Audio only, bistream, 5.1 or 7.1 LPCM!

fr.aliexpress.com/item/4-k-2-k-HDR-HDMI-...-b553-5fec062d56a2-2

domin wrote:

A very interesting product for NanoAVR DL :
4 input hdmi 2.0 4K HDR
1 output hdmi 2.0 4K HDR
1 output hdmi for Audio only, bistream, 5.1 or 7.1 LPCM!

fr.aliexpress.com/item/4-k-2-k-HDR-HDMI-...-b553-5fec062d56a2-2

That makes for a nice switch.

I have resigned myself to as few sources as possible: one universal disk player (Oppo 103D right now, and 203 eventually), and one streaming player (Nvidia Shield right now). My own content that I ripped can be streamed to the Nvidia Shield). As the Oppo has an HDMI input and dual HDMI outputs (video and audio), I currently do not need a switch. I suppose if I were to grudgingly add one or more of my kids' gaming consoles I would need a switch. But they have their own TVs, so...