HDMI Audio De-Embedder

Old thread, but perhaps still helpful...

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...597#3678285646807597

Good luck!

Hook

Ifaik these player never output dsd format but only high res pcm, which can be 'picked up' by a de-embedder.

So a 'no show' i'm afraid.

The new Bryston DAC (BDA-3) accepts SACD through an HDMI input. Two-channel only. Not sure if this is native DSD or hi-res PCM, although Bryston does state that the DAC doesn't convert anything to another format or resample anything. They don't seem too concerned about copyright issues.

Unless you have a DAC with an HDMI input, and a Blu-ray player which supports DSD over HDMI playback (e.g., the Oppo units), there is no easy way to do this.

The HDMI input must support HDCP, and its input must provide a means to route one of the I²S pairs into the (presumptively DSD-compatible) digital audio engine. SPDIF will not work, ruling out most of the PCM- or Dolby Digital-compatible de-embedder solutions.

Ultimately, you may find that a computer-based solution using downloaded DSD-compatible file formats will be far less hassle.

Happy New Year and thanks for the helpful contributions everyone, much appreciated.  I agree that if all I wanted to do was play the couple of SACD's I've got then buying DSD files might be easier but I'm also interested in improving the audio generally from my Blu-Ray discs so I'm tempted to delve deeper into this - it's just frustrating when you own the means to play discs, the means to decode them and the discs themselves and yet you apparently aren't allowed to listen to them...   From the thread that Hook circulated it appears others have managed to light their HD LED status lights using de-embedders suggesting they are sending a higher quality signal to the DAC so I'm tempted to give it a try.  If I take the plunge I'll post an update in due course.

One option ... Audiopraise make a board which will fit in an Oppo 103 or 105 (and possibly Cambrdge Audio bluray) which then gives 3/4x SPDIF output (in place of the analogue multichannel output). 

This can be configured to create DSD over PCM for DACs such as nDAC which accepts DoP format through SPDIF.

PS. This isn't something I've tried so offering no assurance it works with nDAC.

Thanks Eloise.  I've ordered a Lindy HDMI 4K Audio Extractor De-Embedder with ARC & MHL  for £67.97 incl VAT and postage.  Will update the post when it arrives and I've tried it out.

AndyF posted:

Thanks Eloise.  I've ordered a Lindy HDMI 4K Audio Extractor De-Embedder with ARC & MHL  

This is like a weird alternative language: I have no idea whatsoever what is going on. Is my life incomplete without a de-embedder?

Ha ha - I know exactly what you mean HH.  This is what comes of being slightly duped by a major Co. (Sony in this case) that on seeing how the digital output on this machine was coaxial rather than toslink and therefore the prospect of higher resolution than 96khz audio (and seeing how they make great play of the audio performance of the player) I bought one only to find (post purchase of course) that in the settings configuration, they only allow output of hi-res audio (DSD files for instance) through the HDMI output and not to the digital output.  So while I may now have a nice new Blu-ray player that will upscale the image to 4k, I can only hear standard definition audio (albeit nicely presented through the n-DAC).  This then is where we enter the slightly murky world (from a copyright point of view I suspect) of the de-embedder which promises to split out the audio signal from the HDMI and deliver it to a toslink output.  Some machines will do this to coaxial instead or as well but to test whether it works I'll settle for 96khz as a ceiling.  We'll see.

Update:

For a sixty-odd quid piece of kit, the Lindy seems very well made - metal box enclosure for instance not plastic as I was expecting and size wise reminds me of a slightly large DAT tape for those who remember those.  So all hooked up with ARC setting switched off (as that takes the feed from the TV return rather than the HDMI out).  On the blu-ray, Sony don't allow DSD to be output to the HDMI if its from a SACD - so it's output as LPCM.  Nevertheless, the HD light on the n-DAC lights up to show its receiving a signal of at least 48khz (and probably 96khz) from both SACD and blu-ray discs but not it seems DVD (I've only tried one DVD (REM Live from 2007) and can't remember whether DVD's were ever meant to be anything other than CD quality).  So overall I'm pleased with the result.  Next I'll try hooking it up to the Sky HD box to see if any HD programmes are coming over at better than CD quality and consider buying a second for the Sky box.  

One thing for anyone else with a UnitiServe.  The dedicated Music Store folder has three sub-folders for LQ / MQ / HQ music files with CD being MQ and MP3 being LQ.  Given the UnitiServe wouldn't read the SACD layer and you're not mean to move downloaded hi-res music into the Music Store (but place them into a separate Share folder) what would ever go into the HQ folder in the Music Store?