The version with the stereo output module, which costs the same, comes with AES3, S/PDIF over RCA, and TosLink-one of each. This multichannel version is also available with four electrical S/PDIF outputs with either RCA or BNC connectors. The version I auditioned was fitted with an output module with four AES3 (XLR) stereo outputs that support up to eight channels of audio. The AudioPraise VanityPRO comes in several versions. Once the audio data are freed from the constraints of HDMI, there are many things you can do. 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. Some readers will know them best as the source of boards to modify Oppo disc players so that they output multichannel digital. It comes from two companies, AudioPraise and JVB Digital, with long histories of high-end audio and video modifications. The AudioPraise VanityPRO ($1595) is different. 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. Those legacy players with other outputs won't last forever.
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. If you want to get audio out, HDMI is the only way. The result: Most players, including so-called universal disc players that handle CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and often SACD, output only HDMI. In parallel, dedicated SACD players began to disappear, except at the very high end. First, the multichannel jacks, then the stereo jacks, and finally the S/PDIF jacks were eliminated. Bye the bye, those audio outputs were pared off. 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). The increasing prominence of Blu-ray explains why a device to extract audio from an HDMI stream has become necessary.
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