No HDMI Inputs On My Pre-Amp

Is there any way I can get the Blu-Ray lossless audio with my PS3? My Rotel preamp does not have any HDMI inputs. Is there a device I can use in between my PS3 and my pre-amp to hear the audio or am I stuck unless I upgrade my preamp? Thanks.

 

Unfortunately stuck, sorry.

http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=192363
http://stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=185844

 

Will your TV accept HDMI and output SP/DIF? That may or may not send the uncompressed PCM to the digital input on your receiver. It depends upon what the TV does to it, what the DVD or Blu-Ray allows it to do, and what the receiver accepts. If you get 24/96 anything, I'd call it close enough... Just remember that the sampling rate does not mean everything. Some higher quality devices can have better sound though using lower sampling rates. The file transfer is only part of the equation as you still have D/A conversion and final analog processing.
-Bill

 

Check this link out from the AVS forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1157914

 

Actually, SPDIF can only support lossy compressed Dolby Digital or DTS audio in multichannel; non-compressed or lossless-compressed audio support through SPDIF is limited to 2-channel stereo only. This is because SPDIF does not have the required bandwidth for high-quality multichannel audio. And many TV sets with HDMI actually downmix all audio to 2-channel stereo before the audio signal gets output through any jack at all.

 

atlona HD-570

atlona HD-570

http://www.atlona.com/Atlona-HDMI-1.3-Audio-De-Embedder-p-17801.html

there are numerous other similar units now appearing, i've researched and tested several; the atlona is stable and provides confirmed 24/192 2-channel extraction (which you can send onward to your DAC of choice).

on an appropriate PS3, you can get not only 24/192 extraction from Blu-ray, but also 24/176.4 downsampled DSD from SACDs. IIRC, downsampling algorithms created by member(s) of Sony's DSD development team. fun to compare this LPCM-from-DSD, or 24/192 from Blu-ray, on a great DAC (weiss, etc) to analog outs from PS3

 

Emmodad,

This is great news I think. I bought something which looks almost identical to this atlona unit. I've never even tried it but the unit I have is from Ambery Corp - model no. AU HDMICP, bought from allaboutadapters. Everything I've read about this model on other forums suggests that it will NOT extract 24/192 from blu-ray so consequently I gave up on the idea and never even purchased a PS3 and sold my still sealed Neil Young Archive box set. Just to confirm, are you saying that you can guarantee that this atlona unit WILL extract 24/192 from blu-ray? Do you have any experience with the Ambery model I have? I sure would love to hear 24/192 audio through my Bryston dac!

 

Apparently the Atlona unit will but the Ambery will not. If the OP just wants high rez audio from 2 channel mixes, then this is one solution. I doubt the TV would do it cleanly but you never know as new models are coming out faster than anyone can check all of the features. If it just passes the signal, that's perhaps all that he has asked for. The PS3 seems to be more the problem than the PCM. Of course DRM over HDMI is a hurdle that may not be overcome on every disc or device. I'm glad I am still a stereo guy!
-Bill

 

Sell yours on Audiogon and you will only have the bal to ante up for.

 

when i was recently researching approx. 10 different hardware solutions for HDMI audio extraction (most but not all based on a small number of Chinese ODM board designs), i directly contacted some of those board design companies as well as end-product manufacturers to see if they could provide confirmation of 24/192 2-channel capability.

most were very candid, one of the Chinese ODMs even replied that they know the chip used was capable of providing 24/192 but that they had no way to test and had only specified the product up to 24/96. i aimed them at Oppo, some 24/192 DVD-As and the NYA Blu-rays...

i had also noticed 4 different products (including the Ambery and its clones) which, silkscreening aside, looked identical to the HD-570. more research showed what seemed to be a common design from a Taiwan ODM called Cypress Technology. contact with all of the different vendors seemed to imply that they were all CT-based designs.

except atlona, who stated quite openly that while the case / physical design was purchased from CT, the internals were an atlona design with some specific atlona-developed processing ie EDID handling and audio/video signal reclocking.

can only say that my brief experience with an amberey did not yield 100% stable lock with 24/192, but 24/96 was fine. the atlona was OK by itself on 2-channel 24/192, but i had occasional dropouts depending on what the HD-570's HDMI output was connected to (ie what was providing the HDCP handshake: an HDfury, some different TVs and LCD monitors...).

i currently have the the HD-570 as well as several other HDMI audio extractors all hooked up (ie their HDMI outputs) to an atlona 4x2 HDMI switch which then feeds an HDfury and a TV. HD-570 is rock-solid stable in this setup; i recall absolutely zero glitches in months of listening to 24/192 sources from DVD-A and Blu-ray (ie Neil Young Archives)

 

Thanks for the responses!

So are you saying that this Atlona will only give a 2 channel downmix of the high rez audio? In other words, if I'm watching a Blu-Ray that offers a 5.1 uncompressed audio track, I would only be able to hear it downmixed to two channels? Sorry if I sound thick headed. I glanced at the specs of the Atlona but I'm not sure I understand it.

 

Thanks so much for your response. I might have to buy a HD-570 before they become illegal.

 

I'm not saying that but then I really don't know what will happen. Ask emmodad as he has actual experience with the device and has spoken with some of the designers of the current technology. There are several issues, both hardware and software. One fellow here suggests that S/PDIF does not have the bandwidth for 5.1 or greater 24/192 sound. That I cannot verify as the optical cable might and it then becomes an issue of hardware standards, which are continually being updated to support greater bandwidth. Fiber optics are used for very wide bandwidth applications, so it is possible but I have no idea just how likely. it gets worse though as there are other issues. It's not just the conductor scheme or the source, but the receiving unit. So you have two hardware units and the transfer medium. Then there is the software. That may limit what the HDMI is "willing to part with" due to DRM. It also might limit what is on the disc to begin with as DD and DTS are in fact compressed (only to 24/96). So you may not even have 24/192 x 7.1 to transmit anyway. I'd not be so bothered with it. If you want t for music on 2 channel then that is almost understandable as long as you had some great gear that didn't just then trample all over it in both the digital and the analog domains. But even then, movie soundtracks really don't require that much resolution as it is mostly pretty lame sound effects and speech. I don't hear so many people talking about the subtle harmonic overtones of a train wreck or of Brad Pitt's snide remarks. I am not trying to be condescending about your playback system here, i haven't even checked to see what it consists of, I'm just trying to make the point that you may be concerned about something that you'll not really get any more mileage out of anyway. All that I can say for sure is that if it's the only way around the PS3 situation and if it's cheap enough, try it out. At a minimum, you'll get the audio out of it even if it's not the very latest, widest bandwidth. Anyway, as soon as you do manage that, there will be a whole new set of specs for a whole new digital protocol. 3D is on the way...
-Bill