All digital home theater setups? - Forum

Hello

What will your source be?

Bluray players hdmi audio output needs to be decoded before it can be converted (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI).

I found some results searching for "hdmi aes ebu converter"... doesn't look very mainstream though.

The question is if these devices can do volume control, speaker setup/size/distance, room correction, etc.

And AES/EBU tends to be for studios = expensive ;)

cu

Ive got a 9.3.4 setup with genelecs (1238A,1238AC,1237A,8351As & 7380A as subs)

What you need is a Trinnov altitude 32, you get 16 channels out via aes3 signal to the monitors with a DB25 adapter/connector.

It supports hdmi 2.0 hdpc 2.2 nowadays, got my unit updated. It had the old hdmi board and buffer board switched out at my reseller .Really good support etc with trinnov. It's expensive sure but Im glad I bought mine now. No need to update in a loooong time..

More info:(+ find a reseller in your country for even more info etc.)

https://www.trinnov.com/products/home-theater/altitude32/introduction-altitude32/?lang=en_us

There's also the Datasat RS20i (bascially the consumer version of the Datasat AP20 which you'll find in lots of commercial cinemas and screening rooms)

http://www.datasatdigital.com/consumer/products/rs20i.php

But like the Trinitov recommended above, it's not cheap (~€20,000)

I can see what you want to do, but mixing HDMI and AES in a consumer setting is a pretty niche requirement.

 

 

 

 

Hi Django,

I'm also building a digital home theater, or better said a hybrid one.

The digital path of the equation has a PC with an PCI Express multi channel AES board, such as the RME HSDPe AES: https://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/hdspe_aes.php connected to the digital in of the monitors.

How this works for movies for example:
- you either stream the file or play a local blueray
- the video player (i'm using Jriver) decodes the digital audio stream and sends it to the RME board that sends AES signal to the monitors. a good player will not touch the singal besides decoding it.
- the video player decodes the video signal and send it directly to the display

So in this setup there's no AV processor as the middle man. Each stream goes directly to it's destination. Depending on how smart the PCI Express board is, you might also need the Genelec 9301A interface to do bass management. It's just a sum across all channels, so the PCIe board can potentially do that also.

For music this works the same way, music is digitally transmited from the PC (Tidal, Apple Music, etc.) to the speakers via the RME Board unprocessed.

The main limitation of this is that you cannot do Atmos as there is currently no PC Atmos software decoder. So this setup works for up to 7.x.

To go around the Atmos limitation, i will also have a analogue path trough an AV Preamp such as the Marantz 7704.
I'll have other sources connected to the AV Receiver. The AV Receiver will decode Atmos and feed the monitors with analogue signal. The monitors then do AD and DA conversions, which of course is not ideal, but that's life. 

So depending on what i'm doing i'll be able to commute in GLM between the digital signal chain and the analogue signal chain. The Genelecs will be wired for both.
Displays also typically have two inputs so one will be connected to the PC, the other to the AV Preamp. 

If you can live with not having Atmos and you can play all your content from a PC, i'd say you're good to go.
I dont have all this running in practice yet, i just have the digital path working, pretty happy with it and i'm in no rush of getting the preamp... :-)

Even more, let's say you have other sources that want to accomodate. 
If those sources can output stereo via optcal (or even extracted from HDMI), and you're ok with stereo, you can optical out of those sources, convert to AES via a cheap optical to AES converter like the Hosa optical to AES and then feed the signal trough the RME board's inputs.
These inputs would be mixed with the other sound sources from the PC so you can control what goes trough.
I have a playstation 4 that is wired like this and i can hear the stereo mix on my monitors whenever i turn it on. 

What do you think of this?
It's a bit of fiddling, but if you want to stay in the digital domain, it's doable.

 

Samu Collan:

Hi

I am planning to setup home theather with Genelec SAM monitors. Only thing is that I haven't found options how to convert hdmi -> aes/ebu. I would like to keep signal path all digital if possible. Does anyone have similar setup here and what components you have in it? Or does anyone know how to convert hdmi -> aes/ebu to feed Genelec SAM monitors.

You will be surprised to hear that there is a much easier and cheaper way to achieve this with a very popular disc player - I am talking none other than the mighty Oppo, the videophiles' sweetheart, the reference video player which has been around for ...15 years?  

 

Get a 203 or a 103 or even some of the older ones, buy a VanityHD card from the Dutch dealer (see the link in my post below, in red), modify it for AES/EBU output (you have to short three small bridges on the board), DIY three 110ohm cables with dual RCA to XLR (I contacted Vovox for a custom job and they were very helpful) and you are good to go! 

 

 You can do a basic setup on the Oppo (speaker distances, levels etc), you can set a slightly higher than normal digital volume on your Genelec's and then use Oppo's digital volume control to adjust it, you can even use your Oppo as a Roon endpoint with your music collection / Tidal subscription.

 

It's not all perfect, Oppo's latest UHD players offer mediocre video performance (reviewers and fans will try hard to persuade you of the contrary but I know better because I've had them all), there are still problems with their firmwares and the worst of all is that Oppo has just dropped a bomb: they announced yesterday that they're abandoning the home theatre business so the 203 will be the last of its kind and probably minimally supported in the future. 

 

Also I am cross because the 205 is better built and delivers a better performance overall but there are no custom cards / AES mods for 205 and it would probably be overkill, considering that the main selling point for the premium priced 205 is its analogic performance. I wish there was a 205 with AES / EBU outputs and I would have certainly paid the money but I would probably be one of very few interested in this sort of mod so I have zero hope to see one, especially now that 203 and 205 are being abandoned by the manufacturer. 

 

 

Samu Collan:

Hi

I am planning to setup home theather with Genelec SAM monitors. Only thing is that I haven't found options how to convert hdmi -> aes/ebu. I would like to keep signal path all digital if possible. Does anyone have similar setup here and what components you have in it? Or does anyone know how to convert hdmi -> aes/ebu to feed Genelec SAM monitors.

So if you are happy to invest in an obsolete product get a 203 now, while they are still available, buy the VanityHD card, install it and enjoy. It's a 1500€ job but much cheaper and more convenient than the alternatives. It clearly beats my Marantz AV8802A and NAD M17, both of them well respected and not exactly cheap. You lose Atmos, Dirac (on the NAD), the convenient analogic volume control, HDMI switching and all the other bells and whistles but the pure, untouched digital stream is a joy to hear through the Genelec's (I have the 8341). 

And probably the perfomance can be taken one step further with a linear power supply, a custom clock, better shielding etc - the modding community for Oppo is strong and the possibilities are endless.     

I used to have a headless Auralic Aries connected to the AES/EBU input of my 8341 and the M17 to the analogic inputs, the TV would require ARC and the M17, my Apple TV also connected through the M17, a Harmony remote control, many cables, a lot of space, a complex setup. 

Now it is 203 into my Genelec. HDMI video to TV, HDMI audio disabled (makes a small but visible difference for video). The rest of my toys are connected directly to the TV and Oppo ouputs their sound digitally via ARC.  

If I want music I turn on the player and fire Roon which recognises it as an endpoint. If I want TV I switch the Oppo Input to ARC. If I want video I switch to the player. The musical performance is at least on par with the excellent Auralic Aries. The video performance is typically Oppo, solid. The multichannel audio performance is the best I have heard from my Genelec's so far. 

For me it's a no brainer for the money and I will try to hold on to this player for as long as possible, although with HDMI 2.1 and 8K around the corner it might not be long before it really becomes obsolete. Still, in theory you could use its HDMI input purely for digital audio in the future, like a receiver, if your next player will have dual HDMI output. 

 

 

Samu Collan:

Hi

I am planning to setup home theather with Genelec SAM monitors. Only thing is that I haven't found options how to convert hdmi -> aes/ebu. I would like to keep signal path all digital if possible. Does anyone have similar setup here and what components you have in it? Or does anyone know how to convert hdmi -> aes/ebu to feed Genelec SAM monitors.

Hi, wouldn't this box from Arvus give you all you need?

https://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/av/arvus_group_announces_release_of_worlds_first_7-1_hdmi_to_aes_ebu_audio_con/

It's a 7.1 HDMI to AES-EBU converter. Users include all big audio corporations like Dolby, Sony, Microsoft, DTS, Samsung, Christie, Pixar, Disney, GDC, Kinoton, Qube, DataSat, Hoyts, Kodak, CBS, AT&T, Ubisoft, Rockstar North, Galaxy Studios, BBC, Air Studios, Capcom, SingTel, Park Road Post, BluRay Audio Disc.

It costs about US$1700

I don't have any experience with the Arvus converter. Maybe somebody has tested it?

I am planning to set up home theater for the better watching experience. From what you discussed, it seems more complex than I thought.

Hey, I 'm re-editing this thread since I have a high definition movie on my computer and I want to burn it to DVD for playback on TV. Maybe you have any video to DVD converter recommended? One with which the movie suffering less quality loss are best! 

Someone posted comment below, that unfortunately was deleted by accident. We have the original message, but not the name who send it. Sorry about that.

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I want music I turn on the player and fire Roon which recognises it as an endpoint. If I want TV then switch the Oppo Input to ARC. If I want video I switch to the player. The musical performance is at least on par with the excellent Auralic Aries. And i want to add that I am having microsoft outlook not implemented any suggestion to fix it.

 

At the time of my purchase RME and Links had two EAS card options with several EES channels.I went better than the RME due to sofware support (can not test both), but I'm very happy that the software software presents.Desire was also an opportunity to see Linux.I have Mac Mini, but being able to use the internal PCI card,& PC options found more flexible.At the time of my purchase, RME and Links had two EAS card options with several EES channels.I went better than the RME due to sofware support (can not test both),but I'm very happy that the software software presents.Desire was also an opportunity to see Linux.
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